The Souls of W. E. B. Du Bois explores the relationship of W. E. B. Du Bois's seminal book, The Souls of Black Folk, to other works in his scholarly portfolio and to his larger project concerning race, racial identity, and the social objectives of scholarly engagement.The new, original chapters in this book, written by leading Du Bois scholars, offer a critical reading of Souls and its relevance a century later in today's world. The chapters show how Souls extends, refines, or introduces ideas developed in Du Bois's The Philadelphia Negro and Black Reconstruction, and how Souls relates to Du Bois's early considerations of social activism on the behalf of African Americans and to his thinking about the situation of African American women. The book demonstrates how significant Souls is for Du Bois's overarching objectives concerning racial theorizing, the social conditions affecting race, and the possibilities for social justice.

The Souls of W. E. B. Du Bois explores the relationship of W. E. B. Du Bois's seminal book, The Souls of Black Folk, to other works in his scholarly portfolio and to his larger project concerning race, racial identity, and the social objectives of scholarly engagement.The new, original chapters in this book, written by leading Du Bois scholars, offer a critical reading of Souls and its relevance a century later in today's world. The chapters show how Souls extends, refines, or introduces ideas developed in Du Bois's The Philadelphia Negro and Black Reconstruction, and how Souls relates to Du Bois's early considerations of social activism on the behalf of African Americans and to his thinking about the situation of African American women. The book demonstrates how significant Souls is for Du Bois's overarching objectives concerning racial theorizing, the social conditions affecting race, and the possibilities for social justice.

Before and after writing "Invisible Man," novelist and essayist Ralph Ellison fought to secure a place as a black intellectual in a white-dominated society. In this sophisticated analysis of Ellison's cultural politics, Jerry Watts examines the ways in which black artists and thinkers attempt to establish creative intellectual spaces for themselves. Using Ellison as a case study, Watts makes important observations about the role of black intellectuals in America today.
Watts argues that black intellectuals have had to navigate their way through a society that both denied them the resources, status, and encouragement available to their white peers and alienated them from the rest of their ethnic group. For Ellison to pursue meaningful intellectual activities in the face of this marginalization demanded creative heroism, a new social and artistic stance that challenges cultural stereotypes.
For example, Ellison first created an artistic space for himself by associating with Communist party literary circles, which recognized the value of his writing long before the rest of society was open to his work. In addition, to avoid prescriptive white intellectual norms, Ellison developed his own ideology, which Watts terms the 'blues aesthetic.' Watts's ambitious study reveals a side of Ellison rarely acknowledged, blending careful criticism of art with a wholesale engagement with society.