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The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois: Racialized Modernity and the Global Color Line

Thursday, May 14, 2020

12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Watch on Watson's YouTube channel.

Watch on YouTube

Join co-authors Jose Itzigsohn and Karida L. Brown for a discussion of their new book, The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois: Racialized Modernity and the Global Color Line.  They will be joined in conversation by Nadje Al-Ali, Robert Family Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies, and Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, Associate Professor of Sociology.

About the book:

The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois provides a comprehensive introduction to the founding father of American sociological thought. Du Bois is now recognized as a pioneer of American scientific sociology and as someone who made foundational contributions to the sociology of race and to urban and community sociology. However, this book provides a groundbreaking account of Du Bois’s theoretical contribution to sociology and examines the implications of developing a Du Boisian sociology for the practice of the discipline today. The full corpus of Du Bois’s sociological works spans a lifetime of over ninety years. His ideas evolved over much of the twentieth century. This broad and systematic account of Du Bois’s contribution to sociology explores how his theories changed, evolved, and even developed to contradict earlier ideas. Through a careful reading of seminal works the book provides a thorough overview of Du Bois ideas, in particular his understanding of the color line, racialized subjectivity, racial and colonial capitalism, and his urban and community sociology. Further, the book shows that a Du Boisian sociology provides a robust analytical framework for the understanding of our times.

Meet the Author
Virtual Events

Karida L. Brown is Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at UCLA. She is the author of Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia.

José Itzigsohn is Professor of Sociology at Brown University and co-author of The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois.