Research Fellow, Centre of Global Studies – Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences

Dr Albert Kasanda, based at the Czech Academy of Sciences, studies African social and political philosophy as a field that bridges lived experience and theoretical reflection. Within the Philosophy and Genre project, he examines the essay in Ciluba as a philosophical form that links individual voice, political critique, and collective imagination. His book Contemporary African Social and Political Philosophy: Trends, Debates, and Challenges (Routledge 2018) maps the intellectual transformations of postcolonial Africa, while his earlier works—John Rawls: Les bases philosophiques du libéralisme politique (2005) and Pour une pensée africaine émancipatrice (2004)—trace pathways toward an emancipatory African thought. His research continuously reopens dialogue between African and global philosophical traditions, foregrounding justice, freedom, and the politics of human dignity.

Albert is the central voice and philosophical guide in Philosophical Journeys: DRC, a film created within the Philosophy and Genre project. Through his narration and encounters, the film leads viewers into the intellectual and emotional landscapes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, revealing philosophy as something spoken, seen, and lived. Using his own research and reflections, Kasanda guides the audience through streets, classrooms, and communities, drawing attention to the questions that lie beneath the surface of daily life.

The film invites viewers to experience the philosophical dimension of ordinary existence—where astonishment, inquiry, and ethical awareness emerge from social reality itself. It challenges the idea that philosophy belongs only to written texts or academic settings, showing instead how African thought resonates through language, gesture, and art. By weaving together poetry, oral expression, theatre, and digital media, Philosophical Journeys: DRC transforms philosophy into an act of presence and listening. Through Kasanda’s voice, the audience encounters African philosophy as a living practice that engages both mind and world, thought and experience.