Speaker: Michael Burawoy (Professor, U.C. Berkeley)
Title: Race, Class and Capitalism:
Abstract: To focus on WEB Du Bois' role as founder of US sociology is to miss the importance of his work beyond the Atlanta School, and beyond The Philadelphia Negro and The Souls of Black Folk. In order to recognize his enormous range of writing, I will examine his changing views of the relationship between "race, class and capitalism" - a fraught issue that is being hotly debated today. Does racism drive capitalism or capitalism drive racism? Can there be a capitalism without racism or is the destruction of capitalism necessary to dissolve racism? Where does Du Bois sit in the distinction between racial capitalism and racialized capitalism? We shall follow the way Du Bois wrestled with these questions throughout his life of public and political engagement.
