DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Corey L. Barnes specializes in Africana Philosophy, the philosophy of race, and social and political philosophy, particularly as it concerns cosmopolitanism and democratic theory. Across these areas, Barnes’ research recovers underexplored philosophical dimensions of early Black thinkers (notably W.E.B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, and Anna Julia Cooper) while engaging core issues in democratic theory, cosmopolitanism, the ontology and normativity of race, and the nature of racism. His work also extends to contemporary concerns, including stereotyping and the moral dimensions of political violence, situating the philosophy of race within broader social and moral philosophy.

His first book begins a systematic reconstruction of Alain Locke’s philosophy, arguing that his work in democratic theory, race, and value is unified by a robust commitment to cosmopolitanism. The book positions Locke as a central figure in modern political philosophy. Barnes is currently working on a second book on Locke that extends this reconstruction to his philosophies of art, education, and religion as practical mechanisms useful for implementing the theoretical foundations for a cosmopolitan community.

Barnes’ current book project, Race’s Shadowy Subjects (under contract with Oxford University Press), reconstructs early Black intellectuals’ contributions to the ontology and normativity of race, focusing on core figures Martin R. Delany, Alexander Crummell, Anténor Firmin, Anna Julia Cooper, Pauline Hopkins, W.E.B. Du Bois, Druscilla Houston, and Alain Locke. In it Barnes shows how they developed sophisticated accounts of what race is, what we should do with it, and its political role.

Books:  

Selected Essays: