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Philosopher

Charles W. Mills

Political Philosophy

Charles Wade Mills was a Caribbean-American philosopher, born in 1951 and died in 2021, who specialized in political philosophy and made major contributions to critical race theory, most notably with his 1997 book The Racial Contract. Born in London, he grew up in Jamaica and later became a United States citizen, was educated at the University of the West Indies where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics, and went on to earn his master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy at the University of Toronto; he was a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and at Northwestern University.

Facts
Birth Year
1951 1
Defining Moment
Publication of The Racial Contract (1997), arguing that the classical social contract tradition rests on an unstated racial contract of white domination, which established Mills as a founding figure of critical race theory in analytic political philosophy. 1
Birth Date
1951-01-03 1
Notable Publication
The Racial Contract (1997) 1
Office Held
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, from August 2016; previously John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Northwestern University 1
Death Year
2021 1
Death Date
2021-09-20 1
Birthplace
London, England, United Kingdom 1
Death Place
Evanston, Illinois, United States 1
Tradition
Political philosophy and critical race theory; reworked classical social contract theory as a racial contract of white domination 1
Classification
Nationality
United States 1
Connections

Held Differently

Social Contract Theory, Schools of Philosophy
Source Charles W. Mills (Wikipedia)
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Sources
1. Charles W. Mills (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Introduction, opening sentence (birth year)
    Charles Wade Mills (January 3, 1951 - September 20, 2021) was a Caribbean-American philosopher who specialized in political philosophy.
  • Early life and education, paragraph 1
    Charles Wade Mills was born on January 3, 1951, in London, England, to Winnifred and Gladstone Mills.
  • Personal life, paragraph 3 (death date)
    He died of cancer in Evanston, Illinois, on September 20, 2021.
  • Personal life, paragraph 3 (death year)
    He died of cancer in Evanston, Illinois, on September 20, 2021.
  • Personal life, paragraph 3 (death place)
    He died of cancer in Evanston, Illinois, on September 20, 2021.
  • Introduction, paragraph 1
    He made major contributions to critical race theory, most notably with his book The Racial Contract (1997).
  • Views, paragraph 2
    The Racial Contract posits that the social contract is really a contract based on the notion of white domination.
  • Introduction, paragraph 1 (tradition)
    Charles Wade Mills (January 3, 1951 - September 20, 2021) was a Caribbean-American philosopher who specialized in political philosophy.
  • Academic career, paragraph 2
    Mills was John Evans Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at Northwestern University, before his appointment as Distinguished Professor at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), in August 2016.
  • Introduction, opening sentence (birth date)
    Charles Wade Mills (January 3, 1951 - September 20, 2021) was a Caribbean-American philosopher who specialized in political philosophy.
  • Associated With: Social Contract Theory, Views, paragraph 2 (relationship)
    The Racial Contract posits that the social contract is really a contract based on the notion of white domination.
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