Lewis R Gordon

@lewgord

Lewis R Gordon is professor and head of the philosophy department at UCONN-Storrs, where he is also a member of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life.

He is the author of many books, including Freedom, Justice, and Decolonization. He co-edits, with Jane Anna Gordon, the journal Philosophy and Global Affairs.

He is honorary president of the Global Center for Advanced Studies and a former president of the Caribbean Philosophical Association, for which he now serves as its chairperson of awards and global collaborations.

Stories by: Lewis R Gordon

Culture

Sidney Poitier, a beautiful dark light

By portraying dignified, powerful Black characters at a time when this was a radical act, the quiet authority of the self-taught actor and activist inspired a generation.

By: Lewis R Gordon
24 Jan 2022

Features

New Books | Decolonising freedom

Philosopher Lewis R Gordon interrogates colonised thought, reimagining liberation and revolution while questioning who defines justice and injustice.

By: Lewis R Gordon
23 Aug 2021

Culture

A reflection on Juneteenth 2021

The House of Representatives voted on 16 June to honour the day slavery was outlawed in the US. Philosopher Lewis R Gordon contemplates this victory for democracy.

By: Lewis R Gordon
28 Jun 2021

Culture

Long Read | The joy of Steve McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’

Focused on events from the early 1970s to the 1980s, Small Axe examines and offers a remarkable, multidimensional and intersectional portrait of anti-Black racism and struggles for Black liberation.

By: Lewis R Gordon
28 Jan 2021

Analysis

White licence was allowed to storm the Capitol

The attack on Congress should be seen for what it is: an assault by enfranchised white supremacists who cannot tolerate those outside their racist circle.

By: Lewis R Gordon
15 Jan 2021

18 January 2019: Jamaican philosopher Professor Lewis R. Gordon.

Features

Shifting the geography of reason

Postcolonial feminist Madina Tlostanova interviews philosopher Lewis Gordon about building new futures by relocating the spatial and temporal grounds of reason.

By: Lewis R Gordon, Madina Tlostanova
21 Jan 2019

Philosopher Mabogo More in his study at his home in Pinetown, Durban. (Photograph courtesy of Rogan Ward/Mail & Guardian)

Features

Looking through Philosophy in Black

Philosopher Mabogo P More’s new memoir is a compelling reflection on the lived-experience of looking through philosophy in Black.

By: Lewis R Gordon
11 Dec 2018

19 June 2018: (left to right) Samir Amin, Jane Anna Gordon and Lewis R. Gordon, at Amin’s office in Dakar, Senegal.

Features

Samir Amin: Shifting the Geography of Reason

A reflection on the life and work of Samir Amin, this year’s winner of the Caribbean Philosophical Association’s Frantz Fanon Lifetime Achievement Award.

By: Lewis R Gordon
17 Aug 2018