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The Souls of Black Folk

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I don't know how widely read this book was at the time, but some eminent persons weighed in on DuBois' study of Blacks in America, including William James, who was one of DuBois' teachers at Harvard. Interesting to read that William James sent his brother, Henry, a copy of the book.

Comments

  1. RickJuly 29, 2009 at 3:21 PM

    I've never read "The American Scene" and can't remember one person of color in the writings of Henry James. Of course, I haven't read everything he wrote.

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  2. avrdsJuly 30, 2009 at 4:17 AM

    I was surprised to read that William James, along with Mark Twain, was one of the nation's leading and out-spoken opponents of imperialism.

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  3. James FergusonJuly 30, 2009 at 8:58 AM

    The Spanish-American War stirred up a lot of anti-imperialist feelings. Twain wrote extensively on the subject. Many saw it as a trumped-up war with the US was mostly interested in securing the Caribbean, but they got the Philippines and Guam in the process, thereby greatly expanding the reach of the US.

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  4. TripplerAugust 10, 2009 at 12:59 AM

    Back in the late 60s/early 70s ''Souls'' was widely read and discussed with much enthusiasm on college campuses. Today, it has been forgotten.

    Unfortunately, racism has not been totally eliminated in society and the Gates situation in Cambridge, MA proves it. But it will be interesting to see how the book will be viewed in future generations when (hopefully) much of the present racial hostilities will be ended.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James FergusonAugust 10, 2009 at 11:25 AM

    I've only read the chapter on Booker T. Washington. It was enough to compell me to read more.

    ReplyDelete

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