W.E.B. Du Bois and Black Heterogeneity: How "The Philadelphia Negro" Shaped American Sociology

Published in 1899, The Philadelphia Negro provides an important template to examine both the use and promise of heterogeneity as one of the earliest pillars in the establishment of American sociology. In this paper, I locate the notion of heterogeneity within W.E.B. Du Bois's classic The Philad...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American sociologist Vol. 46; no. 2; pp. 219 - 233
Main Author Hunter, Marcus Anthony
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer 01.06.2015
Springer US
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
African Americans
Blacks
Bois, W.E.B. Du
Cultural diversity
Du Bois, W E B (1868-1963)
History of sociology
Knowledge
Politics
Race
Social Sciences
Sociological analysis
Sociological research
Sociological theory
Sociology
U.S.A
Heterogeneity
Politics
W.E.B. Du Bois
Urban America
Race
The Philadelphia Negro
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Summary:Published in 1899, The Philadelphia Negro provides an important template to examine both the use and promise of heterogeneity as one of the earliest pillars in the establishment of American sociology. In this paper, I locate the notion of heterogeneity within W.E.B. Du Bois's classic The Philadelphia Negro to demonstrate both the historical roots of the concept and also Du Bois's use of the concept as key to his production of new sociological knowledge. As will be shown, Du Bois explicitly and implicitly disrupts existing notions of heterogeneity and of a monolithic Black population by emphasizing the intraracial variation thereof; thus Du Bois's The Philadelphia Negro intervention amplifies the role of heterogeneity as a tool for uncovering variation that produces incisive sociological theorization and analysis.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0003-1232
1936-4784
DOI:10.1007/s12108-014-9249-2