Monday, 14 December 2009

FYP Presentation - 'Nihilism in Black America'

My FYP is based on the concept of while the radical may fire the cause, have Civil Rights ever achieved anything substantial without pandering to white mainstream America, and have racial politics been replaced by culture and class which still does this. My presentation article - hardcopy of which may be found in pigeonholes tomorrow morning - is centered on the first chapter of Cornel West's bestselling book Race Matters - the chapter 'Nihilism in Black America.' To provide a little background of the author for those who are not familiar with him, Cornel West is a black American academic, writer and theologian, who over the years has worked at Ivy League colleges like Harvard and he was Director of Afro-American Studies and Professor of Religion at Princeton.

West's book, as a whole, has been very useful to my FYP in assessing where black Americans are situated in the post Civil Rights era and the possible lack of iconic black leaders. This chapter addresses what he saw as a nihilistic threat to black America caused, as he saw it, by a lack of effective black leadership and the endemic market forces/moralities of American capitalism and solutions to this perceived threat.

While acknowledging that this was written 15 years ago and being able to look back on these views, please think on the following questions :

  • Do you feel the nihilism West wrote about is/was as threatening as he claimed to black
    American society?
  • West: 'Only recently has this nihilistic threat - and its ugly inhumane outlook and actions - surfaced in the larger American society. And its appearance surely reveals one of the many instances of cultural decay in a declining empire.' (My italics) Do you agree with the italicised words?
  • Do you feel that this nihilism, as West describes, is specifically related to black Americans, or could it be related to all poverty-stricken Americans, whatever their ethnicity?
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2 comments:

  1. Cherie E30 December 2009 at 15:38

    Sorry for the late post Jo.

    West's work is oft-referenced in 'Exceptionalist' texts so I've become more familiar with him in recent weeks. You acknowledged the age of this particular article which I think is very relevant. Published in 1994 (just after Clinton took office), the preceding Reagan/Bush years took their toll on policies such as affirmative action. The 'monumental eclipse of hope' which West refers to may be viewed differently in light of the Obama election (especially given the record electoral participation from the African American community).

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  2. sam1232 January 2010 at 15:25

    Sorry for the delay in posting. I feel as though the term "cultural decay in a declining Empire" is a very contentious term. "Cultural Decay" can be seen as a declining of American culture, which can be seen in instances such as poverty and crime within society. It can also be argued that America is a "declining Empire", as it shows aspects of Imperialism, and other nations such as China are strengthening economically and militarilly. However, America still remains the worlds only superpower. I also feel as though the Nihilism can be realted not just to African Americans, but also to poor whites and Latinos.

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