"Beyond This Narrow Now": Or, Delimitations, of W. E. B. Du Bois

In "Beyond This Narrow Now," Nahum Dimitri Chandler explores W. E. B. Du Bois's early essays, highlighting their fundamental references for his thought. He argues that Du Bois's concept of the "color line" holds greater conceptual depth than previously recognized, with implications for modern systems of enslavement and imperial colonialism. Chandler's work emphasizes the need to re-read, appreciate, and study Du Bois as a contemporary philosophical writer and thinker.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 19 February 2022
Publisher: Duke University Press

Nahum Dimitri Chandler's "Beyond This Narrow Now" explores the profound influence of W. E. B. Du Bois's thinking at the turn of the twentieth century on the entire trajectory of his intellectual journey. Chandler begins by offering a unique perspective on Du Bois's legacy, delving into a series of close readings of his early essays, previously unpublished or seldom studied, accompanied by discrete annotations of "The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches" from 1903. Through these meticulous analyses, Chandler elucidates and expands upon fundamental epistemological concepts central to Du Bois's thought. He also pays theoretical attention to how Du Bois views the African American as a paradigmatic example of possibility, challenging traditional ontological frameworks. Moreover, Chandler suggests that Du Bois's renowned phrase, "the problem of the color line," holds greater conceptual depth than has been previously recognized, with relevance to our understanding of modern systems of enslavement, imperial colonialism, and the early stages of modern capitalism. Chandler's work stands as a testament to a more profound engagement with Du Bois, advocating for a re-reading, appreciation, and scholarly study of his works as a philosophical writer and thinker contemporaneous to our own time.

Weight: 476g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478014805