Biography
Gordon graduated in 1984 from Lehman College, CUNY, through the Lehman Scholars Program, with a B.A., magna cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He completed his MA and M. Phil. in philosophy in 1991 at Yale University, and received his Ph.D. with distinction from the same university in 1993. Following the completion of his doctoral studies, Gordon taught at Brown University, Yale, and Purdue University. He is currently the Laura H. Carnell Professor of Philosophy at Temple University in the Department of Philosophy with affiliations in Religious and Judaic Studies, and an Ongoing Visiting Professor of Philosophy and Government at the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.
At Temple, he is Director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought, which is devoted to research on the complexity and social dimensions of race and racism. The ISRST's many projects include developing a consortium on Afro-Latin American Studies, a Philadelphia Blues People Project, semiological studies of indigeneity, a Black Civil Society project, symposia on race, sexuality, and sexual health, and ongoing work in Africana philosophy. Gordon was Executive Editor of volumes I-V of Radical Philosophy Review: Journal of the Radical Philosophy Association and co-editor of the Routledge book series on Africana philosophy. Additionally, Gordon is also President of the Caribbean Philosophical Association.
Gordon is the founder of the Center for Afro-Jewish Studies, the only such research center, which focuses on developing and providing reliable sources of information on African and African Diasporic Jewish or Hebrew-descended populations. Dr. Gordon states: "In actuality, there is no such thing as pure Jewish blood. Jews are a creolized people. It's been that way since at least the time we left Egypt as a mixed Egyptian and African people."
Gordon founded the Second Chance Program at Lehman High School in the Bronx, New York. He is married to Dr. Jane Anna Gordon.
Read more about this topic: Lewis Gordon
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