A. Todd Franklin

Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Africana Studies

Areas of Study

Name

Philosophy

Name

Africana Studies

Contact

Phone

315-859-4628

Email Address

tfrankli@hamilton.edu

Location

202 College Hill Road, Room 205

Todd Franklin’s research focuses on the existential, social, and political implications of various critical and transformative discourses aimed at cultivating individual and collective self-realization. He teaches courses on existentialism, Nietzsche, and critical race theory; and he is the recipient of numerous honors and accolades for excellence in teaching.

Franklin’s most recent work includes “The Transformative Power of Community Engaged Teaching” included in the Wiley Blackwell Companion to Public Philosophy; “The Gospel According to Baldwin: Prophetic Genealogy as Social Praxis” included in Genealogy: A Genealogy forthcoming with Columbia University Press; and a soon to be published co-edited volume titled Open Casket: Philosophical Meditations on the Lynching of Emmett Till.

Recent Courses Taught

Introduction to Existentialism
The Fundamentals of Race
The Black Self
Seminar on Critical Voice
Seminar on Nietzsche

Research Interests

Existentialism
Critical race theory
Social and political philosophy
Moral philosophy and ethics
Non-Western philosophical thought

Distinctions

Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professorship, Hamilton College, 2024-Present
Christian A. Johnson Professorship for Excellence in Teaching, Hamilton College, 2017-20
Sidney Wertimer Professorship, Hamilton College, 2014-17
Emerson Faculty/Student Collaboration Grant, 1999, 2008, and 2014
Hamilton College Class of 1963 Award for Teaching Excellence, 2000

Selected Publications

“The Transformative Power of Community Engaged Teaching” in Wiley Blackwell Companion to Public Philosophy, Lee McIntyre, Nancy McHugh, and Ian Olasov editors, Wiley Blackwell, 2022.
Emmett Till’s Body,” in Black and Male: Critical Voices from Behind the Racial Veil, George Yancy editor, Philosophy of Race Series, Lexington Books, 2021.
“Public Philosophy Is Good—For Philosophy and For the Public,” Blog of the APA, March 5, 2019.
“A Letter to My Kinfolk on the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Emancipation” in Race and Pedagogy: Scholars of Color Reflect on Exploring Race in Predominantly White Classrooms, Maria del Guadalupe Davidson and George Yancy eds., Routledge, 2014.
“Schoolin’: Critical Consciousness, Black Consciousness and the Pedagogies of Transformation,” in The International Journal of Learning, Volume 17, Issue 8, pp.493-502, 2010.
Critical Affinities: Reflections on the Convergence between Nietzsche and African American Thought, A. Todd Franklin and Jacqueline Scott, eds., SUNY Press, 2006.

A Review of Black Bodies, White Gazes, George Yancy, in The APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy, Volume 10, Issue 2, pp.20-22, 2011.
“Unlikely Allies: Nietzsche, Locke, and Counter-Hegemonic Transformation of Consciousness,” in Philosophic Values and World Citizenship: Locke to Obama and Beyond, Jacoby Carter and Leonard Harris eds., Lexington Books, 2010.
"Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in College Completion and Achievement: What Works and Why," David R. Harris, A. Todd Franklin, et al., Teagle Foundation, 2006.
Critical Affinities: Reflections on the Convergence between Nietzsche and African American Thought, A. Todd Franklin and Jacqueline Scott, eds., SUNY Press, 2006.
“Kindred Spirits: Nietzsche and Locke as Philosophical Proponents of Axiological Liberation,” in Critical Affinities: Reflections on the Convergence between Nietzsche and African American Thought, A. Todd Franklin and Jacqueline Scott, eds., SUNY Press, 2006.
"A Review of Philosophers on Race: Critical Essays," Julie K. Ward and Tommy L. Lott eds., in Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 31, Number 1, pp.140-142, 2004.
"The New Enlightenment: Critical Reflections on the Political Significance of Race," in The Blackwell Guide to Social and Political Philosophy, Robert Simon ed., Blackwell, 2002.
“The Political Implications of Nietzsche’s Aristocratic Radicalism,” The Southern Journal of Philosophy Vol. XXXVII, Suppl. pp.143-150, 1999.

College Service

Mellon Project—curriculum and advising leader, 2009-13
Chair of the Philosophy Department, 2008-12
Committee on Academic Policy, member, 2008-11
Advising Taskforce, member, 2008-09
Opportunity Programs Advisory Committee, chair, 2007-present
Strategic Planning Executive Committee, faculty representative, 2007-09
Hamilton Posse #4 mentor, 2004-08
Levitt Council, member, 2007-08
Faculty Appeals Board, member, 2007
Special assistant to the dean of faculty, 2004-06
Presidential Search Committee, faculty representative, 2003
Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, member, 2002-06
Honor Court, member, 2002-06
Africana Studies Program Committee, member, 2001-08
The Brothers Organization, faculty advisor, 2001-Present
The Community Relations Board, member, 2000-01
The College Appeals Board, member, 1999-2002
Mellon Liberal Arts Assessment Research Group, member, 1999-2000
Middle States Steering Committee, member, 1998-2000
President’s Coalition on Alcohol and Other Drugs, member, 1998-99
The Black and Latin Student Union, faculty advisor, 1997-2010
Hamilton HEOP Summer Program, faculty member, 1997-Present

Professional Affiliations

Mellon Project—curriculum and advising leader, 2009-13
Chair of the Philosophy Department, 2008-12
Committee on Academic Policy, member, 2008-11
Advising Taskforce, member, 2008-09
Opportunity Programs Advisory Committee, chair, 2007-present
Strategic Planning Executive Committee, faculty representative, 2007-09
Hamilton Posse #4 Mentor, 2004-08
Levitt Council, member, 2007-08
Faculty Appeals Board, member, 2007
Special assistant to the dean of faculty, 2004-06
Presidential Search Committee, faculty representative, 2003
Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, member, 2002-06
Honor Court, member, 2002-06
Africana Studies Program Committee, member, 2001-08
The Brothers Organization, faculty advisor, 2001-Present
The Community Relations Board, member, 2000-01
The College Appeals Board, member, 1999-2002
Mellon Liberal Arts Assessment Research Group, member, 1999-2000
Middle States Steering Committee, member, 1998-2000
President’s Coalition on Alcohol and Other Drugs, member, 1998-99
The Black and Latin Student Union, faculty advisor, 1997-2010
Hamilton HEOP Summer Program, faculty member, 1997-Present

Appointed to the Faculty

1997

Educational Background

Ph.D., Stanford University
B.A., University of Chicago