Description
Book SynopsisClassical influences and allusions are found throughout the works of W. E. B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and pioneering sociologist, historian, and educator. This is the first book-length discussion of the influence of classical authors such as Plato and Cicero on this important twentieth-century thinker.
Trade ReviewWithun's book is the first to focus solely on Du Bois's classicisms, but is one of a growing number to shine a spotlight on Du Bois in the context of African American classical reception, including Eric Ashley Hairston's The Ebony Column (2013) and Margaret Malamud's African Americans and the Classics (2016). * Samuel Agbamu, Times Literary Supplement *
Withun explains how he conceptualized racism as a modern phenomenon, citing ancient historians as evidence that racism had not been a problem in antiquity, allowing him to simultaneously locate Black people as both the 'foundation' and 'future' of civilization. * Greece & Rome *
This book contributes to the greater understanding of Du Bois's intellectual journey and commitment to the classics despite the challenges he experienced in his long life. * Chris Butynskyi, author of The Inklings, the Victorians, and the Moderns: Reconciling Tradition in the Modern Age *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: The Classical Education of W. E. B. Du Bois The Classics and Du Bois's Enduring Moral Vision Du Bois's High School and College Education Du Bois's Education at Harvard Classicism and Pragmatism at Harvard Du Bois, Santayana, and Platonic Aesthetics Du Bois Inside and Outside Western Civilization Conclusion Chapter 2: American Archias: Cicero, Epic Poetry, and The Souls of Black Folk Cicero and The Souls of Black Folk African American History and Epic Poetry The Autobiography of a Culture Hero Du Bois's Epic Novels Citizenship and Humanitas in Du Bois's Thought Conclusion Chapter 3: The Influence of Plato on the Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois Contemporary Context: Plato and Egalitarian Elitism Sources for Du Bois's Egalitarian Elitism Du Bois's Commitment to Truth The Philosopher-Kings and the Talented Tenth Du Bois and Washington on Civilization and Education The Talented Tenth and the Message of Black Folk The Sorrow Songs and the Allegory of the Cave Marxism and Platonism in Du Bois's Thought Conclusion Chapter 4: Anti-Racist Metamorphoses in Du Bois's Classical References Background: Whiteness and the Classics A Time Before Race: Ancient Culture as Non-Racial Culture Black People in Antiquity Classical Subversion in the African American Tradition Conclusion Chapter 5: The History of the "Darker Peoples" of the World: Afrocentrism and Cosmopolitanism in the Later Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois The Miseducation of the Negro The Negro and The Star of Ethiopia The World and Africa The Unity of the "Darker Peoples" African in Modern History "Home" to Africa Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Index
