The Souls of Black Folk

W. E. B. Du Bois

OUP Oxford, Apr 5, 2007 - Literary Collections - 223 pages

'The problem of the twentieth-century is the problem of the color-line.' Originally published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk is a classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of the twentieth century. With its singular combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, this book vaulted W. E. B. Du Bois to the forefront of American political commentary and civil rights activism. The Souls of Black Folk is an impassioned, at times searing account of the situation of African Americans in the United States. Du Bois makes a forceful case for the access of African Americans to higher education, memorably extols the achievements of black culture (above all the spirituals or 'sorrow songs'), and advances the provocative and influential argument that due to the inequalities and pressures of the 'race problem', African American identity is characterized by 'double consciousness'. This edition includes a valuable appendix of other writing by Du Bois, which sheds light on his attitudes and intentions.

What people are saying

Review: The Souls of Black Folk

User Review  - Clint Priest - Goodreads

I really did not care for this book at all, one that is considered a major literary work. The book was to describe the black experience in America around the turn of the century but it comes off as ...

Review: The Souls of Black Folk

User Review  - Andrew - Goodreads

A necessary American classic. Du Bois addresses issues of race at the turn of the 20th century with the principles (I think) should be hallmarks of any social justice movement. He is analytical ...

About the author

Brent Edwards writes widely on literature and jazz, and has translated work by Jacques Derrida and Jean Baudrillard, among others. He is the author of The Practice of Diaspora: Literature, Translation, and the Rise of Black Internationalism , winner of the John Hope Franklin Prize of the American
Studies Association.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Souls of Black Folk; Oxford World's Classics; Selections, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois; The Bedford series in history and culture; The Souls of Black Folk, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, ISBN 0195311809, 9780195311808
• Author: W. E. B. Du Bois
• Editor: Brent Hayes Edwards
• Contributor: Brent Hayes Edwards
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2007
• ISBN: 0192806785, 9780192806789
• Length: 223 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / General; Literary Collections / Essays; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies