"Leaving, then, the world of the white man, I have
stepped within the Veil, raising it that you may view faintly its deeper
recesses…”
~W.E.B. Du Bois,
Assignments for W.E.B. DuBois' Souls of Black Folk
Presented by Dr. Susan Sperling
"Leaving, then, the world of the white man, I have
stepped within the Veil, raising it that you may view faintly its deeper
recesses…”
~W.E.B. Du Bois,
Assignments for W.E.B. DuBois' Souls of Black Folk
Presented by Dr. Susan Sperling
Important Dates to Remember:
Draft of Douglass/ Du Bois paper due: Monday, 2/13
Final paper due: Tuesday, 2/21
Your essay should be 3-5 pages, neatly-typed or word-processed and double-spaced on white paper. You may quote judiciously from outside sources, but the bulk of the paper should reflect your words and thoughts. Make sure to correctly cite all references.
ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR DOUGLASS AND DU BOIS
1. The scholar J. Blassingame has written of nineteenth century autobiography that “truth, history and divinity met as the autobiographer struggled to reveal his or her inner character.” How does this apply to Douglass’s narrative? Please cite specific events and passages in the book to illustrate this thesis.
2. Although a number of slave narratives were published before Emancipation, Frederick Douglass’s autobiography became the most noted and celebrated of these. Analyze the reasons for this fact and support your thesis with specific historical data about slave narratives in general and specific quotations from Douglass’s autobiography.
3. Douglass maintains that slavery dehumanized both the slave and slaveholder. Quoting specific passages in the Narrative support this thesis with examples.
4. Douglass defines freedom as more than escape from the slaveholders. What is freedom according to Douglass and how does he achieve it? Make sure to cite specific examples from the Narrative.
5. Du Bois refers to the concept of the “Double Consciousness” of African Americans. What does he mean by this term? Please be specific and refer to his writings on this subject. How do the racist images in the video Ethnic Notions perpetuate “Double Consciousness”?
6. In Chapter II of The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois praises the goals of the Freedmen’s Bureau and many of its achievements. What, in his observation, were its achievements and failures? Be specific and cite the text. How does his view agree or differ with that of your high school history text on the subject of Reconstruction?
7. In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois asserts that Emancipation is incomplete. What are his rationales for this statement? In your view, would Du Bois believe that the same is true today? Be as specific as possible and cite some data to support your thesis about this question.
Beyond Vietnam
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1967
http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational_talks/political/Martin_Luther_King_talks
I. Monday, 2/6/06 The Veil and Double Consciousness
Readings:
The Forethought (pp. v-vi)
Chapter 1: Of Our Spiritual Strivings (pp. 1-7)
Chapter 11: Of the Passing of the First-Born (pp. 127-131)
Questions for Contemplation and Discussion
1. Du Bois asserts that the problem of the 2oth Century is the problem of the
“color line”. What did he mean by this?
2. What is the “veil”? What is “double-consciousness” according to Du Bois?
II. Tuesday, 2/7/06 Incomplete Emancipation: reconstruction
and the South at the turn of the 20th century
Readings:
Chapter 2: Of the Dawn of Freedom (pp. 9-24)
Chapter 4: Of the Meaning of Progress (pp. 37-45)
Questions
1. What was the Freedmen’s Bureau and what were its charges?
2. What, according to Du Bois, were some of the Bureau’s successes and failures?
III. Wednesday, 2/8/06 Competing Visions: the purposes of education
Readings:
Chapter 3: Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others (pp. 25-35)
Chapter 5: Of the Wings of Atalanta (pp. 47-54)
Chapter 6: Of the Training of Black Men (pp. 55-67)
Questions
1. What were the important differences in philosophy and approach of Booker T.
Washington and Du Bois?
2. What, according to Du Bois, is the function of the university?
3. Discuss Du Bois critique of imperialism in light of Dr. King’s Beyond Vietnam
speech.
Also see:
David L. Lewis 1993 W.E.B. Du Bois Biography of a Race
Web Resources
The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches by W. E. Burghardt. Du Bois
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DubSoul.html
Additional Resources:
Foner, Eric.(1987) Rights and the Constitution in Black Life During the Civil War and Reconstruction. Journal of American History. Vol. 74. No 3. The Constitution and American Life: A Special Issue. Available online at http://www.ericfoner.com/articles/Rights.pdf
Hynes, Gerald C. (2001) A Biographical Sketch of W.E.B. DuBois WEB DuBois Learning Center. http://www.duboislc.org/html/DuBoisBio.html.
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War. (2004) The American Experience. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/index.html This is an excellent resources on Reconstruction period.
Lincoln, Abraham. (1863) The Emancipation Proclamation. National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/ncro/anti/emancipation.html"Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence." Rev. Martin Luther King. 4 April 1967. Available online at: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/058.html
Time Line of African American History, 1852-1925. (1998) African American Perspectives. The Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timeline.html
(Note that there are three separate timelines; the link takes you to the first (1852-1880) and two additional timelines are available from that page.Mihail, T. (2004) Civil Rights Support Services Links. Purdue University Calumet. http://www.tommihail.net/GreekProf_civil_rights.html
WEB DuBois (1906) addresses the "Men of Niagra," Harper's Ferry, WV, Aug. 16, 1906. Speech http://www.wfu.edu/~zulick/341/niagara.html
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Last Updated 2/2/06 - SH