StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) - Term Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Cornel West: A Contemporary Sociologist Introduction Cornel West, a self attributed New World African, has become one of the most important and famous Black theorists and public scholars in the United States, inspired by African American, continental traditions and Anglo- Americans…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.7% of users find it useful
Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist)
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist)"

Download file to see previous pages

West travels comfortably between diverse dimensions and aspects of the Northern America globe (Yancy, 87). West focuses on four traditions in managing his thought. These four traditions include pragmatism, existentialism, Christianity and cultural Marxism. The theory of commodification and market expansion by Marx happens to be the main component in West’s theory as well. However, he focuses upon the critical Marxian outlook on culture. From the pragmatism form of tradition, West considers the idea of practical values rising from the collective conversation.

West considers expediency as a major philosophy in the American democratic experimentation. West considers the ideas of subjective authenticity and passionate absurdity from existentialism form of tradition. From Christianity form of tradition, he considers love for oneself and others and the prophetic outcry for clemency and fairness (Allan, 343). Early years and education Cornel West was born in June 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. West grew up in the isolated area of Glen Elder neighborhood in the outer edge of Sacramento, California.

West recalls his life in the predominately- proletarian community and he remembers that most people felt positive by life ahead of them. It was a land of enjoyable single-family homes and baseball diamonds even for those black families with modest means in isolated neighborhood. In his early age, the themes of love, community and struggle permeated in him and occupied a pivotal place in his mind. In this regard, West received unconditional love and affirmation from his family members and relatives, together with the black church emphasis upon the community, black cultural uniqueness and its effort to fight with misery (Cowan, 2).

In his youth age, Cornel admired the preaching of Shiloh Baptist Church, Pastor Willie P. Cooke, revered Martin Luther King Jr., and came to political awareness by attentively listening to Black Panther meetings. He took the lifelong certainty that politics should put together the best available theory with tangible policies from the Panthers (Gary, 3). In his teenage age, West developed interest in the work of Soren Kierkegaard, which encouraged him to study philosophy in the university. In the year 1970, he enrolled in Harvard as a student at a time when the Ivy League was beginning to accommodate African Americans (Cowan, 2).

At the age of twenty, West joined Princeton University for a doctoral program in philosophy. He became anxious since he thought that the Princeton philosophers would destabilize his Christian faith, misuse him of his desirability to Wittgenstein and look down on his equally strong attraction to Frankfurt School neo-Marxism. His consultant, Richard Rorty, took a pragmatic historicist turn that armored West's obligations to anti-foundationalism. Richard argued that Marx's misappropriation of historical consciousness and appraise were critically of capitalism.

Ethical values of individuality and democracy, despite his attacks on moral reason portrayed his actions (Gary, 5). West returned to Union seminary in the year 1987 but in the year 1988, he moved to Princeton University as a professor of Religion and Director of Afro-American studies. Princeton University asked Cornel what would take to get him and he replied that it would take a serious dedication to build an important black studies program. He gave six years to novelist Toni Morrison, in building one

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) Term Paper”, n.d.)
Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) Term Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1435955-cornel-west-contemporary-sociologist
(Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) Term Paper)
Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) Term Paper. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1435955-cornel-west-contemporary-sociologist.
“Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist) Term Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1435955-cornel-west-contemporary-sociologist.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Cornel West (Contemporary Sociologist)

Social Justice Social Order

cornel west, and Manning Marable--prominent writers in the field of race relations concur that the analysis of essentialism offered by postmodernists is dominant to establishing a democratic society.... As in contemporary society, the primary communal realism of values has been devastated, there can be no clear position of hierarchical values to find a critique of mass culture.... In this regard, west admits that he has "a very strong anti-metaphysical bent" (west, 1993b: 51)....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Globalization

The word McDonaldization was invented by George Ritzer.... Ritzer in his works described the sociological phenomenon happening in our society.... The study shall cover the general… In addition, the study shall cover the four main dimensions of McDonaldization as described by Ritzer. The study is very important in discussing the phenomenon of McDonaldization....
12 Pages (3000 words) Research Paper

American Indian Movement

The paper will highlight the history of the movement using the perspectives of different sociologist authors.... The book has seven chapters where three are historical, and three are contemporary, and one projects concerning the future (Josephy, 1982).... Each chapter examines a major contemporary Indian concern....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Media And South Asian Terrorism Portrayal

Muslims have a tendency to view contemporary proceedings by means of the lens of an ancient historical account.... By holding quickly, Muslims consider, they were capable to thrive as a society, occasionally overriding the west in numerous aspects.... This essay stresses that stereotypes of Asian as well as Muslims in the US have been exhibited in different forms by the social media in the US society....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Contemporary Sociology: Applying Theories

The Baltimore case involved the 25-year-old African-American, Freddy Gray, who succumbed to death on April 19, a week after his arrest by the Baltimore Police.... The circumstance of his death was unclear but after medical examinations, it was revealed that the death had resulted… Eyewitnesses testified that the police involved in Gray's arrest used brutal force during the arrest that might have resulted in spinal injuries (Fantz & Botelho, 2015)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Various Elements of British Social Structures

The paper 'The Various Elements of British Social Structures' focuses on Zygmunt Bauman who was born in 1925 Poland and has experienced a great deal of the more defining moments of modern history.... As a young man, he served in the Soviet-run Polish First Army through World War II.... hellip; Bauman first began studying sociology, only switching to philosophy when the Soviets determined sociology to be among the 'bourgeois' disciplines....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

Sociological Imagination

hellip; The Chinese restaurant presents a neat and clean dining place, though the same serves as a symbol of globalization for a sociologist, which presents the Chinese cuisine and culture through it.... This report "Sociological Imagination" discusses social institutions, as well as various processes, forms, and modes of interactions people enter into in their everyday life....
10 Pages (2500 words) Report

Is Class Still a Relevant Factor in 21st Century Britain

This essay "Is Class Still a Relevant Factor in 21st Century Britain?... explains that, historically, the class has been a major determinant of Britain societies (Zweig, 2012, pp.... 61).... The trans-generational concept has survived the tide of technology and education to categorize Britain into particular groups....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us