Negritude, Eurocentrism, and African Agency: For an Africentered Renaissance of Léopold Sédar Senghor’s Philosophy

Abstract

The twenty-first century has witnessed a renaissance of Negritude, spearheaded by Souleymane Diagne, Donna Jones, and Messay Kebede. Saving Senghor’s philosophy from the colonial dialectics in which it is traditionally confined, these scholars offer a strong rebuttal to Senghor’s past critics by presenting Negritude as rooted in anti-positivist scholarship. Despite its importance, this renewed interest in Senghorian studies risks relapsing into a presentation of Negritude as a reiteration of Western metanarratives. Negritude should be read as a philosophy rooted in African cultures. This perspective will confirm the renaissance of Negritude beyond the modernWestern invention of Africa and African-descended peoples.