Constructing Colonial Peoples: W. E. B. Du Bois, the United Nations, and the Politics of Space and Scale

• Published in: Modern intellectual history Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 858 - 882
• Main Author: Dahl, Adam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.09.2023
• Subjects: African Americans; Appropriation; Binding; Civil rights; Cognates; Colonialism; Colonies & territories; Democracy; Dominance; Du Bois, W E B (1868-1963); International law; Jurisdiction; Oppression; Petition; Political activism; Political philosophy; Politics; Race; Racism; Sovereignty; Transnationalism; United States > US; Africa

This article examines W. E. B. Du Bois's transnational political thought during his work with the UN and the NAACP in the 1940s. Focusing on unpublished speeches, essays, and correspondence, it explores how he exploited the conceptual elasticity of terms like “colonial status” and “colonial peo...