Founders of Black Liberation Source Ancient Philosophers

Dr. Yancy Hughes Dominick, PhD, is Associate Director of the University Honors Program, and Senior Instructor with the Department of Philosophy. Dr. Dominick grew up in Helena, MT, but has always wanted to live in a city like Seattle. He studied English and Philosophy at Lake Forest College, near Chicago, and earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Kansas, where he fell in love both with Plato and with college basketball (Go Jayhawks!). His research focuses on Ancient Greek Philosophy, especially Plato. Prof. Dominick has taught a variety of Core and Philosophy classes at Seattle U. In the last few years his favorite classes allow him to explore the richness of feminist philosophy—a recent highlight is his Fall 2020 humanities seminar on Gender and Power in Ancient Greece. The Black Lives Matter movement has inspired Dr. Dominick to rethink his teaching, scholarship, and the way that he and his partner are raising their son, Franklin. Learning that Huey P. Newton taught himself to read by reading Plato’s Republic over and over again made a deep impression on Dr. Dominick in the summer of 2020, and the call to center liberation continues to resound

These videos were made during the time of covid-19.

CENTERING WISDOM

1. Reflection:  Consider how classic texts have influenced us towards liberation or towards subjectation? Can you think of examples of each?

2. Reflection: What does it mean to perform service towards liberation? How are these tangled together?

3. Activity:  After watching this video read, or re-read Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and consider how it can be viewed as a liberation text.

CHECK OUT THESE LINKS

Education and Plato's Allegory of the Cave Links to an external site.

Schomburg Center Black Liberation Reading List Links to an external site.