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Title: W.E.B. DuBois
Course Section Number: BLS-280-02
Department: Black Studies
Description: This course offers an extended study of the social and political philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963). As someone who dedicated his life's work to studying "the Negro problem" and "the program of Negro freedom," Du Bois's reflections on racial discrimination, social, political, and economic inequality, the possibility of racial integration, and the meaning of racial self-determination continue to inform how we think about racial justice and injustice in the U.S. The course focuses on three main questions in Du Bois's thought. The first question has to do with the psychology of race. That is, what motivates white racial prejudice? And how does racial discrimination affect Black people's relation towards the self and others? The second question regards social, political, and economic inequality. Do poor whites and poor Blacks suffer from the same kind of inequality? Or are there specific social factors that explain the unequal distribution of inequality in the U.S.? Lastly, the third question regards integration and self-determination. Is racial integration possible in the U.S.? Is Black self-determination compatible with racial integration? While the course centers on Du Bois as a historical thinker, we will focus on how his social and political philosophy can help us think about our present racial relations.
Credits: 1.00
Start Date: August 26, 2026
End Date: December 19, 2026
Meeting Information:
08/27/2026-12/17/2026 Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 02:40PM - 03:55PM, Room to be Announced
Faculty: Montiel, Jorge

Course Status & Cross-Listings

Cross-list Group Capacity: 20
Cross-list Group Student Count: 0
Calculated Course Status: OPEN
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