The Paralysis of Analysis in African American Studies: Corporate Capitalism and Black Popular Culture

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Stephen C. Ferguson II provides a philosophical examination of Black popular culture for the first time. From extensive discussion of the philosophy and political economy of Hip-Hop music through to a developed exploration of the influence of the postmodernism-poststructuralist ideology on African American studies, he argues how postmodernism ideology plays a seminal role in justifying the relationship between corporate capitalism and Black popular culture. Chapters cover topics such as cultural populism, capitalism and Black liberation, the philosophy of Hip-Hop music, and Harold Cruses influence on the cultural turn in African American studies. Ferguson combines case studies of past and contemporary Black cultural and intellectual productions with a Marxist ideological critique to provide a cutting edge reflection on the economic structure in which Black popular culture emerged. He highlights the contradictions that are central to the juxtaposition of Black cultural artists as political participants in socioeconomic struggle and the political participants who perform the rigorous task of social criticism. Adopting capitalism as an explanatory framework, Ferguson investigates the relationship between postmodernism as social theory, current manifestations of Black popular culture, and the theoretical work of Black thinkers and scholars to demonstrate how African American studies have been shaped.

Reviews

The Paralysis of Analysis in African American Studies provides a searing critique of the role political economy and socially irresponsive cultural entrepreneurs play in stifling and under-developing African American culture simply for gain. Stephen C. Ferguson IIs honest assessment takes no prisoners! A true must have for anyone interested in how cultural analysis should be done. * Anthony Neal, Beverly B. & Gordon W. Gulmon Humanities Scholar and Associate Professor of History, Mississippi State University, USA *
Through sharp, rigorous, and careful analysis, Ferguson draws our attention back to an intellectual project rooted in struggle, one grounded in our radical each-otherness. Fergusons dialectical approach does not direct us toward the doom of despair, but instead, he reminds us that balancing the truth of the current moment of danger with the limits of the tools and instruments of this world is the place of possibility and creativity. * Johari Jabir, Associate Professor, Department of Black Studies, University of Illinois, USA *
Ferguson effectively demonstrates why he continues to be the foremost scholar in the philosophy of African American Studies. He presents the most pivotal scholarly contribution on the matter of Black popular culture to date. Fergusons dialectical materialist approach provides valuable insights into the broad range of Black cultural/ideological tendencies today. By scrutinizing the class contradictions within the Black community, he examines Black cultural production and its relationship to the political economic interest of corporate capitalism. This book is a must read for scholars, cultural critics and significantly activists that are engaged as cultural workers in ongoing mass struggles. * John H. McClendon III, Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University, USA *

Author Bio

Stephen C. Ferguson II is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at North Carolina State University, USA. He is co-author with John H. McClendon III of African American Philosophers and Philosophy (2019).