The Contentious Cornel West

Cornel West has sustained his career as a public intellectual because of his provocative persona that invokes discourse. It is clear that Cornel induces public emotion in order to engage American society. Thus, Doctor West crusades his prophetic intellectualism with purpose as,

“...a shaper and a molder of the culture or civilization.” [vi]

West’s sustained prominence as a public intellectual is due to his application of politics and religion to matters of social importance through unique and startling ways.

Cornel West has managed to remain relevant public figure in the religious, political, and academic spheres for the past three decades. Doctor West is a prophetic anomaly that expresses his provocative idealisms through a religious prism. He is an academic that synthesizes complex genres and metaphysical mores. His Social Democrat political affiliation is fueled by his Chekhovian Christian ideals. [i] West is an Ivy League educated man who is influenced by his religious intellectual predecessors. He is an orator who delivers his sermon on a variety of platforms, preaching societal solutions to inequalities in the civil state. [ii] Doctor West embodies the spirit of Jesus, the intellect of a Harvard man, and the controversial charisma of Donald Trump. Critics claim West to be too inclusive, appealing to various groups, and therefore, lacks individuality. [iii] Moreover, opponents claim that his credibility has declined. As an “Insurgent Black Intellectual,” his crusade for justice relies on contentious language that can be applicable to both the public and his peers. West admits,

“If you're going to actually make the choice of being an intellectual in the deepest sense of that, it means that it's going to pit you against most of the civilization and culture. Therefore, you create your own world to reaffirm your sense of calling--which becomes very insular and inward-looking--and to help you sustain your project because so much of the rest of the culture looks at you like you have lost your mind,”

thus rectifying his controversial narratives as a professional duty. [iv] It is his obligation as a public intellectual to “keep the pot boiling.” [v]

Cornell West is undefinable as he considers himself neither “jazz critic or blues scholar:” he is not only a religious scholar but a spoken word poet, he is not only an un ordained priest but a professor, he is not only a political and social commentator but a musician, he is not only a self proclaimed profit but a father and a three-time ex husband. [vii] Contentious Cornel West has been labeled by Pragmatism, humanism, and Chekhovianism. [viii] West suffice it to say, is an academic anomaly who is influenced by faith based morality.

In a secular political state, Doctor West has sustained his influence through various means of controversy. Dorrien notes Muwakkil 's impression of West exposes his charismatic nature as essential to his political and social prowess throughout his career,

“But in a generation that produced excessive wailing about the decline of public intellectualism, the lack of engagement between the academy and public, and the loss of a progressive Christian voice in the public square, Cornel West was the towering exception. He made himself a target for criticism by achieving what others claimed was no longer possible.” [ix]

Professor Stephen Mack supports Dorrien’s claim that West has been able to maintain his influence as a public intellectual amid the skepticism of the profession’s decline. In Mack’s "The "Decline" of Public Intellectuals?," he substantiates the argument made by Dean that Posner is ignorant of faith driven scholars who have impacted societal discourse when he states,

“...thinkers can criticize and affect that spiritual culture, and that they can thereby make a difference in American public practice. Religious critics such as Cornel West, Jean Bethke Elshtain and Richard John Neuhaus are doing as much today.” [x]

Both Mack and Dorrien recognize West’s rhetoric as a tool to generate discourse on social and political issues he deems of importance.

In an interview with Judaken and Geddes, West admits that there was a need to alter the accepted perception of a public intellectual. He explicated that between the thirty-year span , 1963 and 1993, the traditional public intellectual became esoteric due to

“...de-industrialization and the restructured capitalist economy.” [xi]

The reinvented public intellectual requires " oral and literal" communication skills because of technological advancements such as cable television programming. [xii] Thus, West redefined the stereotype of the public intellectual.

As an African Studies Professor, West is influenced by his predecessors, however, he saw the need to adapt to modernizing society in order to be effectively influential. In Professor Stephen Mack’s “Wicked Paradox,” the author explicates that,

“American democracy has always depended on public figures—and public intellectuals—whose work has been animated by strong faith.” [xiii]

Doctor West’s prophetic pragmatism is influenced by faithful scholars such as Anna Julia Cooper, W. E. B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, Martin Luther King, Toni Morrison, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. [xiv] West is a traditionalist in regards to the pragmatic methodologies in which he like his predecessors,

“...reflect on their conditions of living.” [xv]

West categorizes black intellectuals into three categories: Race Distancing Elitists, Race Embracing Rebels, and Race Transcending Prophets. It can be deduced that West categorizes himself among his intellectual heroes Toni Morrison and Martin Luther King as Race Transcending Prophets. The idealistic intellectual,

“...courageously fused the life of the mind with the struggle for justice without paying heed to social standing, career advancement, or intellectual fashions.” [xvi]

Based upon West’s response to scrutiny regarding his intellectual potential, it seems that he fits this self designed frame,

“As much as I love the life of the mind, I do not give primary status to intellect,” he told me. “I give much more to the centrality of love, and much more to where that love comes from—and that is family, faith, friends, and music. That is fundamentally who I am.” [xvii]

His faith is influenced greatly by his Southern Baptist roots. [xvii]

He was born in 1953, in Tulsa Oklahoma, however grew up in Sacramento, California. [xviii] Both his parents were college educated and praised their son’s academic honors. Growing up in Northern California he was exposed to the Black Panther movement that was especially prevalent in Oakland. [xix] He claims that the Black Panther movement,

“...taught the importance of political philosophy and strategy." [xx]

Perhaps, this too employed his sense of radicalism when exploiting his issues with social matters. He considers himself a progressive Democratic Socialist and has been affiliated with the party since 1982. [xxi] He derives his political affiliation from Christianity and revolution. He believes that the American political system and idealization of capitalism induces,

“...poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, the self-loathing and passivity of marginalized groups.” [xxii]

West's progressive political leanings contribute to his leftist critiques of the American democracy.

