An Introduction to W. E. B. Du Bois examines the historical contributions to social science and the continuing relevance of the work of W. E. B. Du Bois in an accessible manner. The first volume of its kind, it places the theories of Du Bois in context, showing how the socio‑racial environment in which he grew up and came of age influenced the development of his thought. In addition to covering well‑known concepts such as double consciousness, the veil, and religious fatalism, the authors discuss Du Bois’ uncoined theories emanating from the Atlanta University Studies, as well as his contributions to the development of Black sociology and research methodology. A groundbreaking contextualization and summary of the importance of Du Bois’ work to sociology and sociological theory, this book constitutes a much‑needed resource for scholars and students seeking to understand this scholar’s significance to the social sciences beyond the elementary level.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography
2. Toward a Du Boisian Sociology
3. Du Boisian Sociology
4. Du Boisian Theories: Race, Class and Gender
5. Du Boisian Theories: Social Institutions
6. W. E. B. Du Bois’ Contributions to Research Methods
7. Du Boisian Sociology in the Contemporary Age
8. Conclusion
Biography
Kalasia S. Ojeh is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political, Social, and Cultural Sciences at Kean University, USA. Her research focuses on the importance of Black sociological thought to the scientific advancement of race theories in sociology.
Earl Wright II is Professor and Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Sociology in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Rhodes College, USA, and recipient of the 2016 Charles S. Johnson Award from the Southern Sociological Society. He is the author of The First American School of Sociology: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory and Jim Crow Sociology: The Black and Southern Roots of American Sociology, and the co‑editor of Re-Positioning Race: Prophetic Research in a Post‑Racial Obama Age, What to Expect and How to Respond: Distress and Success in Academia, and The Ashgate Research Companion to Black Sociology.
