The Social and Political Philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois

Undergraduate

We examine three of Du Bois’s books–The Souls of Black Folk (1903), Darkwater (1920), and Black Reconstruction (1935)–with some attention to a fourth, Dusk of Dawn (1940). We also give attention to some of Du Bois's essays. Through close readings of these writings, we consider Du Bois’s evolving conceptualization of the “Negro Problem” from the perspective of his philosophy of the human sciences, his political thought, and his aesthetics. Some background in philosophy, political theory, and/or African American Studies is preferred. HU M 1:30pm-3:25pm