The Cambridge Companion to W. E. B. Du Bois

An overview of the life, work and continuing importance of the pre-eminent African American intellectual of the twentieth century.

As the pre-eminent African American intellectual of the twentieth century and author of The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Du Bois remains a central figure in American history and culture today. This Companion is an important contribution to African American studies, American literature, and American studies.W. E. B. Du Bois was the pre-eminent African American intellectual of the twentieth century. As a pioneering historian, sociologist and civil rights activist, and as a novelist and autobiographer, he made the problem of race central to an understanding of the United States within both national and transnational contexts; his masterwork The Souls of Black Folk (1903) is today among the most widely read and most often quoted works of American literature. This Companion presents ten specially commissioned essays by an international team of scholars which explore key aspects of Du Bois's work. The book offers students a critical introduction to Du Bois, as well as opening new pathways into the further study of his remarkable career. It will be of interest to all those working in African American studies, American literature, and American studies generally.