| Philosophy
Conference at UC Riverside
"Coming to Terms with the Past: Responding
to Historical Injustice"
February 28-March
1, 2003
Questions of how to deal with difficult pasts
have become a priority on many national and
international agendas. Examples include commissions
of national inquiry in Latin America, the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa,
the International Criminal Tribunals established
by the United Nations for Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia, and the historians' debate in Germany
about its Nazi past. Our 2003 conference employs
this broader framework to discuss recent calls
for reparations for slavery in the United States.
In March of 2002, a group of lawyers headed
by Harvard Law Professor, Charles Ogletree filed
a federal class-action lawsuit in New York on
behalf of African-American descendants of slaves.
The lawsuit seeks compensation from FleetBoston,
Aetna, CSX and other to-be-named companies for
profits allegedly earned through the slave trade
and slave labor. This suit is part of a sizeable
reparations movement that is concerned with
the actions of both the United States government
and private institutions during slavery and
the period of legal racial discrimination that
followed. The goal of the movement is both memory,
bringing to light buried or forgotten aspects
of our collective past, and justice, improving
the current conditions of African-Americans,
which the reparations movement sees as effects
of this historical legacy of slavery. The damage
done to African-American slaves and their descendants
lives on, the movement claims, in continuing
racial disparities with regard to access to
education, health care, housing, insurance,
employment and other social goods. The objectives
of the movement thus include promoting a renewed
dialogue on the history of race relations in
the United States and rethinking strategies
for creating racial equality.
The issues raised by the movement for reparations
are obviously complex and controversial. Some
argue that a call for reparations demeans the
memory of slaves and victims of discrimination
by supposing money can compensate for ruined
lives. In this regard critics often point to
the insult Japanese Americans often felt at
the thought that their incarceration during
World War II could be compensated for monetarily.
Other critics insist that slavery is not the
cause of present poverty levels in the African
American community and, moreover, that slavery
and discrimination have already been paid for
through such programs as affirmative action.
On this analysis, reparations demean those large
numbers of African Americans who have lived
and thrived despite having been brought to the
United States in chains. Still others claim
that justice cannot be served by holding present-day
Americans responsible for deeds committed by
dead Americans, to whom they may not even be
related.
The conference intends to examine these and
other issues in the context of recent attempts
in both the United States and other countries
to redeem past suffering, whether through money,
apology, uncovering the truth of what happened
or criminal trials. A fundamental premise of
the reparations movement is that the attempt
to build a just multiculturalism in the United
States requires that we think seriously, not
only about our future, but about our past as
well. A fundamental premise of reparations critics
is that to do so is to embrace victimhood in
a way that succeeds only in limiting the vision
of what a diverse and multicultural society
can be. In the conference, we hope to reflect
on the best arguments on both sides.
Confirmed
speakers are as follows:
- Bernard
Boxill, Professor of Philosophy at the University
of North Carolina. He works in the areas of
social and political philosophy and African
American philosophy. He is well known for
his work in critical race theory and has written
and lectured on the reparations issue.
- Robert
Fullinwider, Senior Research Scholar, Institute
for Philosophy and Public Policy, University
of Maryland. He is an expert on affirmative
action issues and multicultural education
and, most recently, the editor of Civil Society,
Democracy and Civic Renewal. He has also written
specifically on reparations for slavery.
Title of the talk: "Slavery, Reparations,
and Moral Clarity".
- Thomas
McCarthy, John C. Shaffer Distinguished Professor
of the Humanities at Northwestern University.
His major research interests are in social
and political philosophy, Critical Race Theory,
and critical theory. He has written on the
historians' debate in Germany and is currently
writing on issues in political theory that
relate to race, development, and globalization.
-
Debra Satz, Associate Professor of Philosophy
at Stanford University. She works in Social
and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Economics
and Feminist Theory. Recent essays include
"The World House Divided: The Claims
of the Human Community in the Age of Nationalism"
and "Equality of What Among Whom? Thoughts
on Cosmopolitanism, Statism and Nationalism."
- Pablo
De Greiff, Director of Research for the International
Center for Transitional Justice in New York
City. He is currently writing a book, Redeeming
the Claims of Justice in Transitions to Democracy.
- George
Sher, Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Philosophy
at Rice University. His interests include
Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy and
Moral Psychology and he is, most recently,
the co-author with William J. Bennett of "Moral
Education and Indoctrination,"
Conference Schedule
Friday - February
28, 2003
10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Welcome and Announcements
| Speaker: |
Bernard
Boxill |
| |
University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
"Two Lockean Arguments for Black Reparations"
| Commentator:
|
N.
Ann Davis |
| |
Pomona
College |
Lunck Break
1:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
| Speaker: |
George
Sher |
| |
Rice
University |
"Transgenerational
Compensation"
| Commentator:
|
Zachary
Fish |
| |
Univeristy
Of California, Riverside |
3:15 p.m. - 5:15
p.m.
| Speaker: |
Robert
Fullinwider |
| |
University
of Maryland |
"Slavery, Reparations,
and Moral Clarity"
| Commentor: |
Michael
Hardimon |
| |
Univeristy
of California, San Diego |
5:15
p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Reception
Saturday - March 1, 2003
9:00 a.m. - 9:15
a.m.
Welcome Back and Announcements
9:15 a.m. - 11:00
a.m.
| Speaker: |
Pablo
de Greiff |
| |
International
Center for Transitional Justice |
"The Role of
Reparations in Transitions to Democracy"
| Commentor: |
Bronwyn
Ann Leebaw |
| |
Univeristy
of California, Riverside |
11:15 a.m. -
1:00 p.m.
| Speaker: |
Thomas
McCarthy |
| |
Northwestern
University |
"Repairing
Past Injustices: On the Politics of Reparations
for Slavery and egregation"
| Commentator:
|
Paul
Stern |
| |
U.S.
Attorney's Office, Central District of California |
Lunch Break
2:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
| Speaker: |
Debra
Satz |
| |
Stanford
University |
"Reparations
and Historical Injustices"
| Commentator: |
Aaron
James |
| |
Univeristy
Of California, Riverside |
4:30
p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion
| Panelists: |
Bernard
Boxill |
| |
Robert
Fullinwider
Pablo de Greiff
Thomas McCarthy
Debra Satz
George Sher
|
R.S.V.P
While
there is no registration fee, we would apreciate
all attendees sending an R.S.V.P by Monday,
February 17, 2003. This will enable us to plan
seating capacity and refreshments. You may R.S.V.P.
in one of three ways:
1.
E-mail. E-mail you R.S.V.P. to janetm@citrus.ucr.edu.
2.
Phone Call. Call your R.S.V.P in to Janet
Mauren at (909) 787-5209. Voice mail is available
on that line 24 hours a da.
3.
FAX. Fax your R.S.V.P to Janet Mauren
at (909) 787-5298.
R.S.V.P INFORMATION
When
making your R.S.V.P., please include the following:
1)
Your Full Name
2)
Your Phone Number or E-mail address.
For
further conference information please visit
our webite
Parking
Visitor
Parking Permits are available for $6.00 per
day at the information kiosks located in campus.
The closest place to park is Visitor Lot "V2".
For a parking and building map, click here.
For
information about the 2001-2002 Philosophy Conference
at UCR, click
here.
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