Chapter 7: W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Toward the end of his career, Du Bois shifted his focus to ______.

A. status and power

B. race and gender

C. colonialism and imperialism

D. education and the economy

Ans: C

2. Du Bois was primarily concerned with the nature and intersection of ______.

A. status and power

B. race and class

C. race and education

D. status and structure

Ans: B

3. Why did early sociologists overlook Du Bois’s contributions?

A. He prioritized understanding individuals over groups.

B. He lacked academic credentials.

C. He did not include enough data in his theorizing.

D. He focused on explaining the experiences of one social group.

Ans: D

4. Du Bois conducted primarily which types of research?

A. participant observation, empirical experiments, political essays

B. empirical studies, early telephone interviews, political essays

C. empirical studies, interpretative essays, political essays

D. interpretative essays, ethnographies, surveys

Ans: C

5. The basic theoretical orientation of Du Bois is ______.

A. nonrational, collective

B. nonrational, individual

C. rational, collective

D. rational, individual

Ans: A

6. Which of the following is a subjective dimension of race and racism?

A. double consciousness

B. the color-line

C. wealth inequality

D. the talented Tenth

Ans: A

7. To thoroughly understand the conditions in which African Americans lived, what method did Du Bois himself undertake in The Philadelphia Negro?

A. in-depth interviews

B. ethnographic research

C. city-wide survey

D. house-to-house canvass

Ans: D

8. According to Du Bois, what contributes to the unequal employment opportunities and subpar housing for African Americans in Philadelphia?

A. the veil

B. color prejudice

C. double consciousness

D. weak morals

Ans: B

9. The authors argue that Du Bois’s work The Philadelphia Negro can best be described as theoretically ______.

A. individualistic

B. multidimensional

C. conscious

D. rational

Ans: B

10. In The Philadelphia Negro, Du Bois asserts that ______ is the “vastest of the Negro problems.”

A. social inequality

B. criminality

C. the color-line

D. poverty

Ans: C

11. What does Du Bois conclude in The Philadelphia Negro about the source of “Negro problems?”

A. These problems result from race, not social class.

B. The solution lies primarily in changing attitudes.

C. Political interests perpetuate these problems.

D. These problems stem from structural and historical conditions.

Ans: D

12. The Souls of Black Folk solidified Du Bois’s position as more ______ compared to other Black scholars like Booker T. Washington.

A. moderate

B. radical

C. intersectional

D. nonrational

Ans: B

13. Why did Du Bois use a more “soulful” voice in The Souls of Black Folk?

A. He wanted to parallel the more subjective angle taken by other sociologists.

B. He believed that facts about racial discrimination were not convincing to White Americans.

C. He was paid to produce more personal essays on race in the United States.

D. He aimed to demonstrate the power of the veil.

Ans: B

14. One characteristic of “double consciousness” is the ability to ______.

A. identify and challenge the color-line

B. look at one’s self through the eyes of others

C. balance patience with a call to revolution

D. separate individual from structural causes of racism

Ans: B

15. Du Bois defines the “color-line” as the ______.

A. relation of the darker to the lighter races of men

B. feeling of two-ness caused by racism

C. result of individual prejudice

D. essence and power of Black spirituality

Ans: A

16. For Du Bois, when did race become central to world history?

A. when colonization began to benefit Whites

B. at the birth of capitalism

C. during World War I

D. when a civilization first conquered another civilization

Ans: A

17. For Black students, Booker T. Washington advocated for ______, while Du Bois advocated for ______.

A. segregated schools; integrated schools

B. integrated schools; segregated schools

C. trade schools; higher education

D. higher education; trade schools

Ans: C

18. According to Du Bois, what social institution constituted the “social center of Negro life in the United States?”

A. the NAACP

B. the Black church

C. community neighborhoods

D. education

Ans: B

19. When Du Bois asks, “Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house?” he is reflecting on the ______ aspects of racism.

A. structural

B. objective

C. subjective

D. rational

Ans: C

20. The concept of double consciousness parallels which theorist’s notion?

A. Marx’s alienation

B. Durkheim’s profane

C. Weber’s authority

D. Simmel’s stranger

Ans: D

21. In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois ______ to provide a glimpse into the lives of African Americans.

