The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study [Paperback]

W. E. B. Du Bois (Author), Elijah Anderson (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812215737 | ISBN-13: 978-0812215731 | Publication Date: December 1, 1995

In 1897 the promising young sociologist William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) was given a temporary post as Assistant in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in order to conduct in-depth studies of the Negro community in Philadelphia. The product of those studies was the first great empirical book on the Negro in American society.

More than one hundred years after its original publication by the University of Pennsylvania Press, The Philadelphia Negro remains a classic work. It is the first, and perhaps still the finest, example of engaged sociological scholarship—the kind of work that, in contemplating social reality, helps to change it.

In his introduction, Elijah Anderson examines how the neighborhood studied by Du Bois has changed over the years and compares the status of blacks today with their status when the book was initially published.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A credit to American scholarship. . . . It is the sort of book of which we have too few, and of which it is impossible that one should have too many."—from the Yale Review, May 1900

"What made Du Bois's study remarkable in its day was its rejection of prevailing assumptions of inherent racial differences, thus bearing on issues much wider than those indicated by its title. It is also notable as a thoroughly modern piece of social research. The problems faced by Philadelphia's blacks, he argued, had nothing to do with their supposed racial proclivities, but derived from the way they had been treated in the past and their relegation in the present to the most menial and lowest-paying jobs."—Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Elijah Anderson is Charles and William L. Day Professor of Social Science, and Professor of Sociology, at the University of Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812215737
• ISBN-13: 978-0812215731
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sociological Ground Breaker, March 11, 2003

By 

FAYE L ALLARD (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (Paperback)

Read this book! Not only was "The Philadelphia Negro" a groundbreaking piece of sociological research in its day (the late 19th century), the book also goes a long way to explain the historical roots of much of what we see today in Philadelphia and other cities in America. Organized simply and effectively into clear chapters, we learn how African Americans really lived in Philadelphia after emancipation; detailing family and household arrangements, employment, education, health and religion. Elijah Anderson's introduction is a fantastic bonus, helping to illuminate the book even more. Everyone living in Philadelphia should read this!

4.0 out of 5 stars Importance of Philadelphia Negro Study, September 10, 2011

By 

TodTutor - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (Paperback)

This of course is a seminal study, but was extremely enlightening since we don't realize that a number of African Americans were free and living in urban settings with their own insular communities and organizations. Although it is filled with graphs and staid sociological comments it is an important lens on life among negroes 1840-1880's.