
Philosophical Journeys: DRC
Exploring the depth of African thought beyond the written text
Philosophical Journeys: DRC
Philosophical Journeys: DRC opens new channels of African philosophy, pushing us to rethink the boundaries and forms of philosophy as such. Next to the academic study of philosophical texts, the film brings the realm of lived experience into focus as a central source of philosophical insight. Embedded in the day-to-day life of individuals, filled with struggles, pressures and injustices of current environmental and ethical crises, is the philosophical notion of astonishment: the questioning of what is going on behind appearances. The film calls for the inclusion of African languages and a variety of textual genres, including poetry, novels, oral literature, theatre, and digital genres, into philosophical studies. Our guide through this philosophical landscape will be Albert Kasanda, a Congolese scholar based at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences. He will invite us to go beyond conventional discourses on African philosophy and begin to see the diversity and depth of philosophical thought across the continent, with a particular focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It is important to realize what is happening here: it is not documenting philosophy, but making philosophy.”
— Bruce Janz, Professor of Humanities, University of Central Florida
Philosophical Journeys: DRC is a short documentary film emerging from the research project Philosophy and Genre: Creating a Textual Basis for African Philosophy, led by Alena Rettová, University of Bayreuth. The film has been made thanks to the funding from the European Research Council, grant agreement ID: 818343.