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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
W.E.B Du Bois' work originated in many forms the discussion of epistemic injustice and the separation felt by marginalized communities who are bombarded by hermeneutical resources which neither reflect their experiences nor adequately communicate their experience of the dominant (white) culture of America. His articulation of the "veil" and his hesitance to disrupt the way that he is perceived by those outside of his sub-cultural group speaks to a self-preservation absolutely necessary within marginalized communities who have had to fight tooth and nail historically to maintain and develop their own cultural and hermeneutical resources in the face of devastating destruction by colonist groups and the relentless centering of their own experiences as standard.
Valuable and never elsewhere quite so well articulated.
Valuable and never elsewhere quite so well articulated.
This book has a severe case of good observations hindered by analysis that isn't consequential enough. DuBois too often seems to hold back on more radical solutions and decries those that do. The other critique is that these chapters are often just essays that do not fully connect to each other and are undecided on wether to be analytical or narrative.
অ্যাফ্রো-আমেরিকান মানসের, সম্ভবত, সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিশ্লেষণ পাওয়া যাবে এই বইতে। ডু বইজ (ঢং করে ফ্রেঞ্চ কায়দায় দ্যু বোয়া বলতে যাচ্ছিলাম, পরে দেখলাম ডু বইজ সঠিক) অন্য একটা সময়ে বেঁচে ছিলেন, এমন একটা সময় যখন নিজের সন্তানকে ডিপথেরিয়ায় মরতে দেখতে হয় কোনো শ্বেতাঙ্গ চিকিৎসক তার চিকিৎসায় রাজি হয়নি বলে। সেই আমেরিকা আর নেই। তবে নতুন আমেরিকার শেতাঙ্গ মানসে এবং কৃষ্ণাঙ্গ-শ্বেতাঙ্গ সম্পর্কের খুব বেশি উন্নতিও অবশ্য হয়নি। বলা যায়, বইজের অনেক উপসংহার এখনো প্রাসঙ্গিক।
প্রবন্ধগুলোয়(এবং একটি গল্পে) বিভিন্ন বিষয় এসেছে, সরো সং থেকে শুরু করে নিগ্রো শিক্ষা, নিগ্রো অর্থনীতি, নিগ্রো রাজনীতি(আমি অবমাননাকর অর্থে 'নিগ্রো' ব্যবহার করছি না, বইজের মত করে বলছি), তাঁদের সমস্যা, তাদের বিশ্বাস, শক্তি ও দুর্বলতার বেশ নৈর্ব্যক্তিকভাবে তুলে ধরেছেন।
তবে আমার মর্ম স্পর্শ করেছে সিভিলাইজেশন এবং হিস্ট্রিকে করা বইজের চ্যালেঞ্জটা। প্রথাগত অ্যাংলোফিলিক(বা ইউরোফিলিক) যে সংজ্ঞা সভ্যতার, ইতিহাসের যে ন্যারেটিভ যাকে চ্যালেঞ্জ আজকাল চমস্কি বা হাওয়ার্ড জিন করেন ডু বইজ তা করেছেন, একইরকম কনভিকশন নিয়ে, কিন্তু আরো আগে।
এবং, এই বইটা জাস্ট আরেকটা র্যান্টিং না। ওভারহেলমিং ইমোশলাল স্টেটমেন্ট না, বরং, খুবই স্কলারলি, প্রায় মেদহীন একটা বই।
প্রবন্ধগুলোয়(এবং একটি গল্পে) বিভিন্ন বিষয় এসেছে, সরো সং থেকে শুরু করে নিগ্রো শিক্ষা, নিগ্রো অর্থনীতি, নিগ্রো রাজনীতি(আমি অবমাননাকর অর্থে 'নিগ্রো' ব্যবহার করছি না, বইজের মত করে বলছি), তাঁদের সমস্যা, তাদের বিশ্বাস, শক্তি ও দুর্বলতার বেশ নৈর্ব্যক্তিকভাবে তুলে ধরেছেন।
তবে আমার মর্ম স্পর্শ করেছে সিভিলাইজেশন এবং হিস্ট্রিকে করা বইজের চ্যালেঞ্জটা। প্রথাগত অ্যাংলোফিলিক(বা ইউরোফিলিক) যে সংজ্ঞা সভ্যতার, ইতিহাসের যে ন্যারেটিভ যাকে চ্যালেঞ্জ আজকাল চমস্কি বা হাওয়ার্ড জিন করেন ডু বইজ তা করেছেন, একইরকম কনভিকশন নিয়ে, কিন্তু আরো আগে।
...this has again and again been the result of carrying civilization and the blessed gospel to the isles of the sea and the heathen without the law. Nor does it altogether satisfy the conscience of the modern world to be told complacently that all this has been right and proper, the fated triumph of strength over weakness, of righteousness over evil, of superiors over inferiors. It would certainly be soothing if one could readily believe all this; and yet there are too many ugly facts for everything to be thus easily explained away. We feel and know that there are many delicate differences in race psychology, numberless changes that our crude social measurements are not yet able to follow minutely, which explain much of history and social development. At the same time, too, we know that these considerations have never adequately explained or excused the triumph of brute force and cunning over weakness and innocence.
