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Classical influences and allusions are found throughout the works of W. E. B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and pioneering sociologist, historian, and educator. This is the first book-length discussion of the influence of classical authors such as Plato and Cicero on this important twentieth-century thinker.
List of contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: The Classical Education of W. E. B. Du Bois
- The Classics and Du Bois's Enduring Moral Vision
- Du Bois's High School and College Education
- Du Bois's Education at Harvard
- Classicism and Pragmatism at Harvard
- Du Bois, Santayana, and Platonic Aesthetics
- Du Bois Inside and Outside Western Civilization
- Conclusion
- Chapter 2: American Archias: Cicero, Epic Poetry, and The Souls of Black Folk
- Cicero and The Souls of Black Folk
- African American History and Epic Poetry
- The Autobiography of a Culture Hero
- Du Bois's Epic Novels
- Citizenship and Humanitas in Du Bois's Thought
- Conclusion
- Chapter 3: The Influence of Plato on the Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois
- Contemporary Context: Plato and Egalitarian Elitism
- Sources for Du Bois's Egalitarian Elitism
- Du Bois's Commitment to Truth
- The Philosopher-Kings and the Talented Tenth
- Du Bois and Washington on Civilization and Education
- The Talented Tenth and the Message of Black Folk
- The Sorrow Songs and the Allegory of the Cave
- Marxism and Platonism in Du Bois's Thought
- Conclusion
- Chapter 4: Anti-Racist Metamorphoses in Du Bois's Classical References
- Background: Whiteness and the Classics
- A Time Before Race: Ancient Culture as Non-Racial Culture
- Black People in Antiquity
- Classical Subversion in the African American Tradition
- Conclusion
- Chapter 5: The History of the "Darker Peoples" of the World: Afrocentrism and Cosmopolitanism in the Later Thought of W. E. B. Du Bois
- The Miseducation of the Negro
- The Negro and The Star of Ethiopia
- The World and Africa
- The Unity of the "Darker Peoples"
- African in Modern History
- "Home" to Africa
- Conclusion
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
David Withun is an educator and historian whose research focuses on topics in historical and contemporary education, the influence of ancient myth and thought in modern literature and philosophy, and the accessibility of the liberal arts for all. He is the founding Head of School at Jacksonville Classical Academy in Jacksonville, Florida.
Summary
Classical influences and allusions are found throughout the works of W. E. B. Du Bois, the prominent African American intellectual and pioneering sociologist, historian, and educator. This is the first book-length discussion of the influence of classical authors such as Plato and Cicero on this important twentieth-century thinker.
Additional text
This book contributes to the greater understanding of Du Bois's intellectual journey and commitment to the classics despite the challenges he experienced in his long life.
