Next to the Color Line: Gender, Sexuality, and W. E. B. Du Bois

Critical American Studies

by Susan Gillman (Editor), Alys Eve Weinbaum (Editor), Mason Stokes (Contributor)

Although W. E. B. Du Bois did not often pursue the connections between the “Negro question” that defined so much of his intellectual life and the “woman question” that engaged writers and feminist activists around him, Next to the Color Line argues that within Du Bois’s work is a politics of juxtaposition that connects race, gender, sexuality, and justice. This provocative collection investigates a set of political formulations and rhetorical strategies by which Du Bois approached, used, and repressed issues of gender and sexuality. The essays in Next to the Color Line propose a return to Du Bois, not only to reassess his politics but also to demonstrate his relevance for today’s scholarly and political concerns. Contributors: Hazel V. Carby, Yale U; Vilashini Cooppan, U of California, Santa Cruz; Brent Hayes Edwards, Rutgers U; Michele Elam, Stanford U; Roderick A. Ferguson, U of Minnesota; Joy James, Williams College; Fred Moten, U of Southern California; Shawn Michelle Smith, St. Louis U; Mason Stokes, Skidmore College; Claudia Tate, Princeton U; Paul C. Taylor, Temple U. Susan Gillman is professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Alys Eve Weinbaum is associate professor of English at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Genres: Gender, Feminism

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is based around the premise that it is more productive to examine the implications of gender and sexuality in Du Bois's writing than to debate whether he was a sexist or (pro)feminist. The book is well structured and often places oppositional chapters in conversation with each other. I would have liked to see a broader critique of Du Bois's works--because this is primarily literary criticism, nearly every chapter focuses on Souls of Black Folk, Dark Princess, and "The Comet".