The conceptual boundary of what it means to be "human" has long been a cornerstone of Western philosophy, law, and science. However, this boundary is far from a neutral biological fact. In the contemporary academic landscape, few scholars have interrogated the racialized underpinnings of this category as rigorously as Zakiyyah Iman Jackson. As an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Feminist Research at the University of Southern California, Jackson has moved beyond traditional critiques of racism to uncover a more complex and disturbing relationship between Blackness and the Western definition of humanity.

Her seminal work, particularly her award-winning book Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World, challenges the widely held assumption that the history of antiblackness is simply a history of "dehumanization." Instead, Jackson argues that Black people have been incorporated into the category of the human in ways that are deeply violent and experimental. By bridging African diasporic literature, visual art, and the history of Western science, she provides a radical framework for understanding how race, gender, and species are intertwined.

The Intellectual Landscape of Zakiyyah Iman Jackson

To understand Jackson’s contribution, one must first recognize the academic currents she navigates. Her work sits at the volatile intersection of Black critical theory, feminist philosophies of science, and posthumanism. While posthumanism often seeks to move "beyond" the human to embrace the machine or the animal, Jackson pauses to ask: who was ever considered "human" to begin with?

Her scholarship suggests that the Enlightenment-era "Man"—the universal subject of reason and rights—was built upon the exclusion and manipulation of Blackness. However, Jackson’s intervention is unique because she rejects the idea that Black people were merely treated as "non-human" or "animals." Through a meticulous reading of historical and literary texts, she demonstrates that Western power has often relied on a specific recognition of Black humanity—a "bestialized humanization"—to serve as a flexible resource for capital and scientific inquiry.

Challenging the Dehumanization Narrative

One of the most provocative aspects of Jackson’s theory is her critique of the "dehumanization" framework. For decades, the prevailing logic in civil rights discourse and ethnic studies has been that antiblackness functions by denying Black people their humanity. The solution, therefore, is to demand recognition as "human."

Jackson finds this approach limited. In Becoming Human, she argues that the history of slavery and colonialism did not simply ignore the humanity of the enslaved; rather, it recognized it in order to exploit it. She draws inspiration from scholar Saidiya Hartman, noting that the law often acknowledged the "humanity" of enslaved people only when it came to their capacity to commit crimes or their biological ability to reproduce.

By reframing the issue, Jackson shifts the focus from "inclusion" (the desire to be part of a flawed category) to "critique" (the need to dismantle the category itself). She posits that if the definition of "human" is dependent on the degradation of Blackness, then simply adding Black people to that definition does not solve the underlying violence.

The Concept of Ontological Plasticity

At the heart of Jackson’s scholarship is the concept of "ontological plasticity." This term refers to the way Blackness is treated as an infinitely malleable form of matter—biological, lexical, and philosophical. In the eyes of Western science and philosophy, Blackness is not a fixed identity but a "plastic" substance that can be molded to fulfill the needs of the moment.

This plasticity allows the dominant culture to see Black people as "human" when it is profitable and "animal" when it justifies subjugation. Jackson explains that this is not a contradiction but a functional feature of antiblackness. The Black body becomes a site where the boundaries between species are negotiated and defined.

For instance, in her analysis of 18th and 19th-century scientific discourse, Jackson shows how Black people were often used as the "limit case" for humanity. They were the biological "matter" through which white scientists could explore the origins of life, the limits of pain, and the nature of reproduction. This use of Blackness as a plastic resource is what Jackson terms "ontological," meaning it concerns the very nature of being and existence.

Bestialized Humanization and the Enlightenment Legacy

Jackson’s work involves a deep dive into the archives of Western philosophy, including the works of Immanuel Kant, David Hume, and G.W.F. Hegel. She argues that these thinkers did not just happen to be racist; their philosophical systems required a racialized hierarchy to function.

She introduces the term "bestialized humanization" to describe the specific status of Blackness in this tradition. Unlike the "animal," which is outside the human, the "bestialized human" is an internal exception. It is a form of being that possesses human biology but is assigned the behavior, character, and legal status of an animal.

