To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of W.E.B. Du Bois' most widely read book,The Souls of Black Folk, Denison has planned a series of events during the spring and fall semesters 2003 to commemorate his life's work. The first event is a convocation featuring Kenneth Goings from Ohio State University titled "W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, and Black Collectibles." It is set for 7:30 p.m., Tuesday (Jan. 28) in Slayter Auditorium. The convocation is free and open to the public.

In a series of two symposia (one in the spring and one in the fall) Denison faculty, drawing upon the insights of their particular disciplines, will speak on subjects including Reconstruction, education, African-American leadership and black religion. Several classes will be linked to the commemoration through assigned readings from Du Bois' body of work and by student participation in symposia and convocations. Classes participating include several from the departments of Black Studies, Communication, Education, English, History, and Sociology/Anthropology.

Goings is professor and chair of the department of African-American and African Studies at Ohio State University. He earned his doctorate in history from Princeton University and is the author ofMammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping(1994), as well as other books and articles. His slide/lecture presentation will explore the role of these black collectibles in reinforcing ideologies of African-Americans emerging after reconstruction throughout the 1950s. The discussion will be framed in the context of Du Bois' life and scholarly work on the construct of double-consciousness.

Du Bois' life is bracketed by major events in the African-American experience. He was born in 1868, the third year of emancipation and died on the eve of the 1963 March on Washington. Passionate about the value of a liberal arts education, Du Bois was educated in the classical tradition at historically black Fisk University. He earned a second bachelor of arts degree from Harvard College, studied at the University of Berlin, and, in 1895, became the first African-American to earn a doctoral degree from Harvard University. He wrote several critically acclaimed books in the fields of history, sociology, fiction and autobiography. Du Bois also was a founder of the Niagara Movement that challenged the accommodationist politics of Booker T. Washington, the visionary editor of the NAACP'sThe Crisismagazine, and a leader in the Pan-African Movement. Disillusioned with American society later in life, Du Bois moved to Ghana in 1961, where he died in 1963.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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