So wofully unorganized is sociological knowledge that the meaning of progress, the meaning of “swift” and “slow” in human doing, and the limits of human perfectability, are veiled, unanswered sphinxes on the shores of science.
এবং, এই বইটা জাস্ট আরেকটা র্যান্টিং না। ওভারহেলমিং ইমোশলাল স্টেটমেন্ট না, বরং, খুবই স্কলারলি, প্রায় মেদহীন একটা বই।
A beautiful book telling the stories of the lived experience of black people following emancipation. A must read, not just as an incredible piece of writing but for the ways in which it shines the spotlight on systemic racial injustices many of which still exist today.
Brillante, conmovedor, adelantado a su tiempo. Du Bois es el padre de la sociología americana, pero además escribe como poeta. Los mejores ensayos son los más personales - Of the Passing of the First Born, Of the Coming of John, pero para nada le quitan el mérito de logros sociológicos como Of the Wings of Atalanta y Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece.
W.E.B. Du Bois is flat out one of the most gifted and poetic writers I have had the pleasure of reading. Much of the Souls of Black Folk is sociological, digging into history and statistics, but no chapter feels less poetic than any other. Du Bois knows that the truth of words is in feeling, in voice, and utilizes it fully. (This is evident through his usage of songs at the beginning of each chapter).There's some Anti-Semitism and some things about class that did not sit well with me. Du Bois is just as much as man of his time as the infinitely worse "great" people who we justify with with that phrase. "Of the Black Belt" and "Of the Coming of John" are essential chapters. Empathetic and burning with rage alike.
It’s good.
I didn’t give it full marks just because it has a little of everything. Unfortunately, when you have everything, there are some parts that are less engaging to me than others.
A little history.
A little social observations.
A little social commentary.
A little anecdotes.
A little poetic story telling.
A little Allegory.
It’s certainly open my mind to the past, the present and the future.
Ps.
I just thought about how interesting the levels of passions running through the different parts.
The historical “section” is oddly dispassionate. He often gives objective, rational arguments for some of the racism and discrimination. Then discusses the plight of the freedman and the where the prejudice may have originated from.
Sometimes it’s strange, He’ll offer some rationalizations like “of course the black man is lazy, we gave him freedom but taught him the meaningless of his actions”.
And initially you go “Du Bois is so right”
But then you think, “wait a minute, you mean ‘all black men’, Du Bois?”
You go further down a couple of chapter and you can really feel Du Bois passion in the anecdotes and stories he tells.
This book has a wide range.
I didn’t give it full marks just because it has a little of everything. Unfortunately, when you have everything, there are some parts that are less engaging to me than others.
A little history.
A little social observations.
A little social commentary.
A little anecdotes.
A little poetic story telling.
A little Allegory.
It’s certainly open my mind to the past, the present and the future.
Ps.
I just thought about how interesting the levels of passions running through the different parts.
The historical “section” is oddly dispassionate. He often gives objective, rational arguments for some of the racism and discrimination. Then discusses the plight of the freedman and the where the prejudice may have originated from.
Sometimes it’s strange, He’ll offer some rationalizations like “of course the black man is lazy, we gave him freedom but taught him the meaningless of his actions”.
And initially you go “Du Bois is so right”
But then you think, “wait a minute, you mean ‘all black men’, Du Bois?”
You go further down a couple of chapter and you can really feel Du Bois passion in the anecdotes and stories he tells.
This book has a wide range.
I think reading this as an audiobook was probably a mistake. It's the kind of thing that frequently had too much complex information for me to really absorb in an audio format without being able to go back and re-read and contemplate. The thing I was struck by the most is how little things have changed in the past 100 years.
This was utterly fascinating when it wasn't just heartbreaking. There are so many forms in this collection, from sociology to slice of life, with even some short fiction thrown in and every page of it was worth reading. Du Bois was an excellent writer and his voice is extremely present even in today's conversations.