Dr. Tommy J. Curry—arguably one of the nation’s most prolific philosophers of race, whose research focuses on the Black male experience— is leaving the United States to become the Chair of Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Curry, 39, who currently holds a full, tenured professorship in the Department of Philosophy at Texas A&M University is an expert on Critical Race Theory, Africana Philosophy, Black Male Studies and Social Political Thought and was recognized by Diverse as a 2018 Emerging Scholar.
“The political climate in the United States has made the study of racism a dangerous option for Black scholars,” said Curry, in an interview with Diverse. “Identifying the violence of White supremacy has now become equated to anti-Whiteness. In Europe, there is an effort to understand the Black experience, particularly the Black male experience.”
In announcing Curry’s appointment, Dr. Holly Branigan, head of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh said that the hiring of Curry amounted to a real game changer for the institution founded in 1582.
“The philosophy of race is still an emerging discipline in the UK. Professor Curry’s appointment is a real step change and statement of intent,” said Branigan. “His world-class scholarship will make Edinburgh a destination for students wishing to study a subject that is incredibly pressing and relevant for society.”
Curry, who is the author of The Man-Not: Race, Class, Genre, and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood, has been the target of White supremacists and the alt-right, but has also been the subject of harsh critiques from Black feminists who question why he focuses much of his scholarship on the plight of Black males. Some have also taken issue with his research that focuses on Black female perpetuators of child abuse, rape and intimate partner violence.
“In the U.S., Black males are usually theorized as pathological and defective by gender theorists in the liberal arts,” said Curry. “Black male studies attempts to theorize Black males from the empirical work on Black men showing them to be the most gender progressive and community oriented individuals in the Black community, as well as the most involved fathers. There is a resistance to understanding Black men beyond the caricatures of them as violent, abusive toward women, and rapists within academic disciplines. Institutions and audiences outside the United States have been much more interested in rethinking their relationships to racialized men generally, and Black men specifically given my research.”