His academic pursuits embody his revolutionary and religious idealism. West graduated from Harvard and obtained both his M.A. and Doctorate in Philosophy from Princeton. After receiving his academic credentials he taught across various subjects at Yale, Harvard, University of Paris, Princeton, and presently Union Theological Seminary. [xxiii] Among his various publications his most important works include Democracy Matters, Prophecy Deliverance, and Race Matters. These early works were praiseworthy and gave rise to public intellectual fame. However, recent publications such as Black Prophetic Fire has come under critical scrutiny. [xxiv] His protégé Michael Eric Dyson has been among many who have distanced themselves from West, because of his erratic behavior and superiority complex. [xxv] West’s controversy with President Obama especially embroiled tensions with his liberal constituents. [xxvi] Another one of his most famous feuds was with Larry Summers, which caused him to leave Harvard for Princeton. [xxvii] It seems that West has a growing list of enemies that include his former peers. However, this does not seem to bother West as he has been no stranger to scandal and upset throughout his career. This perspective is clear when he admits,

"So if all of a sudden I'm very controversial . . . I don't shy from it, because you can use it as a force for good." [xxviii]

Ultimately, West utilizes his intellect and faith to promote his prophetic public image and ideologies. Doctor Cornel West has sustained prominence in a speculated period of decline for the public intellectual and proves that his crusade to shape society has merit.

References

[i] Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: a conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81.

[ii] Boynton, & S, R. (1991, ). Princeton's public intellectual: Biography. New York Times

[iii] Boynton, & S, R. (1991, ). Princeton's public intellectual: Biography. New York Times

[iv] Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: a conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81.

[v]Mack, S. (2007). The decline of the public intellectual http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/the_public_intellectual/index.html

[vi] Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: A conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81.

[vii] Miller, L. (2012). "I want to be like jesus."; cornel west is a self-proclaimed prophet who believes in the virtues of love and justice. but in his own life, he can't seem to find either. New York: New York Media. http://nymag.com/news/features/cornel-west-2012-5/

[viii] Boynton & S, R. (1991, ). Princeton's public intellectual: Biography. New York Times, Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: A conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81

[ix] Dorrien, G. (2008). Imagining social justice: Cornel West's prophetic public intellectualism. Crosscurrents, 58(1), 6-42. doi:10.1111/j.1939-3881.2008.00002.x

[x] Mack, S. (2003). the Decline of the public intellectual?l, Intellectual http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/the_public_intellectual/index.html

[xi] Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: A conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81.

[xii] Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: a conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81

[xiii] Mack, S. (2003). Wicked paradox: the cleric as an public. Intellectual http://www.stephenmack.com/blog/archives/the_public_intellectual/index.html

[xiv] The Faith Project, Inc., PBS (2003). http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/witnesses/cornel_west.html ,

Glaude, E. S. (2007). On cornel west and pragmatism. Contemporary Pragmatism, 4(1), 1-5. doi:10.1163/18758185-90000056

[xv] Glaude, E. S. (2007). On cornel west and pragmatism. Contemporary Pragmatism, 4(1), 1-5. doi:10.1163/18758185-90000056

[xvi] Dorrien, G. (2008). Imagining social justice: Cornel wests prophetic public intellectualism. Crosscurrents, 58(1), 6-42. doi:10.1111/j.1939-3881.2008.00002.x

[xvii] Miller, L. (2012). "I want to be like jesus."; cornel west is a self-proclaimed prophet who believes in the virtues of love and justice. but in his own life, he can't seem to find either. New York: New York Media. http://nymag.com/news/features/cornel-west-2012-5/

[xviii] BOYNTON, & S, R. (1991, ). Princeton's public intellectual: Biography. New York Times, Judaken, J., & Geddes, J. L. (2007). Black intellectuals in america: A conversation with cornel west. Hedgehog Review, 9(1), 81

[xix] http://www.biography.com/people/cornel-west-9528216#politics-and-activism

[xx] The Faith Project, Inc., PBS (2003). http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/witnesses/cornel_west.html

[xxi] Editors Biography.com. (2016). Cornel West Biography, http://www.biography.com/people/cornel-west-9528216

[xxii] Miller, L. (2012). "I want to be like jesus."; cornel west is a self-proclaimed prophet who believes in the virtues of love and justice. but in his own life, he can't seem to find either. New York: New York Media.

[xxiii] http://www.cornelwest.com/bio.html#.WKAlCMcSC-I

[xxiv]Dyson, M. E. (2015). The GHOST of CORNEL WEST. The New Republic, 246(4), 54.

[xxv] Dyson, M. E. (2015). The GHOST of CORNEL WEST. The New Republic, 246(4), 54.

[xxvi] Dyson, M. E. (2015). The GHOST of CORNEL WEST. The New Republic, 246(4), 54.

[xxvii] West, C. (2009). Cornel west: "why I left harvard for princeton". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, (66), 64-69.

[xxviii] The Faith Project, Inc., PBS (2003).http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/witnesses/cornel_west.html