The Philadelphia Negro: Du Bois and Urban Sociology

Catalog description

Du Bois’ The Philadelphia Negro (1899) moves the sociological gaze away from homogenizing urban African American culture into a subset of behaviors, particularly those related to crime, violence, and sexuality. Instead, Du Bois traced how urban America’s economic opportunities for social mobility were inextricable from its racial geography–the historical construction of racialized labor, financial, and real estate markets that constrained African American urban life. Despite these significant constraints on their social mobility, Du Bois demonstrated how African Americans enacted their agency to build social and economic institutions that would help them thrive in Philadelphia’s segregated Seventh Ward. Du Bois’s conclusions in “The Philadelphia Negro” will be the theoretical anchor to this course which we will then use to explore the contemporary urban color line in the United States. Specifically, we will engage in a study of the historical, environmental, political, and economic opportunities and challenges facing one of New York City’s neighbors—Newark, New Jersey. Participate in this course not only to learn about Du Boisian theory, urban sociology, urban history but, also, to develop your own opinion of New Jersey and understanding of the neighborhoods and cities that surround NYU’s Manhattan campus.