Dwight K. Lewis, Jr.
271 19th Ave S
Minneapolis,
MN
55455
Professor Dwight K. Lewis Jr is an assistant professor of philosophy, the Stephen R. Setterberg, M.D., Faculty Fellow in Philosophy, and a co-founder/co-director of the Center for Canon Expansion and Change at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. His research focuses on concepts of human difference (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, power, decoloniality, etc), underrepresented philosophers, early modern philosophy generally construed, Africana Philosophy/philosophy of race, and social/political philosophy. During the academic year of 2018-2019, he received a Mellon Research Fellowship at Emory University in the The James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference; and following that year, he was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Penn State University in the Philosophy Department (2019-2020). For the 2020-2021 academic year, he was an assistant professor in the philosophy dept at the University of Central Florida. He’s the author of two journal articles, an encyclopedia article, one edition manuscript, multiple published interviews and tv/film appearances. He is currently finishing a manuscript project on Anton Wilhelm Amo, the first African to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy at a European university (c.1734), which is under contract with Hackett publishing (expected 2025). Since 2018, Professor Lewis has received five fellowships, given over 75 invited academic lectures, and received over $275,000 for his research and canon expansion efforts. He hosts the podcast Larger, Freer, More Loving with Matt LaVine (SUNY), as public philosophy is also a major part of his research portfolio. Professor Lewis Jr works to bridge the gap between academia and the public sphere, which grounds his academic research. This can be seen in his in-depth interview for MLK Day with News13 in Orlando, his podcast episode with Logos(ish) on “Capital, Race, and Religion,” his interview on The Smithsonian Channel documentary called “One Thousand Years of Slavery,” his interview on Bonnie Greer’s Audible best seller In Search of Black History, and his interview in Eidolon on “The First African to Have Attended a European University” by Yung In Chae. He has consistently integrated principles of diversity and equity into his research, teaching, and outreach because of his own positionality and experiences in the world, which drives him at work, home, and in the community. He attempts to live his life as James Baldwin says, “larger, freer, and more loving”, for himself and in relation to his community, both locally and globally. Enjoy life! Love yourself!