Paul Cato

Background

About Paul Cato

As a scholar of Black humanistic inquiry, I am currently completing my Ph.D. at the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought. My research explores the contributions Black people have made to the history, philosophy, and politics of love – particularly those found in the work of American author James Baldwin. My dissertation outlines the discourse of “active love” – a decades-long conversation on political love comprised of Baldwin's explicit and implicit discussions with several African American intellectuals. My dissertation proposal was the first to focus on members of the African diaspora in his department's history. In addition to studying Baldwin, I have investigated discussions of love in the work of Audre Lorde, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Emanuel Levinas, and Plato. My research integrates several methodologies, including close reading, comparative analysis, and autoethnography. I am heavily involved in the fight against racism and ableism. I am a founding member of an international epilepsy awareness organization and an active alumnus of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and diversity program.