This conceptualization is crucial for understanding why "human rights" have historically failed to protect Black populations. If the system views you as a "plastic" human, your rights can be suspended or redefined at any time based on the "necessity" of the state or the market. Jackson’s analysis reveals that the "animalization" of Blackness is not a failure of the Enlightenment's logic but a successful application of it.

Literary Disruptions: From Frederick Douglass to Toni Morrison

A significant portion of Jackson’s research is dedicated to how African diasporic creative practices respond to these philosophical impositions. She does not view literature and art as mere "reflections" of reality but as active sites of theoretical production.

The Oratory of Frederick Douglass

Jackson revisits the famous narratives of Frederick Douglass, looking beyond his plea for freedom. She examines how Douglass navigates the animal-human divide in his descriptions of the plantation. Douglass famously noted that the enslaved were ranked alongside horses and swine. However, Jackson points out that Douglass’s descriptions often blur these lines, showing how the plantation system disrupted the "natural" order of species for both the master and the enslaved.

Toni Morrison and the Architecture of "Beloved"

In perhaps her most famous analysis, Jackson provides a forensic reading of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. She focuses on the character Paul D and his encounter with "Mister," a rooster on the Sweet Home plantation. Paul D feels that the rooster has more "manhood" and autonomy than he does.

Jackson argues that Morrison is not saying Paul D has been "dehumanized" to a level below the rooster. Instead, Morrison is showing how the categories of "human," "man," and "animal" are completely deranged by the institution of slavery. The "humanity" offered to Paul D by the "benevolent" slaveholder Mr. Garner was a qualified, abjected humanity—a plastic form that offered no real protection. By killing her own child, the protagonist Sethe performs an act that is "unnatural" by both human and animal standards, thereby rupturing the very foundations of the Western human/animal distinction.

Speculative Worlds: Nalo Hopkinson and Octavia Butler

Jackson also turns her attention to science fiction and speculative literature, where the boundaries of the human are most explicitly tested.

"Brown Girl in the Ring" and Material Meaning

In analyzing Nalo Hopkinson’s work, Jackson explores the intersection of Caribbean folklore, technology, and the body. She shows how Hopkinson’s characters resist the "thingification" of Blackness by reclaiming their own materiality. In these stories, the body is not just a resource for harvest (as in the organ trade depicted in the novel) but a site of ancestral memory and spiritual power.

"Bloodchild" and the Biopolitics of Symbiosis

Octavia Butler’s short story "Bloodchild" is a frequent subject of Jackson’s analysis. The story, which depicts a symbiotic (and parasitic) relationship between humans and an alien species called the Tlic, is often read as an allegory for slavery. However, Jackson pushes further. She examines how the story disrupts the gendered and species-based expectations of reproduction.

In "Bloodchild," human males are the ones who carry the alien larvae. Jackson argues that this disrupts the "mammary biopolitics" of Western thought, where the female body is the primary site of species reproduction. By moving reproduction away from the "normative" female body, Butler’s work challenges the biocentric definitions of what it means to be a "mother" or a "human."

Black Feminist Poetics and the Art of Wangechi Mutu

Jackson’s interdisciplinary approach is most evident in her engagement with visual art, particularly the work of Kenyan-born artist Wangechi Mutu. Mutu’s collages often feature hybrid figures that blend human parts with animal, mechanical, and botanical elements.

Mainstream critics often describe Mutu’s work as "monstrous" or "grotesque." Jackson offers a different perspective. She sees Mutu’s work as an exploration of "genealogical mutations." These figures are not "falling away" from a perfect human form; instead, they represent a "dissident ontological thinking."

Jackson argues that Mutu’s art embraces the plasticity that has historically been used against Black people and turns it into a tool of creative disruption. By refusing to present a "clean" or "whole" human body, Mutu’s work suggests that the "human" is an unstable category that can be rearranged into new, unruly forms of being.

