Developing Double Consciousness in the Work of W.E.B. Du Bois
DEVELOPING DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE WORK OF W.E.B. DU BOIS Maeby Ingram Bard College Abstract W. E. B. Du Bois conceives of race as both a social structure and an individual, psychological experience. Race is thus not an inherent or biological fact but is constructed socially and “realized” individually. In this essay I provide a review of Du Bois’ theory of double consciousness as proposed in The Souls of Black Folk (1903) and then delve into aspects of Du Bois’ theory of the unconscious as it relates to the act of “merging.” To make my argument, I pull from Du Bois’ books Souls , Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil (1920), and Dusk of Dawn (1940), tracking the evolution of Du Bois’ theories of double consciousness and the unconscious over time. I conclude, in this analysis, that consciousness includes the unconscious “habits”—that is, actions —of individuals, which also has implications for overcoming racial oppression. Introduction argue that W. E. B. Du Bois conceives of race as both a social structure and an individual, psychological experience. Race is thus not an inherent or biological fact but is constructed socially and “realized” individually. For example, when a Black American experiences discrimination in public as a result of being “recognized” as their race, racial differences come into being—it is not, then, “racial differences” that lead to discrimination, but social behaviors and classifications that lead to the social fact of “race.” Part of the realization of race in the individual, for Du Bois, is the development of “double consciousness.” Double consciousness is defined as “a concept in social philosophy referring, originally, to a source of inward ‘twoness’ putatively experienced by African Americans because of I
Volume VII (2024) 20
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker