Papers by Khalfani A Lawson
Auburn Avenue, 2017
What is “the fire next time” to the Phoenix? In this essay I explore the role of the artist in At... more What is “the fire next time” to the Phoenix? In this essay I explore the role of the artist in Atlanta's re/imagining of itself.
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I look to deploy the readers' lens as a tool through which we might exact material from the space... more I look to deploy the readers' lens as a tool through which we might exact material from the spaces where the Africanist presence ruptures, shapes, and contributes to the narrative. We know, as Hughes makes clear, that the Negroes knows rivers. I want to make an attempt at locating, as reader, then, the spaces in literature where the Negro speaks of them as well, in doing so, we will “[chart] new worlds out of black, wet infinity.”
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Beyond Borders with James Baldwin: A Practical Guide for Everyone, 2014
""Discussions on the institutional level among individuals with different backgrounds, differing ... more ""Discussions on the institutional level among individuals with different backgrounds, differing ideologies, and different motivations are necessary, for this is how diversity in thought is brought about. However, as Baldwin implies, what begins to render such discussions as problematic is the transcendence into a sphere of ineffectiveness, the illusion of progress often fed by rhetoric which subsequently is affirmed by collective 'politeness'.
When the “measure of our politeness” becomes a transition, rather, a regression into a way of life and means of interacting with others that consists of hypocrisy that rarely involves substantive discourse and practice, our “politeness” is all we have. Baldwin’s argument is one that is reasonable, practical, and ultimately constructive in that it allows room for equitable human relations no longer bound to the confines of rhetoric and abstraction by civilized women and men who have failed to consider the very real consequences of their negligence to assess themselves individually.
""
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Presentations by Khalfani A Lawson
Along the path of development and growth of the aspiring intellectual, one is sure to engage - e... more Along the path of development and growth of the aspiring intellectual, one is sure to engage - especially within a Western Epistemology - in a practice riddled with limited dichotomies that leave very little room for a additional sources of academic validity, namely the “visceral”. Within the scope of the sessions set forth to express the effect(s) of the work of James Baldwin at the College Language Association’s 2013 symposium, one work in particular has continued to stand out as it speaks to the role of self exploration in addressing societal issues, his essay entitled The Creative Process (1962).
Throughout The Creative Process, Baldwin identifies the role of ‘The Artist’ in realigning misaligned perceptions of societal problems. The artist exists as a necessary balancing force tasked to identify the truth at all costs in the face of right and wrong. The definition of an artist, or who can be conceived as such, is broad and has much potential for how it can be applied, whereas I myself define the artist as any individual who has taken on the task of functioning within their slice of society, at any capacity. I seek to focus on and apply the notion that Baldwin sets forth as a pre-condition of being able to function as “the artist”; the conquest of self. Humility has an important place in academia, and I believe that if Baldwin’s ‘conquest of self’ can serve to affirm visceral forms of expression as valid sources of information in academia.
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Protest, devoid of romanticism and flowery language, is both pragmatic and principled. When engag... more Protest, devoid of romanticism and flowery language, is both pragmatic and principled. When engaging with Walter Rodney, the world had to deal with a systematic, informed, and structured inquiry that questioned in a way in which the world believed it could not afford. The work, the remembrance, and the spirit of Walter Rodney are reminders of a critical tradition, much like the artist as outlined by James Baldwin, that serves to remind us that the safety that the heart seeks in indifference, through whatever forum, serves no justice to the project of progress.
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""“The Nexus Between Theory and Practice – The Role of the Intelligentsia”
Within the framewor... more ""“The Nexus Between Theory and Practice – The Role of the Intelligentsia”
Within the framework of this year’s topic “People’s power: Resistance, Occupation, and Uprising.” it is important that any movement has a goal, a practical yet radical way in which it plans to make progress, and a clear and concise method of attaining said goals. The focus of the paper I would like to present is on the role of the intelligentsia in revolution and more broadly this group’s role within the oppressed and subjugated in everyday life. Very briefly, Dr. Rodney touches on the disconnect between the intellectuals and the working class at the end of “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” in a section entitled “Development by Contradiction”.
