Abstract:
This article sets out a few key questions, themes, and problems animating an Azanian social and political philosophy, with
specific reference to the radical promise of undoing South African
disciplinary knowledges. The article is made up of two parts: The
first part discusses the epistemic and political forces arrayed against
black radical thought in South Africa and beyond. A few current
trends of anti-black thinking – liberal racism, Left Eurocentrism, and
postcolonial post-racialism – which pose challenges for the legibility
of Azanian critique are outlined. Part two constructs an exposition
and synthesis of key tenets of Azanian thinking elaborated upon under
three signs: ‘South Africa’, ‘race and racism’, and ‘Africa’. The aim
of the discussion is to illustrate the critical, emancipatory potential of
Azanian thought and its radical incommensurability with dominant
strands of scholarship in the human and social sciences today. The
article ultimately defends the reassertion of black radical thought in
the South African academy today and underscores in particular the
abolitionist drive of Azanian political thought.
