Washington and Lee hosts lecture by Harvard professor Tommie Shelby on The Case of Disadvantaged Black Men

Tommie Shelby, professor of African and African American studies and professor of philosophy at Harvard University, will give a lecture at Washington and Lee University on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 4:30 p.m. in Northen Auditorium, Leyburn Library.

The title of his talk, which is free and open to the public, is “Procreation and Parental Responsibility: The Case of Disadvantaged Black Men.”

Shelby is the author of “We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity” (Harvard, 2005) and coeditor (with Derrick Darby) of “Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason” (Open Court, 2005).

Shelby’s recent publications include “Race” in “The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy,” (Oxford University Press, 2012); “Justice, Work and the Ghetto Poor,” in “Law & Ethics of Human Rights;” “The Ethics of Uncle Tom’s Children,” in “Critical Inquiry;” and “Justice and Racial Conciliation: Two Visions,” in “Daedalus.”

Forthcoming publications include “Racism, Moralism and Social Criticism,” in “Du Bois Review;” “Impure Dissent: Hip Hop and the Political Ethics of Marginalized Black Urban Youth,” in “From Voice to Influence: Understanding Citizenship in a Digital Age” (University of Chicago Press); and “Liberalism, Self-Respect and Troubling Cultural Patterns in Ghettos,” in “The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth” (Harvard University Press).

He is also the coeditor of the journal “Transition.”

Shelby’s main areas of research and teaching are African American philosophy, social and political philosophy, social theory (especially Marxist theory) and philosophy of social science.

Shelby earned his B.A. from Florida A&M University and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to Harvard, he taught philosophy at Ohio State University.