The four questions I look to pursue are as follows:
1. Who is defined as the intelligentsia?
2. Who is defined as the working class?
3. What is the perceived role of the intelligentsia in society? How is it amplified in uprising?
4. Is it possible to evoke substantive change within a colonial/ western epistemological context?
""
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Papers by Khalfani A Lawson
When the “measure of our politeness” becomes a transition, rather, a regression into a way of life and means of interacting with others that consists of hypocrisy that rarely involves substantive discourse and practice, our “politeness” is all we have. Baldwin’s argument is one that is reasonable, practical, and ultimately constructive in that it allows room for equitable human relations no longer bound to the confines of rhetoric and abstraction by civilized women and men who have failed to consider the very real consequences of their negligence to assess themselves individually.
""
Presentations by Khalfani A Lawson
Throughout The Creative Process, Baldwin identifies the role of ‘The Artist’ in realigning misaligned perceptions of societal problems. The artist exists as a necessary balancing force tasked to identify the truth at all costs in the face of right and wrong. The definition of an artist, or who can be conceived as such, is broad and has much potential for how it can be applied, whereas I myself define the artist as any individual who has taken on the task of functioning within their slice of society, at any capacity. I seek to focus on and apply the notion that Baldwin sets forth as a pre-condition of being able to function as “the artist”; the conquest of self. Humility has an important place in academia, and I believe that if Baldwin’s ‘conquest of self’ can serve to affirm visceral forms of expression as valid sources of information in academia.
Within the framework of this year’s topic “People’s power: Resistance, Occupation, and Uprising.” it is important that any movement has a goal, a practical yet radical way in which it plans to make progress, and a clear and concise method of attaining said goals. The focus of the paper I would like to present is on the role of the intelligentsia in revolution and more broadly this group’s role within the oppressed and subjugated in everyday life. Very briefly, Dr. Rodney touches on the disconnect between the intellectuals and the working class at the end of “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” in a section entitled “Development by Contradiction”.
The four questions I look to pursue are as follows:
1. Who is defined as the intelligentsia?
2. Who is defined as the working class?
3. What is the perceived role of the intelligentsia in society? How is it amplified in uprising?
4. Is it possible to evoke substantive change within a colonial/ western epistemological context?
""
When the “measure of our politeness” becomes a transition, rather, a regression into a way of life and means of interacting with others that consists of hypocrisy that rarely involves substantive discourse and practice, our “politeness” is all we have. Baldwin’s argument is one that is reasonable, practical, and ultimately constructive in that it allows room for equitable human relations no longer bound to the confines of rhetoric and abstraction by civilized women and men who have failed to consider the very real consequences of their negligence to assess themselves individually.
""
Throughout The Creative Process, Baldwin identifies the role of ‘The Artist’ in realigning misaligned perceptions of societal problems. The artist exists as a necessary balancing force tasked to identify the truth at all costs in the face of right and wrong. The definition of an artist, or who can be conceived as such, is broad and has much potential for how it can be applied, whereas I myself define the artist as any individual who has taken on the task of functioning within their slice of society, at any capacity. I seek to focus on and apply the notion that Baldwin sets forth as a pre-condition of being able to function as “the artist”; the conquest of self. Humility has an important place in academia, and I believe that if Baldwin’s ‘conquest of self’ can serve to affirm visceral forms of expression as valid sources of information in academia.
Within the framework of this year’s topic “People’s power: Resistance, Occupation, and Uprising.” it is important that any movement has a goal, a practical yet radical way in which it plans to make progress, and a clear and concise method of attaining said goals. The focus of the paper I would like to present is on the role of the intelligentsia in revolution and more broadly this group’s role within the oppressed and subjugated in everyday life. Very briefly, Dr. Rodney touches on the disconnect between the intellectuals and the working class at the end of “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” in a section entitled “Development by Contradiction”.
The four questions I look to pursue are as follows:
1. Who is defined as the intelligentsia?
2. Who is defined as the working class?
3. What is the perceived role of the intelligentsia in society? How is it amplified in uprising?
4. Is it possible to evoke substantive change within a colonial/ western epistemological context?
""