Du Bois on Sociology, Double Consciousness and Imagination

This article explores Du Bois’ specific understanding of Sociology, arguing that he utilized and developed a specific form of active imagining. Du Bois’ use of imagination is a process of reimagining, grounded in his experience of racialized modernity. He uses sociological narratives to redirect the imaginations of his audiences by teaching them to see what they have been trained to ignore. Simultaneously, he develops and deploys ways of thinking about race that avoid past assumptions of black inferiority. He describes how different (racialized) social groups are constituted amid the weave of labor conditions which produce the historical, political and “real” possibilities that matter not only for these groups but for societies, nations, indeed, the world as a whole. He contributes to the development of sociological thought by directing its attention to the processes at work in social problems, the activities of groups, the production of double consciousness and the operations of environments.