A. employed his double consciousness

B. crossed the color-line

C. stepped within the veil

D. worked with Booker T. Washington

Ans: C

22. The Souls of White Folk differs from The Souls of Black Folk in that its tone can be considered more ______.

A. sympathetic

B. militant

C. empirical

D. veiled

Ans: B

23. In The Souls of White Folk, Du Bois argues that racism in America is ______.

A. unconnected to European colonialism

B. receding as Whites’ souls become more tolerant

C. less oppressive than in other nations

D. oppressive in structure and practice

Ans: D

24. Du Bois argues that while African Americans possess double consciousness, Whites have ______.

A. triple consciousness

B. false consciousness

C. no racial consciousness

D. class consciousness

Ans: C

25. Which of Du Bois’s works reverses the gaze of racial domination?

A. The Souls of Black Folk

B. The Souls of White Folk

C. The Philadelphia Negro

D. Phylon

Ans: B

True/False

1. Du Bois believed that sociological research would help provide a solution to racism.

Ans: T

2. Du Bois enhanced his sociological knowledge by studying in Germany.

Ans: T

3. Du Bois believed that sociologists should be objective and value-free.

Ans: F

4. Du Bois used a multidimensional approach to race and class.

Ans: T

5. The Philadelphia Negro was the first major sociological study of an African American community in the United States.

Ans: T

6. Du Bois argues that the slums of Philadelphia should be understood as a symptom of a larger problem.

Ans: T

7. One of the strengths of Du Bois’s study is that he surveyed residents of the Seventh Ward.

Ans: T

8. The Philadelphia Negro notes that the experiences of African Americans are similar to those of other marginalized immigrant groups.

Ans: F

9. One consequence of the color-line is that African Americans were limited in what jobs they could pursue.

Ans: T

10. To address “the Negro Problem,” Du Bois suggests addressing each contributing factor separately.

Ans: F

11. The color-line is an example of a nonrational factor contributing to racial inequality.

Ans: F

12. The Souls of Black Folk solidified Du Bois’s agreement with Booker T. Washington.

Ans: F

13. Du Bois was intensely critical of to the Black church.

Ans: T

14. The color-line refers to the segregated neighborhoods Du Bois studied in The Philadelphia Negro.

Ans: F

15. The veil represents the most pressing problem for the United States.

Ans: F

16. The Philadelphia Negro combines scientific analysis with subjective insights.

Ans: F

17. Du Bois saw the vote as a way to obtain more rights for African Americans.

Ans: T

18. Du Bois contends that the institution of slavery had little impact on the development of the Black church.

Ans: F

19. Du Bois argued that African Americans in the North were more radical than those in the South.

Ans: T

20. The Soul of White Folks showed that Whites experience a double consciousness.

Ans: F

21. Du Bois argues that the color-line first emerged in the 1500s.

Ans: F

22. According to Du Bois, Blacks are better able to see Whiteness than are Whites.

Ans: T

23. Du Bois spent many years working for the NAACP.

Ans: T

24. Du Bois posits that leaders of the Black church have considerable power.

Ans: T

25. Du Bois believed that Blacks’ subservience to Whites would lead to greater racial equality.

Ans: F

Essay

1. How did Du Bois’s work build on other theorists, and how did he challenge contemporary understandings of theory?

2. How did racism impact Du Bois’s educational experiences, and how did those experiences in turn shape his theorizing?

3. Discuss how well you feel Du Bois’s ideas have translated into contemporary times. Are his works still relevant today? If so, explain how, and if not, explain your reasoning.

4. What does Du Bois mean by the “color-line?” Do you believe the concept is still applicable in contemporary U.S. society? Why or why not?

5. Summarize Du Bois’s proposed solutions in The Philadelphia Negro. Since this was first published in 1899, what solutions have been implemented? What barriers still exist for others?

6. Explain Du Bois’s concept of the veil. Show how it relates to double consciousness.

7. Compare and contrast Du Bois’s double consciousness to Simmel’s notion of the stranger.

8. Compare and contrast Booker T. Washington’s positions on racial injustice with Du Bois’s.

9. Compare and contrast Du Bois’s theory of the oppression of Black Americans with Gilman’s theory of the oppression of women. What are some of the similarities (if any) and differences (if any) between these two perspectives?

10. Compare and contrast the goals and tone of The Souls of Black Folk with The Souls of White Folk.

11. Summarize the main theoretical and historical contributions from Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk.

12. Discuss the relationships between Du Bois’s concepts of the color-line, the veil, and double consciousness. What theoretical issue(s) do these concepts raise?

13. Discuss Du Bois’s term “clairvoyance” and its significance to The Souls of White Folk.

14. What does Du Bois argue about the emergence of the color-line? How was it used historically, and what were the consequences?

15. According to Du Bois, what functions has the Black church served? What changes would he like to see and why?