W.E.B. Du Bois on colonialism and empire, 1896–1963

This article explores the scholarly and journalistic contributions by W.E.B. Du Bois to the history and theory of modern colonialism. Because Du Bois’s understanding of colonialism evolved radically over his lifetime, this article examines all his relevant writing on the topic—nearly 300 separate texts, written between the 1880s and the twilight of his life. The article also traces the connections between Du Bois’s ideas about colonialism to changing intellectual, political, and personal contexts. While showing that there is no singular “Du Boisian” theory of colonialism, the article concludes that Du Bois made several important suggestions that can contribute to further colonial studies. Du Bois urged researchers us to track historical transformations in the forms of colonial rule, to compare national styles of colonialism, to trace the connections between colonialism and class formation and racial oppression in the metropoles, and to focus on the ways colonialism stems not only from economic and political power motives but also from ideological discourses and practices, including racism. He argued that the slavery ended in the New World when it became more profitable for European capital to exploit African labor in Africa. He supported the political program of amalgamating the political units inherited from the colonial era into larger African states. He pointed to the relations between science and colonialism. While some of Du Bois’s statements could be read as violating sociology’s present-day norms, such as his support for certain forms of colonialism and his description of certain colonized populations as “semicivilized,” the article argues for a tolerant, multiplex approach to historic thinkers that pays attention to the ways in which they both conform to and move beyond the intellectual constraints of their time and place. The conclusion argues that sociology should accept the fact that social research is never complete, and that the history of sociology needs more research rather than a “canon” or an “index” of forbidden works.