Location: SAV 264 “Hermeneutical Impasses” Luvell Anderson Assistant Professor of Philosophy The University of Memphis When people respond to chants of ‘Black lives matter’ with ‘All lives matter’ or excoriate Colin Kaepernick for being “anti-military” or “anti-American” when he sits or kneels during the playing of the National Anthem, there appears to be a break in understanding. BLM protestors and Kaepernick understand their actions and messages in one way, detractors in quite a different way. I call these breaks in understanding "hermeneutical impasses." In this talk I discuss the nature of these impasses and the challenges a particular type of impasse presents for resolving it. Professor Luvell Anderson (PhD, Rutgers University) is currently Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. Before coming to Memphis, he was Alain Locke Postdoctoral Fellow at Pennsylvania State University. His research lies principally in Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Race, and Aesthetics. He has published articles on the semantics of racial slurs and on racist humor. Professor Anderson’s current writing projects include analyzing the linguistic underpinnings of racial humor, investigating the ways power interacts with our interpretative practices, and attempts to construct viable strategies for bridging certain racially-motivated divides that foster miscommunication. |