About
Prof. Masolo teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, covering a wide range of courses in the traditional Western and non-Western fields, and ranging from introductory courses to twentieth-century philosophical movements and comparative courses in the Humanities doctoral program. Because of his international visibility and expertise in African philosophy, Prof. Masolo travels widely to give invited talks and to serve as external examiner for Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. His own work has been the focus of international philosophical symposia.
In addition to serving as external examiner or speaker at numerous national and international professional forums, Prof. Masolo has held teaching positions and Fellowships at several places besides Louisville. He has held teaching positions at various universities in Kenya (University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Egerton University, The Consolata Philosophical Institute, and the Catholic University of East Africa), and has been a holder of the Fulbright, Rockefeller, and Zora Neal Hurston Fellowships at several American universities including Purdue (Fulbright), Northwestern (Zora Neal Hurston), Rice (Rockefeller), and the University of Pennsylvania (Rockefeller).
Prof. Masolo was born and brought up under the British colonial rule in his native Kenya, and was awarded a doctoral degree in philosophy at the Università Gregoriana in Rome, Italy. Prof. Masolo’s research interests reflect a critical awareness of this personal and cultural history by seeking to analyze, explain, and understand, first, philosophical traditions as both part and functions of social histories and, two, the philosophical significance of African cultures and their contributions to philosophical discourses in a global context. In this context, Prof. Masolo’s work intersects with the global perspectives and interests in Pan-African Studies and the Humanities Programs at the University of Louisville.