The Mammary Biopolitics of Gender and Maternity

A central pillar of Jackson’s work is the role of gender in the racialization of the human. She argues that "antiblackness is fundamental to modern Western understandings of sex and gender."

Historically, the distinction between species has often hinged on reproduction. Who can breed with whom? Who is a "fit" mother? Jackson shows that Black female flesh has functioned as the "limit case" for the category of womanhood. Because Black women’s reproductive labor was commodified under slavery, their "maternity" was treated as a biological function rather than a social or ethical one.

This "mammary biopolitics" means that Black women were often excluded from the protections of "domestic womanhood" while being hyper-visible as biological producers. Jackson’s work in journals like Feminist Studies and e-flux emphasizes that we cannot understand gender without understanding how it has been plasticized by race.

Obscure Light: The Future of Jackson’s Research

Following the success of Becoming Human, Jackson is currently working on a new project tentatively titled “Obscure Light: Blackness and the Derangement of Sex/Gender.”

This project promises to extend her critique of "biocentrism"—the idea that biological facts are the ultimate truth of human existence. In Obscure Light, she investigates how antiblackness is not just a social prejudice but a structural logic that informs how we understand biological sex itself. She argues that the very concepts of "male" and "female" in Western science were developed in relation to (and often in opposition to) the perceived "excess" or "deficiency" of Black bodies.

By focusing on "obscurity" and "light," Jackson plays with the metaphors of Enlightenment (the light of reason) and shows how Blackness provides the necessary "shadow" for that light to exist. This work is expected to further influence fields like queer theory, transgender studies, and the medical humanities.

The Legacy of "Becoming Human" in Contemporary Thought

The impact of Zakiyyah Iman Jackson’s work is evident in the numerous awards it has received, including the Lambda Literary Award and the Gloria Anzaldúa Book Award. But beyond accolades, her work has fundamentally shifted the conversation in Black studies and posthumanism.

She has provided a "third way" for scholars who feel caught between the desire for human recognition and the recognition that the "human" is a violent category. Her work suggests that the answer is not to become "more human" or "post-human," but to inhabit the "unruly" space that Blackness has always occupied.

Jackson’s scholarship invites us to imagine a world where "meaning" is not tied to a rigid hierarchy of being. It is a call to embrace the complexity of our material existence without relying on the exclusionary frameworks of the past.

Summary

Zakiyyah Iman Jackson is a transformative figure in contemporary theory. By exposing the "ontological plasticity" of Blackness, she has shown that the Western category of the "human" is not a sanctuary but a site of ongoing struggle. Through her brilliant readings of literature and art, she offers a vision of existence that is not bound by the "bestialized humanization" of the Enlightenment. Her work remains essential for anyone seeking to understand the deep connections between race, science, and the very definition of life itself.

FAQ

What is Zakiyyah Iman Jackson's most famous book?

Her most famous book is Becoming Human: Matter and Meaning in an Antiblack World, published in 2020 by New York University Press. It has won several awards, including the Harry Levin First Book Prize.

What does "ontological plasticity" mean?

In Jackson’s work, ontological plasticity refers to the way Blackness is treated as a flexible, malleable resource in Western philosophy and science. It means that Black people are conceptually moved between the categories of "human" and "animal" to suit the needs of power and capital.

Where does Zakiyyah Iman Jackson teach?

She is currently an Associate Professor of English and Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of Southern California (USC). She also serves as the Director of the Center for Feminist Research.

How does Jackson’s work differ from traditional views on dehumanization?

Traditional views argue that racism works by denying Black people their humanity. Jackson argues that racism works by "plasticizing" Black humanity—recognizing it in specific, violent ways that allow for exploitation, rather than simply excluding it.

What is her upcoming project about?

Her current project, Obscure Light, focuses on the "derangement of sex/gender" and critiques how biological determinism in Western science is rooted in antiblackness.

Which authors does she analyze in "Becoming Human"?

She performs deep theoretical readings of works by Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, Nalo Hopkinson, and the oratory of Frederick Douglass, as well as the visual art of Wangechi Mutu.