The Souls of Black Folk

Infobox Book
name = The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches
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image_caption = The title page of the second edition
author = W.E.B. Du Bois
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country = United States
language = English
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genre =
publisher = A.C. McClurg & Co., Chicago
pub_date = 1903
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"The Souls of Black Folk" is a classic work of American literature by W.E.B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology, and a cornerstone of African-American literary history.

The book, published in 1903, contains several essays on race, some of which had been previously published in Atlantic Monthly magazine. Du Bois drew from his own experiences to develop this groundbreaking work on being African-American in American society. Outside of its notable place in African-American history, "The Souls of Black Folk" also holds an important place in social science as one of the early works to deal with sociology.

In "Living Black History," [p. 96] Du Bois biographer Manning Marable observes:

Few books make history and fewer still become foundational texts for the movements and struggles of an entire people. "The Souls of Black Folk" occupies this rare position. It helped to create the intellectual argument for the black freedom struggle in the twentieth century. "Souls" justified the pursuit of higher education for Negroes and thus contributed to the rise of the black middle class. By describing a global color-line, Du Bois anticipated pan-Africanism and colonial revolutions in the Third World. Moreover, this stunning critique of how 'race' is lived through the normal aspects of daily life is central to what would become known as 'whiteness studies' a century later.

References

*cite book
coauthors = Stanley Crouch, Playthell Benjamin
title = Reconsidering the Souls of Black Folk
edition = (Hardcover)
year = 2003
month = January
publisher = Running Press
location = Philadelphia
id = ISBN 0-7624-1349-2

Bibliography

*cite book
editor = Judy Boss, ed.
title = The Souls of Black Folk
origyear = 1903
url = http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DubSoul.html
accessdate = 2006-03-22
edition = Modified from 1989 Bantam Classic text
year = 1996
month = September
publisher = UVA Electronic Text Center
location = Charlottesville
*cite book
title = Writings [The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade / The Souls of Black Folk / Dusk of Dawn / Essays and Articles]
edition = (Hardcover)
year = 1987
month = January
publisher = Library of America
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-940450-33-X No commentary, just a brief "Note on the Texts."
*cite book
title = The Souls of Black Folk
edition = 100th Anniversary Edition? (Paperback)
year = 1995
month = August
publisher = Signet Classic
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-451-52603-1 Introduction by Randall Kenan.
*cite book
title = The Souls of Black Folk
edition = Penguin Classics reprint (paperback)
year = 1996
month = April
publisher = Penguin Books
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-14-018998-X Introduction by Donald B. Gibson.
*cite book
editor = Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Terri Hume Oliver, eds.
title = The Souls of Black Folk: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism
edition = Norton Critical Edition (1st ed. paperback)
year = 1999
month = April
publisher = W. W. Norton
location = New York
id = ISBN 0-393-97393-X Includes photos from 1901 article, several contemporary essays, a chronology of Du Bois's life, annotations, and historical texts relating to the work.

External links

*
* [http://www.paperstarter.com/soulsofblackfolk.htm Study resource for "The Souls of Black Folk"]
*cite web | title=W.E.B. Du Bois: Writings | work=Library of America | url=http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=39&section=notes | accessdate=2006-03-22 Copy of the brief "Note on the Texts" from ISBN 0-940450-33-X.
* [http://web.grinnell.edu/cts/dubois/ Essays and sketches]