In this seminar, we will ask: What do we owe to the dead? How can we understand their moral and metaphysical standing? What do the dead have to do with ethics or to living a good life? And how does the past remain present? We will study a range of approaches to what Avery Gordon calls “ghostly matters” of haunting, intergenerational relations, and ways of being with the dead. Our aim is to use these approaches to understand historical and ongoing oppression and violence - with particular emphasis on the realities and impacts of racism, colonialism, and imperialism and to explore their implications for the meaning of justice. Course materials will include work by figures such as: Toni Morrison, M. Nourbese Philip, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Edward Said, Avery Gordon, Christina Sharpe, Judith Butler, M. Jacqui Alexander, Saidiya Hartman, Eve Tuck, Kyle Powys Whyte, Denise Ferreira da Silva, and Eyal Weizman. With films by Julie Dash, Mati Diop, and The Black Audio Film Collective. Please note that this is a seminar+ course. To enrich your learning, we will supplement assigned course materials and class time with up to 15 hours of extra class activities throughout the semester.