W. E. B. Du Bois and The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology, and a cornerstone of African-American literary history. To develop this groundbreaking work, Du Bois drew from his own experiences as an African-American in the American society. Outside of its notable relevance in African-American history, The Souls of Black Folk also holds an important place in social science as one of the early works in the field of sociology.

W.E.B Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk is a seminal work in the field of sociology, a classic of American literature – and a solid example of carefully-structured reasoning. One of the most important texts ever written on racism and black identity in America, the work contains powerful arguments that illustrate the problem of the position of black people in the US at the turn of the 20th-century. Du Bois identified three significant issues (‘the color line’; ‘double consciousness’; and ‘the veil’) that acted as roadblocks to true black emancipation, and showed how each of these in turn contributed to the problem of inequality. Du Bois carefully investigates all three problems, constructing clear explanations of their significance in shaping the consciousness of a community that has been systematically discriminated against, and dealing brilliantly with counter-arguments throughout. The Souls of Black Folk went on to profoundly influence the civil rights movement in the US, inspiring post-colonial thinking worldwide.

Crouch, a recognized jazz critic, joins noted journalist Playthell Benjamin for this thought-provoking look back at "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. DuBois, published in 1903. DuBois's collection of essays is reflected upon in this literary and sociological triumph on the 100th anniversary of DuBois's publication.

Since the 1960s, there have been two schools of thought on the origins and nature of black consciousness: the adaptive-vitality school and the pathological-pathogenic school. The latter argues that in its divergences from white American norms and values, black American consciousness is nothing more than a pathological form of and reaction to American consciousness, rather than a dual (both African and American) counter hegemonic opposing 'identity-in-differential' (the term is Gayatri Spivak's) to the American one. Proponents of the adaptive-vitality school argue that the divergences are not pathologies but African 'institutional transformations' preserved on the American landscape. The purpose of this work is to understand black consciousness by working out the theoretical and methodological problems from which these two divergent schools are constructed, in order to arrive at a more sociohistorical, rather than racial, understanding of black consciousness. Using a variant of structuration theory to account for the sociohistorical development of black consciousness formation within the American social structure, author Paul Mocombe concludes that black American life is dual and pathological only in relation to a particular interpretive community, the black bourgeoisie or liberal middle class.

W. E. B. Du Bois’s seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk, not only captures the experience of African Americans in the years following the Civil War but also speaks to contemporary conditions. At a time when American public schools are increasingly re-segregating, are increasingly underfunded, and are perhaps nearly as separate and unequal as they were in earlier decades, this classic can help readers grasp links between a slavery past and a dismal present for too many young people of color. Disagreeing with Booker T. Washington, Du Bois analyzes the restrictiveness of education as a simple tool to prepare for work in pursuit of wealth (a trend still very much alive and well, especially in schools serving economically disadvantaged students). He also, however, demonstrates the challenges racism presents to individuals who embrace education as a tool for liberation. Du Bois’s accounts of how racism affected specific individuals allow readers to see philosophical issues in human terms. It can also help them think deeply about what kind of moral, social, educational and economic changes are necessary to provide all of America’s young people the equal opportunity promised to them inside and outside of schools. Perfect for courses in: Social Foundations of Education, Political and Social Foundations of Education, Foundations of American Education, Foundations of Education, Introduction to Education Theory and Policy, Philosophy and Education, History of American Education, and African American Education.

Taken from "The Talented Tenth" written by W. E. B. Du Bois: The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. The problem of education, then, among Negroes must first of all deal with the Talented Tenth; it is the problem of developing the Best of this race that they may guide the Mass away from the contamination and death of the Worst, in their own and other races. Now the training of men is a difficult and intricate task. Its technique is a matter for educational experts, but its object is for the vision of seers. If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but not, in nature, men. Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools-intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the world that was and is, and of the relation of men to it-this is the curriculum of that Higher Education which must underlie true life. On this foundation we may build bread winning, skill of hand and quickness of brain, with never a fear lest the child and man mistake the means of living for the object of life.

The full texts of four seminal works by Emerson are presented in this volume: 'Nature, ' 'The American Scholar, ' 'The Divinity School Address, ' and 'The Transcendentalist.' Edward Ericson assesses that impact in his helpful introduction and evaluates anew Emerson's continuing influence on American culture in our century.

Beginning in 1611 with the King James Bible and ending in 2014 with Elizabeth Kolbert's 'The Sixth Extinction', this extraordinary voyage through the written treasures of our culture examines universally-acclaimed classics such as Pepys' 'Diaries', Charles Darwin's 'The Origin of Species', Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' and a whole host of additional works --

The Souls of Black Folk, originally published in 1903, contains a number of groundbreaking essays on race and race relations by scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois. As an early work in the field of sociology, this book analyzes the interactions between the races and offers a solution for the strife and inequality that had come to characterize those interactions. DuBois believed that education was the route to a better life for all blacks, and his recommendation became the basis for the civil rights movement. Anyone interested in history, race relations, sociology, or the intellectual heritage of the United States will find this an essential read. American writer, civil rights activist, and scholar W.E.B. DUBOIS (1868-1963) was a free-born African American in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was the first black man to receive a PhD from Harvard University and was convinced that education was the means for African Americans to achieve equality. He wrote a number of important books, including The Philadelphia Negro (1899), Black Folk, Then and Now (1899), and The Negro (1915).