Friday, November 21, 2014

How does Du Bois' idea of double-consciousness show the reproduction of racialized domination?

DuBois describes double-consciousness as follows:

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

"Double-consciousness" is the inability to be oneself, to live a life completely dedicated to authenticity, because one is constantly aware—hyper-aware—of the perceptions of others. The "veil" is a metaphor that refers to the way in which black people are not seen, but perceived. This tendency to be perceived helps one to anticipate the expectations and anxieties of others but makes it very difficult to achieve self-awareness. The inability to be self-aware and to form an identity that is completely distinct from racism is "the reproduction of racialised [sic] domination of which you speak." One is dominated, or under the control, of others when one's identity is indistinct from someone else's perception.
Furthermore, there is the dichotomy between being "an American," a product of a particular culture and devotee to the ideals of a great nation, and "a Negro," a figure of contempt, reviled in the culture but also the source of the nation's great advantage in wealth.
https://www.bartleby.com/114/

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