W. E. B Dubois Double Consciousness Essay

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The concept of race has been at the mist of human kind for the longest time. Simply defined, the word race makes reference to different groups of individuals that share the same characteristics, making emphasise on the colour of the individual’s skin. W.E.B Du Bois was the first native to write and question the “negro” experience of being a problem in society. He illustrated this by creating the notion of double consciousness. Du Bois explained the actualities of what racism is and how it impacted and/or hindered the minority and their opportunities in a society.
Race is a social force and is evidently created by social structures by means of human interaction and relationships between society and agency. Race and racism only exist upon the …show more content…

One could say that double consciousness makes us aware of our differences from each other. Du Bois explains a person in a double consciousness state will compare himself to others especially those who look down on him. Immigrants experience the concept of double consciousness. Immigrants come into South Africa with their diverse cultures, languages and beliefs. As an immigrant, you would want to keep all your customaries but also want a sense of belonging in South Africa as a South African. The individual will go through a process of experiencing these different identities as they conflict each other. The individual may live a double life at home, around his/her family and friends, with comparison when she/he is in public. The double life of the individual will question who he is as the individual struggles to identify himself as he still believes and/or identifies himself as both South African and an immigrant. Double consciousness can be compared to Marx’s concept of alienation as immigrants are excluded from practices in the country because they are not seen as South African. No matter how much the individual tries to identify himself as South African, others will always refer to him as an immigrant forcing the individual to stay in the double consciousness

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