Place-Based Philosophical Activism on the US–Mexico Border

Mariana Alessandri

doi:10.1017/hyp.2021.17

Abstract

AbstractBefore the Department of Homeland Security instituted the Migrant Protection Protocols in January 2019, as many as 1,000 Central American refugees passed each day through Catholic Charities’ Humanitarian Respite Center, where they received food, clothing, a shower, toiletries, and sandwiches for the road. Sister Norma Pimentel founded the Humanitarian Respite Center in 2014 to “restore human dignity” to refugees who had been degraded and vilified during their dangerous journeys north, not least by way of their processing by the US government. Sister Norma has inspired countless people, including me, to engage with the community as a form of place-based philosophical activism, that is, of situated and engaged teaching, scholarship, and service. In this essay I read Sister Norma as a feminist pragmatist in the historical and philosophical lineage of Jane Addams, and I aim to provide an example of how a feminist-pragmatist approach can support and encourage philosophical activism in our communities. Feminist scholars can learn from feminist pragmatism the importance of “being-with,” “sympathetic understanding,” and “a larger social impulse.” Feminist pragmatism encourages academics to become place-based philosophical activists who use their teaching, research, and service in order to press for social justice.

Highlights

In September 2017, Pope Francis urged his followers to welcome migrants and refugees “con brazos abiertos”
My analysis shows that feminist pragmatism offers concrete strategies for feminist scholars today; we can learn from Addams and Sister Norma how to practice placed-based philosophical activism
Philosophical activism refers to the critical, reflective practice of situating issues in a particular place and time, and using the tools we have to get involved in these issues from our roles as organic intellectuals, philosophy professors, or ordained nuns

Summary

Introduction

In September 2017, Pope Francis urged his followers to welcome migrants and refugees “con brazos abiertos” (with open arms). Like Addams and other feminist pragmatists, Sister Norma weaves her ethical commitments into her community action, and her embodied philosophy sounds the notes of Addams’s concepts of “being with” (or coming alongside others), “sympathetic understanding,” and a “larger social impulse.” My analysis shows that feminist pragmatism offers concrete strategies for feminist scholars today; we can learn from Addams and Sister Norma how to practice placed-based philosophical activism.

Results

Conclusion