Du Bois’ Philadelphia

Catalog description

The great scholar and civil rights leader, W.E.B. Du Bois, came to Philadelphia in 1896 to research the Black population of the Seventh Ward. The University of Pennsylvania published his study in 1899 as The Philadelphia Negro. We use this text as a starting point to consider how race, racism, class, and gender shaped, and continue to shape, the opportunities and experiences of Philadelphians. We also explore the concepts of abolition, reparations, affirmative action, and restorative justice. Taking inspiration from Du Bois’ mixture of research methods and data sources, the course will focus on a range of historical research and digital humanities methods, including oral history, geographic information systems mapping, podcasts, video, augmented reality, data visualization, and gaming. Students will develop skills in one or more of these methods and develop new materials for teaching high school and college students about Du Bois and Philadelphia.