In this episode, Centre Directors Rahel Jaeggi and Robin Celikates talk to this year’s Benjamin Chair Tommie Shelby about his philosophical beginnings, his specific approach to philosophy, Marxism, the Black Radical Tradition, solidarity, and his plans for the Benjamin Lectures on ‘The Political Ethics of the Oppressed.’
Tommie Shelby is Lee Simpkins Family Professor of Arts and Sciences and Caldwell Titcomb Professor in the Departments of African and African American Studies and Philosophy at Harvard University. He held the Benjamin Chair 2025 at the Centre for Social Critique.
Shelby gave his Benjamin Lectures entitled ‘Political Ethics of the Oppressed – On Freedom, Solidarity, and Self-Respect’ from 18 to 20 June at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW).
Special thanks to: Isette Schuhmacher (co-moderation, editorial editing) and Marvin Ester (mixing, audio editing, production).