Du Bois: The Theory Of Double Consciousness And Racism

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The Theory of Double Consciousness W.E.B Du Bois: Du Bois was born on February 23th, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was an active youth writing news reports occasionally and was the valedictorian of his high school. He attended various Colleges and Universities and received a Bachelor’s of Art from Fisk University and a Master’s of Art from Harvard (dkovacs). He spent his summers teaching the African American youth in bucolic areas, where he saw the racism experienced in different social classes and areas (dkovacs). Learning through the eyes of others and seeing how racism affected everyone is what sparked his theory of double consciousness. The lessons he took from his personal life greatly affected his outlook for his theory and gave him firsthand knowledge on the suffrage of African Americans. He was a racial activist and fought against African American oppression; being an active affiliate of the NAACP (dkovacs). Through his experiences he gathered the necessary data to apply towards his theory and sociological teachings. The Theory of Double Consciousness and Racism: The theory of double consciousness devised by Du Bois states that one’s idea of identity is defined by how others see them “looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (Bois). It refers mainly to the upbringing of African Americans in a European facet. As most of Du Bois’s work, he focused his studies on the racism faced by African Americans. Although his theory was limited towards one race specifically it can be universally transcribed into any race that has be inflicted by prejudice. Their experiences, based on bias, would instill the thinking or cons... ... middle of paper ... ...panics are seen as dirty, lazy, or un-American in media references. These ideas form a prejudice that all Hispanics are like that. While Hollywood images are meant to be a comedic satire they form subconscious associations for harmful real-life prejudices. In Conclusion: While some might argue that Du Bois has had limited application as his focus group narrative was contained to the African American experience of double consciousness, the phenomena of identity and image mediated by factors externally is relatively universal. Media images create unprovocative identifies for less dominant groups or ideas triggering the outlook to be unfavorable upon those groups and ideas. The idea of seeing “me” through “you” is detrimental to one’s self esteem, values, beliefs, and overall outlook on life. The inclusive damage created by the stigmas is disastrous to one’s self.

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