Frantz Fanon symposium

Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami presents a daylong investigation into the life and works of renowned post-colonial theorist and philosopher Frantz Fanon. This symposium, hosted at ICA Miami, convenes a panel of theorists, historians, and cultural studies scholars to explore how the writings of Fanon have profoundly influenced generations of political thinkers and activists. This symposium is free to attend with required RSVP.

Since the publication of his critical texts, Frantz Fanon (b. 1925, Fort-de-France, Martinique; d. Bethesda, Maryland) has been considered a crucial reference for social struggles. His books have circulated as much among the militants of the Global South and Black Power struggle as with today’s young activists.

While engagement with Fanon’s work has been steady, there have been moments of renewed intensity. “When we sat down to write a guiding brief for this symposium, we quickly understood that the times themselves provided a critical context that shapes how we might approach Fanon’s work,” explains Gean Moreno, Curator of Programs at ICA Miami. “Global computing is reproducing skewed social arrangements; white supremacy is being shamelessly articulated in public; and climate change is disproportionately burdening poor populations. Fanon’s work is crucial to understanding these contemporary realities. Using his writings as a critical point of departure, we aim to make our moment the object of this symposium’s address and scrutiny.”

Invited speakers include an international group of prominent scholars who have deeply engaged Fanon’s thinking, including Simone Browne, Aimé Charles-Nicolas, R.A. Judy, Jean Khalfa, and David Marriott. A series of short films comprising Larry Achiampong and David Blandy’s project Finding Fanon (2015) will be viewed as part of the program.

Schedule
1:45–2pm: Intro
2–2:45pm: David Marriott: “The X of Sacrifice: Fanon, Hegel, Terror”
2:45–3pm: Finding Fanon Episode 1 (dirs. Larry Achiampong and David Blandy)
3–3:45pm: R.A. Judy: “There’s a Riot Going on: From Haiti to Tunisia: A Fanonian Analysis”
3:45–4pm: Break
4–4:15pm: Finding Fanon Episode 2
4:15–5pm: Simone Brown
5–5:15pm: Finding Fanon Episode 3
5:15–6pm: Jean Khalfa
6:15–6:30pm: Break
6:30–6:45pm: Finding Fanon Gaiden: Black Death (dirs. Larry Achiampong and David Blandy)
6:45–7:30pm: Aime Charles-Nicolas

David Marriott teaches in the History of Consciousness Department, University of California, Santa Cruz. He has previously taught at the Universities of London and Sussex.

Jean Khalfa specializes in the history of philosophy, modern literature (in particular contemporary poetry and writing in French from North Africa and the Caribbean), aesthetics and anthropology. He teaches at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

R.A. Judy is Professor of Critical and Cultural Studies in the Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh, where he teaches course related to the fields of American literature and culture, African literature, Arab literature, contemporary Islamic thought, as well as world literature, and literary theory and criticism.

Simone Browne is Associate Professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas Austin. She is also a Presidential Visiting Fellow for 2018-2019 at Yale University. She is a member of Deep Lab, a feminist collaborative composed of artists, engineers, hackers, writers, and theorists.

Aimé Charles-Nicolas (b. 1943, Martinique) is a professor of medicine, medical psychology and psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine of Antilles-Guyana.