Description
In African American Pioneers of Sociology, Pierre Saint-Arnaud examines the lasting contributions that African Americans have made to the field of sociology. Arguing that science is anything but a neutral construct, he defends the radical stances taken by early African American sociologists from accusations of intellectual infirmity by foregrounding the racist historical context of the time these influential works were produced.
Examining key figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Franklin Frazier, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, Horace Roscoe Cayton, J.G. St. Clair Drake, and Oliver Cromwell Cox, Saint-Arnaudreveals the ways in which many aspects of modern sociology emerged from these authors' radical views on race, gender, religion, and class. Beautifully translated from its original French, African American Pioneers of Sociology is a stunning examination of the influence of African American intellectuals and an essential work for understanding the origins of sociology as a modern discipline.
Reviews
'Du Bois, Frazier, Cox, and the other scholars examined in this book carried the burden of institutional racism throughout their lives. At the same time, with each of their works, they brought forward an entirely different representation of their true place in social science and society alike. Of course, there was no way for them to break down all the barriers of racial discrimination, but their constructive resistance to it was crucial to what scientific success they had. By refusing to internalize the degrading image of the black minority embodied in the dominant white model, by refusing to apply the stereotyping language of the Other to themselves, they succeeded in the task of inventing an original African American sociology.'
- From <em>African American Pioneers of Sociology</em>
'This important and timely work makes an important contribution to discussions of how 'race' has been constructed in the human sciences and in American history.'
- Sebastián Gil-Riaño
‘This book is an important addition for all who wish to understand the rise of American social science. The contributions of these ebony sociologists lead one to marvel at how such a sophisticated corpus of work could arise from the segregated and barely funded halls of Atlanta, Howard, Fisk, and Lincoln universities.’
- Aldon Morris