Skip to main content

W. E. B. DuBois on Sociology and the Black Community

Edited and with an Introduction by Dan S. Green and Edwin D. Driver
Historian, journalist, educator, and civil rights advocate W. E. B. Du Bois was perhaps most accomplished as a sociologist of race relations and of the black community in the United States. This volume collects his most important sociological writings from 1898 to 1910. The eighteen selections include five on Du Bois’s conception of sociology and sociological research, especially as a tool in the struggle for racial justice; excerpts from studies of black communities in the South and the North, including The Philadelphia Negro; writings on black culture and social life, with a selection from The Negro American Family; and later works on race relations in the United States and elsewhere after World War II. This section includes a powerful fiftieth-anniversary reassessment of his classic 1901 article in the Atlantic in which he predicted that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line."

The editors provide an annotated bibliography, a lengthy overview of Du Bois’s life and work, and detailed introductions to the selections.

"The most significant contribution of this book is its inclusive look at Du Bois as both academic and activist. . . . Individuals interested in the study of social issues and political sociology would benefit from reading and discussing this book."—Paul Kriese, Sociology: Reviews of New Books

"Green and Driver, informing this volume with a 48-page essay that summarizes Du Bois’ career and places him in the context of the profession, have intelligently organized his writings. . . . A welcome contribution that should have wide use."—Elliott Rudwick, Contemporary Sociology


328 pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | © 1978

Black Studies

Literature and Literary Criticism: American and Canadian Literature

Sociology: General Sociology

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Dan S. Green, Edwin D. Driver.
I: The Tasks of Sociology
1: The Atlanta Conferences
2: The Laboratory in Sociology at Atlanta University
3: The Twelfth Census and the Negro Problems
4: The Study of the Negro Problems
5: The Negro Race in the United States of America
II: Community Studies
6: The Philadelphia Negro
7: The Black North in 1901: New York
8: The Negroes of Dougherty County, Georgia
9: The Negroes of Farmville, Virginia
III: Black Culture and Creativity
10: The Negro American Family
11: The Religion of the American Negro
12: The Problem of Amusement
13: The Conservation of Races
IV: Changing Patterns of Racial Relations
14: The Relations of the Negroes to the Whites in the South
15: The Social Evolution of the Black South
16: The Problem of the Twentieth Century Is the Problem of the Color
Line
17: Prospect of a World without Race Conflict
Notes
Selected Bibliography of W. E. B. Du Bois
Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press