Classical Sociology Theory
Soc 221 April 3rd, 2012
Materials
Du Bois’s Spiritual Strivings
The Souls of Black Folk
It is Well with my Soul Hymn
Video of Hymn
Overview
This is one of three classes on Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk. It will cover his background and the first essay in the book.
Objectives
The objectives for this class are to:
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Fluency in the classical sociology theory, including an understanding of the vocabulary, and theories of Durkheim
o Specifically, students will understand DuBois’s method and perspective for approaching the issues, namely ‘the
problem of the color line’
An understanding of the sociological debates about structure/agency, individual vs. society, the transition to ‘modernity’
and the ability to show how these theorists addressed those debates (compare and contrast their theories)
An enhanced reading ability by developing reading skills in doing close readings of difficult texts and learning how ‘expert
readers’ read
The ability to trace Marx's and Weber’s influence on the work of Du Bois.
The ability to understand the nature of academic disciplines in terms of the kinds of questions a discipline traditionally
poses
Activities
Activity 1: Present the following information (Mini-Lectures).
Historical Background Information on Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (Pronounced Due Boyz) was born 1868-1963 and grew up in Great Barrington Massachusetts.
Trained in History and Sociology. More Irish than blacks in his town they faced more discrimination, so was not as acutely aware
of his own blackness. He did not grow up in south, so has a Northerner’s perspective on Race. He was from meager beginnings
but his family was not impoverished. His PhD is from Harvard and he was faculty at UPenn.
Connection with Other Theorists
Max Weber and Dubois had breakfast together in St Louis in 1904. They wrote each other letters over the years. At the first actual
meeting of the German Sociological Society in 1910 Weber said that Du Bois was the “most important Sociological Scholar
anywhere”. Du Bois had heard Weber talk in the 1890s when he studied in Germany, and Weber was the one who first got Du
Bois’s work translated into German. Both also trained in history and sociology.
But Du Bois is also a reader of Marx as we will see—perhaps he is the one to integrate the best parts of both of their theories and
resolve some of the tensions between the two.
My History Learning Du Bois and the Politics around being a Classical Theorist
I have never been formally taught any material on Du Bois, even though I was one course away from being a black studies minor
in undergrad and have taken classes on race in graduate school I have never had the opportunity to learn Du Bois from a professor.
He was not taught in Classical Theory despite the students’ pressure and requests to be taught his works. Not even after arguing it
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is racist to exclude him from the ‘classical canon’ is he taught in the Graduate Center Classical Theory courses. When I started
teaching Classical Theory I taught myself Du Bois so that I could include him the canon. This makes sense because he is in
dialogue with the other classical theorists. Despite that he lived long enough to also contribute to Contemporary Sociological
theory, he should still be considered a classical theorist.
Du Bois’s Method of Argument and Analysis
Du Bois is a believer in the power of logic. For example, he would maintain that if you believe in democracy then you must believe
in certain other ideals that follow logically from a belief in Democracy. It might be helpful to think of this as if A then B, or if you
value equality you must therefore be against racism. In many respects he believes reason will prevail. However, he also knows the
strength and limits of logic and thus he tries to persuade beyond logic. The soul is his way of dealing with this; it is his
argumentative strategy to compel more people to be anti-racist.
This text, although originally written in English (our first this semester) is written like poetry so there is still some level of
translation necessary. Additionally, it will be good to remember that every part of this book can be seen as a dialogue with Booker
T. Washington. We will learn more about Booker T. Washington after break.
A final note on his language and perhaps a logical flaw in his argument. Despite being anti-racist, his logic doesn’t follow that
women are as equal as men, at least not in this text. He often just refers to men, and even when speaking about the problems
women faced he refers to the problems this created for the man’s race (page 9).
Activity 2: Affective Experience with Song
Music and Metaphor
The music notes are like a silent code (or as the Editor, Donald Gibson, says ‘mute ciphers’) at the beginning of every chapter. We
all have souls but there is still a chasm between us. Some read the words and may have a response to them, or even sight read the
music, but there is nothing like having heard the music and being able to feel that when you look at the text. For example, if you
read the text of this Hymn: It is Well with my Soul you might have some feelings in response to it, but how do they compare to
seeing this Video of the Hymn and then remembering that feeling every time you look at the words. When whites, who are not
familiar with the Spirituals read this they have a different affective experience and whether consciously or not, Du Bois is making a
comment on the vast differences between blacks and whites.
Activity 3: Collaborative Definition of Soul
Why Use Souls?
Write on the board – ‘What is a soul?’ and have students call out what they think of when they think of the soul. Write this on the
board. If they did not already get to these four points below, then note the four possible reasons why Du Bois titles his book The
Souls of Black Folk. If you believe in souls then:
• Everyone has a soul, it is common between all of us despite race or gender or class
• The soul is immortal, nonmaterial, and everlasting
• It is the core of each person
• It touches the feeling as opposed to intellectual aspects of our brains and is a different strategy for social change.
Activity 4: Close Reading of Forethought and Chapter 1
The Forethought
Have six students volunteer to read a paragraph each out loud.
Stop after each one to discuss and make sure everyone is clear on the meaning. Note how text is written in poetic language.
Make sure students note the following will be discussed later in the text:
• The Problem of the Color Line
• Problems with Freedom and the Problems with Booker T Washington
• The Veil
• Du Bois is within the Veil.
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Of Our Spiritual Strivings
Do a close reading of Chapter 1 Of Our Spiritual Strivings. Make sure students understand the poetic language and his use of
metaphor by discussing specific examples.
When doing the close reading make sure to address the following:
• How does it feel to be a problem? (Page 3)
• The veil and Du Bois’s discovery of his blackness. (Page 4)
• Double Consciousness and Marx. (Page 5)
o Note: LGBT comparison to double consciousness is common.
o See how Du Bois paraphrases Marx’s famous quote from the Manifesto.
o Explain how this is different than Marx’s idea of False Consciousness
o Make clear that the Dialectic is not between Black and White but between their two consciousness (as a person
and as a black person).
• Double Aims. (Page 6)
o The struggle to satisfy to unreconciled ideals.
• Swarthy Spectre and Disappointment in Freedom. (Page 7)
• Voting and other struggles post-emancipation. (Page 8)
• The internal struggle and degradation of being the “Negro Problem.” (Page 9).
• Self-Hatred. (Page 10)
• How America needs Black Culture to be complete. (Page 11).
Activity 5: Pre-Spring Break Announcements
Announcements
Remind students to read Chapter 2 and 3 over break.
Also remind them to keep posting on their blog and do theory journals of their experience reading the text and discussions in class.
Each group should continue thinking and discussing a collaborative post or theme for their blog, for example a specific
contemporary issue or an in depth biography of a specific theorist. I will post more details on the main blog over break.
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