Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance (Suny Series, Philosophy and Race)
Offering a wide variety of philosophical approaches to the  neglected philosophical problem of ignorance, this groundbreaking  collection builds on Charles Mills's claim that racism involves an inverted  epistemology, an epistemology of ignorance. Contributors explore how  different forms of ignorance linked to race are produced and sustained and  what role they play in promoting racism and white privilege. They argue  that the ignorance that underpins racism is not a simple gap in knowledge,  the accidental result of an epistemological oversight. In the case of  racial oppression, ignorance often is actively produced for purposes of  domination and exploitation. But as these essays demonstrate, ignorance is  not simply a tool of oppression wielded by the powerful. It can also be a  strategy for survival, an important tool for people of color to wield  against white privilege and white supremacy. The book concludes that  understanding ignorance and the politics of such ignorance should be a key  element of epistemological and social/political analyses, for it has the  potential to reveal the role of power in the construction of what is known  and provide a lens for the political values at work in knowledge  practices."This anthology brings together some very prominent philosophers to address  one of the most embarrassing and blatantly ignored elephants in philosophy:  ignorance. While philosophers claim to be children of Socrates, who alone  was virtuous and courageous enough to recognize the fecundity of ignorance,  few have really addressed it with the verve and originality displayed in  the contributions to this volume. I consider it a must-have for libraries,  faculty, and graduate students." -- Eduardo Mendieta, editor ofThe  Frankfurt School on Religion: Key Writings by the Major ThinkersContributors include Linda Martín Alcoff, Alison Bailey, Robert  Bernasconi, Lorraine Code, Harvey Cormier, Stephanie Malia Fullerton, Sarah  Lucia Hoagland, Frank Margonis, Charles W. Mills, Lucius T. Outlaw (Jr.),  Elizabeth V. Spelman, Shannon Sullivan, Paul C. Taylor, and Nancy Tuana.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.