Franklin holds a doctorate from Stanford University. He teaches courses on existentialism, Nietzsche, and critical cultural studies and is a past recipient of the Class of 1963 Excellence in Teaching Award. His research focuses on the existential, social, and political implications of various critical and transformative discourses aimed at cultivating individual and collective self-realization. The author of several scholarly works on the social and political import of various forms of existential enlightenment, Franklin is also the co-editor of a volume titled Critical Affinities: Reflections on the Convergence between Nietzsche and African American Thought.
