Reference no: EM133269129

Assignment - Double Consciousness Discussion

Description - After reading the Forethought and Chapters one and fourteen of W.E.B. DuBois' The Soul of Black Folks, submit a discussion board posting that completes one of the following three options:

Option 1: Double Consciousness

Critically examine the concept of double consciousness as developed by W.E.B. Dubois. How do you interpret the 'veil' that Dubois describes in his discussion of double-consciousness? What special insight does double consciousness provide? What costs are associated with it? Is this something that everyone can experience or is it only experienced by groups of people who have been oppressed in some way? Explain your reasoning.

Option 2: Co-Workers in the kingdom of culture--Sorrow Songs in American life

In chapter fourteen of The Souls of Black Folk, DuBois outlines four stages in the development of African music. Summarize these stages in your own words. Would you say that American culture is still on the fourth stage of Dubois' developmental account, or has it developed further? Provide examples to support your stance. Could Dubois' ideas be extended into a fifth or sixth stage? If so, how would you depict these stages?

Dubois states that the end of all his striving is to be accepted as a 'co-worker in the kingdom of culture.' What would it mean for the music or other forms of cultural expression of one group of people to be accepted as such? Has our society progressed to this point since the time that Dubois wrote The Souls of Black Folk? Provide examples to support your stance.

Option 3: Open Reading Question

Develop your own reading question by following the instructions found in the Course Information folder.

Responses to classmates: Develop a critical, sustained response to at least two of your classmates' postings.