Thinkers for our time: Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) stands as one of the most important and influential civil rights activists and intellectuals of the 20th century. As co-founder of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and author of the seminal book The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois’s profound writings and analysis of race and racism continue to shape the way scholars think about these issues today. While Du Bois is arguably best remembered as a sociologist, he refused to confine his work to a single academic discipline, form or genre. A true polymath, he is also celebrated as a historian, philosopher, fiction writer, editor and pioneer in the field of data visualisation. Join our expert panel as they reflect on his extraordinary life and legacy.
 
Thinkers for our time is a series re-thinking the life and work of influential figures from across the Academy’s disciplines, particularly history and the arts. Previous events in the series have explored Sigmund Freud, Sylvia Pankhurst, Christina Rosetti and Charlie Chaplin.
 
Speakers:
Professor Hakim Adi, Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora, University of Chichester
Professor Paul Goodwin, Chair of Contemporary Art and Urbanism, University of the Arts London; independent curator
Professor Sharon Monteith, Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Cultural History, Nottingham Trent University
 
Chair: Jonathan Derbyshire, Executive opinion editor, Financial Times