What does it mean to revisit the contentious legacy of Frantz Fanon in the context of contemporary culture, politics, and poetics? The Fanon Research Collective (FRC) seeks to address the frequently overlooked and ongoing inquiries into Fanon’s extensive work across various contexts. The FRC aims to reevaluate Fanon’s cognitive, poetic, polemical, political, and prolific contributions through monthly discussions informed by a diverse range of readings, including poems, short essays, films, documentaries, interviews, panels, and plays. The primary objective is to explore how we can interpret Fanon’s ideas from multiple perspectives so that he remains relevant.
How can we develop innovative approaches to engage with scientific, poetic, and philosophical Fanon’s ideas in a way that resists fragmentation and the reduction of his poetic voice in his writings? How do we preserve his critical insights, imaginative freedom, and radical methodologies of world-building and connection, while simultaneously ensuring his relevance in today’s landscape of knowledge production? What theories can be revisited to better understand Fanon as we mark the centennial of his influence, enabling us to reorient, reground, and expand the critical discourse around his work? Are new models required to reinterpret and rethink the significance of Fanon’s poetic voice today? What poetic frameworks and avenues exist for studying and discussing his contributions? Can poetic Fanon truly become a global figure, or should we resist such categorizations?
The Fanon Research Collective (FRC) seeks to delve into an interdisciplinary understanding of the whole of Fanon. It aspires to create a community of scholars and writers dedicated to examining the emergence, evolution, and complex interplay of Fanon’s paradoxical nature beyond and outside the confines of academia, where his intellectual and poetic contributions initially took shape.
Organizers
Baba Badji is a Presidential Postdoctoral Associate in The Department of French and Department of English. He was the Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice and Comparative Literature.
Email:
Stéphane Robolin is the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies and an Associate Professor in the Department of English.
Email:
Sophie Ziner is a PHD candidate in The Department of English. She writes about public reading and reception, disability, and white supremacy. She’s a Graduate Assistant at the Center for Cultural Analysis and a working artist.
Email: