Rachel Long
"It’s Not Really Orwellian"
Faculty Mentor(s): Prof. Sika Dagbovie-Mullins
Abstract: Intellectualism alongside practical implementation of intellectualist ideas are the strongest weapons against the establishment of a fascist regime, as we see in dystopian commentaries of modern society such as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell’s 1984. However, the intellectualist tradition was founded under the constraints of Western thought, as ideas of biological racism failed to consider Black people as capable of intellectual thinking. Because of this, traditional intellectualism, which fails to draw upon the lived experience, teachings, and traditions of the Black community, fails to truly suppress fascism because it has been formed under the same systems of Western superiority that breed fascism. Thus, Black intellectualism becomes the strongest tool against fascism because it falls outside of the bounds of Western ideology about intellectualism and fascism, while specifically focusing the experiences of Black individuals.
Bio: Rachel Long (she/her) is a current undergraduate senior studying English Literature and History. Her research is focused in the fields of Critical Race Theory, and Intellectualism.
