Historical multitasking

Abstract

ABSTRACTA brilliant contribution to the field of the history of sociology, Aldon Morris's The Scholar Denied accomplishes four major tasks at once. First, it recovers the ideas of W.E.B. Du Bois, convincingly demonstrating Du Bois's pioneering contributions both to the development of empirically based sociological research and to overturning ‘scientific racism’ through the formulation of a sociological theory of racial inequality. Second, it embeds Du Bois in his historical context, giving particular attention to the neglected Atlanta School of Sociology (Richard Wright Jr., Monroe Work, and George Haynes). Third, it analyses the reception of Du Bois's work in his own time and subsequently, bringing to light the egregious steps taken by Robert Part to obliterate Du Bois's ideas. Fourth, it furnishes a sociological account of how Du Bois and his colleagues managed to establish their School despite the racist obstacles they faced. Morris constructs this account by introducing a powerful pair of sociological concepts – ‘liberation capital’ and ‘insurgent intellectual network'. In these ways, Morris's meticulously researched book sets a high new standard for scholarship on the history of sociology.