The Souls of Black Folk
Assigned by 4 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1903
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Medium · 220 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Souls of Black FolkW. W. Norton, 1999Norton Critical Edition edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Terri Hume Oliver, with contexts and criticism.
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Fourteen essays on the condition of Black Americans forty years after emancipation, each headed by a bar of a spiritual. Du Bois introduces the idea of double consciousness, the sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others, and of the veil that divides the races. He examines the Freedmen's Bureau, criticises Booker T. Washington's policy of accommodation, describes teaching in rural Tennessee and the Black Belt of Georgia, argues for higher education, mourns the death of his infant son and ends with a chapter on the sorrow songs.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Souls of Black Folk are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
