Finding Du Boisian Theories in Political Programs

• In Event: 40803 - New Directions in Critical Theory: Racial Capitalism, Du Boisian Sociology, and Decolonial Perspectives

Abstract

US sociology is uncovering its debt to Du Bois and imagining a discipline with him at its center. While an empirical focus on the color line and a practice of public sociology are consensus features of Du Boisian sociology, the meaning of Du Boisian theory is ambiguous. Du Bois’s understanding of the world changed dramatically over his lifetime and he was rarely explicit in discussing his intellectual influences. Even more, he used his most impactful concepts infrequently and did not author a programmatic statement delineating his theoretical orientation. Against these currents, important work has sought to use Du Bois to elaborate existing traditions and to weave a unified Du Boisian theory from the various threads of his career. While these efforts should continue, both drain Du Boisian theory of its particularity—his focus was not on theorizing the world but changing it. A complementary path for Du Boisian theory extends from an effort to clarify his theorizing by examining his political programs. After reviewing extant efforts to build Du Boisian theory, I illustrate my proposal by discussing the theoretical foundation motivating his inter-war program of self-segregation. Because Du Bois’s programs were many, this approach to Du Boisian theory will create many Du Boisian theories, offering a range of tools for social change. Throughout, I am aided by the rich literature in philosophy on Du Bois, and I end by considering how efforts to claim Du Bois as a sociologist is paired with an ignorance of the vast secondary scholarship on his work.

Author

• Tyler Leeds, University of Delaware