The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois - by José Itzigsohn & Karida L Brown (Paperback)

About the Book

""The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois" explores racism and colonialism at the center of the understanding of modernity"--

Book Synopsis

The first comprehensive understanding of Du Bois for social scientists

The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois provides a comprehensive introduction to the founding father of American sociological thought. Du Bois is now recognized as a pioneer of American scientific sociology and as someone who made foundational contributions to the sociology of race and to urban and community sociology. However, in this authoritative volume, noted scholars José Itzigsohn and Karida L. Brown provide a groundbreaking account of Du Bois's theoretical contribution to sociology, or what they call the analysis of "racialized modernity." Further, they examine the implications of developing a Du Boisian sociology for the practice of the discipline today.

The full canon of Du Bois's sociological works spans a lifetime of over ninety years in which his ideas evolved over much of the twentieth century. This broader and more systematic account of Du Bois's contribution to sociology explores how his theories changed, evolved, and even developed to contradict earlier ideas. Careful parsing of seminal works provides a much needed overview for students and scholars looking to gain a better grasp of the ideas of Du Bois, in particular his understanding of racialized subjectivity, racialized social systems, and his scientific sociology. Further, the authors show that a Du Boisian sociology provides a robust analytical framework for the multilevel examination of individual-level processes--such as the formation of the self--and macro processes--such as group formation and mobilization or the structures of modernity--key concepts for a basic understanding of sociology.

Review Quotes

"In this necessary, timely, and thorough-going book Itzigsohn and Brown powerfully and provocatively reclaim and present the near century of W. E. B. Du Bois's sociological contributions with panache and undeniable rigor. Persuasive and well sourced, this book is sure to be a staple in homes and classrooms across the globe for years to come. A pathbreaking classic!"--Marcus Anthony Hunter, author of Black Citymakers: How the Philadelphia Negro Changed Urban America

"Itzigsohn and Brown offer a bounty of new analysis and a needed synthesis, a holistic view of the sociological contributions of a career that spanned from the 1890s to the 1960s... [The] book's greatest strength ... is in the excavation and synthesis of Du Bois's broad body of scholarship. Though scholars have made similar efforts ... Itzigsohn and Brown gift sociologists with what is surely the most comprehensive and ambitious summation of Du Bois's epistemology."-- "Social Forces"

"Itzigsohn and Brown's The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois is evidence of Black sociology's enduring promise. Their book is more than an exegesis of Du Bois's sociological oeuvre."--Matthew Clair, Stanford University "Du Bois Review"

"José Itzigsohn and Karida L. Brown have written a book that will stand out for a long time and be debated for years. The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois is a guidepost that enables the reader to absorb penetrating analyses of this great scholar pertaining to racism and lessons to address it. Seldom do we find analyses of an extremely complex thinker made crystal clear. This is such a work for anyone interested in a pivotal issue of our time."--Aldon Morris, author of The Scholar Denied: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology

"Overall, this impressive monograph acknowledges and reclaims Du Bois's contributions to sociology. It is part of a growing movement that addresses the discipline's neglect of this scholar. I highly recommend this monograph for advanced undergraduate and graduate theory courses in sociology and the social sciences."-- "Sociology of Race and Ethnicity"

"This is a book for the times. The global protests in response to coronavirus disparities and anti-Black state violence have made it clear that the academy, too, must change. Sociology departments cannot continue to do business as usual. In The Sociology of W. E. B. Du Bois, José Itzigsohn and Karida L.Brown show that a Du Boisian sociology offers an analysis of our present moment where many other subfields of the discipline cannot [...] The result of the authors' comprehensive approach is an inspiring immersion into the mind of someone who theorized from the depths of his own internal pain to the breadth of world empires, sweeps of historical time, and complexity of economic arrangements."-- "American Journal of Sociology"

About the Author

José Itzigsohn (Author)
José Itzigsohn is Professor of Sociology at Brown University. He is the author of Encountering American Faultlines: Race, Class, and the Dominican Experience in Providence.

Karida L. Brown (Author)
Karida L. Brown is Professor of Sociology at Emory University. She is the author of Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia.