The Scholar Denied - by Aldon Morris

About the Book

In this book, Aldon D. Morris helps rewrite the history of sociology and to acknowledge the primacy of W. E. B. Du Bois's work in the founding of the discipline. Taking on the prevailing narrative of how sociology developed, Morris probes the way in which the history of the discipline has been written, giving credit to Robert E. Park at the University of Chicago, who worked with the conservative black leader Booker T. Washington to render Du Bois invisible. Uncovering the seminal theoretical work of Du Bois in developing a "scientific" sociology through a variety of methodologies, Morris examines how the leading scholars of the day disparaged and ignored Du Bois's work. The Scholar Denied is based on extensive, rigorous primary source research; the book is the result of a decade of research, writing, and revision. In uncovering the economic and political factors that marginalized the contributions of Du Bois, enabling Park to be recognized as the "father" of the discipline, Morris delivers a wholly new narrative of American intellectual and social history that places one of America's key intellectuals, W. E. B. Du Bois, at its center.

Book Synopsis

In this groundbreaking book, Aldon D. Morris's ambition is truly monumental: to help rewrite the history of sociology and to acknowledge the primacy of W. E. B. Du Bois's work in the founding of the discipline. Calling into question the prevailing narrative of how sociology developed, Morris, a major scholar of social movements, probes the way in which the history of the discipline has traditionally given credit to Robert E. Park at the University of Chicago, who worked with the conservative black leader Booker T. Washington to render Du Bois invisible. Morris uncovers the seminal theoretical work of Du Bois in developing a "scientific" sociology through a variety of methodologies and examines how the leading scholars of the day disparaged and ignored Du Bois's work.

The Scholar Denied is based on extensive, rigorous primary source research; the book is the result of a decade of research, writing, and revision. In exposing the economic and political factors that marginalized the contributions of Du Bois and enabled Park and his colleagues to be recognized as the "fathers" of the discipline, Morris delivers a wholly new narrative of American intellectual and social history that places one of America's key intellectuals, W. E. B. Du Bois, at its center.

The Scholar Denied is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, racial inequality, and the academy. In challenging our understanding of the past, the book promises to engender debate and discussion.

From the Back Cover

"In The Scholar Denied, Aldon Morris tests, and convincingly proves, the belief, too long repressed, that W. E. B. Du Bois not only played a pivotal role in the birth of modern scientific sociology in America but was its founding father, on either side of the color line. Toppling prevailing truths like the towering genius at the center of this development, Morris's account offers a fresh and crisply researched reinterpretation of Du Bois's pathbreaking Atlanta school of sociology and is sure to be a major book."--Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University

"Aldon Morris's The Scholar Denied: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology is one of those landmark studies that change the way we think about a historical occurrence. This well-written book is replete with original insights that challenge conventional wisdom on the origins and development of American sociology. Morris's meticulous scholarship, based on a careful analysis of revealing primary documents as well as secondary sources, details fascinating and new information regarding Du Bois's seminal role in the development of scientific sociology and his relationships with Booker T. Washington, Robert Park, and other members of the Chicago school, and with the preeminent social scientist Max Weber. The Scholar Denied is a must-read for those interested in how race, power, and economics determine the fate of intellectual schools."--William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University

"Aldon Morris has given us a great gift: the truth of Du Bois's genius and America's denial of it! Don't miss this pioneering text!"--Cornel West

"An eye-opening book! Aldon Morris has written a biography not of W. E. B. Du Bois the man, but of Du Bois's magisterial work and how it fared in the disciplinary scramble for preeminence. In the process, Morris turns the lens of sociological analysis on the discipline itself, with bracing and essential conclusions."--Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor, Graduate Center of the City University of New York

"This is a stunningly original history that should inspire both debate and self-reflection within and beyond the discipline of sociology for years to come."--Mitchell Duneier, Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology, Princeton University

Review Quotes

"A fascinating study."-- "Publishers Weekly" (5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Magisterial study of WEB Du Bois' impact on sociology"-- "Sage"

"Morris's work is a first step in discussing a new school of sociological thought"-- "American Journal of Sociology"

"This book thus contributes to the sociology of knowledge, including baleful insight into the racist origins of the very discipline itself. . . . Essential." -- "CHOICE connect" (5/1/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"The Scholar Denied should be required reading for students of sociological theory and intellectual history. The book should spur new histories that do more than tack on Du Bois and other marginalized scholars as 'a kind of affirmative action, ' but instead give their work its rightful, meaningful place in the canon. . . . While Du Bois's relationship with academic sociology evolved over his nearly seven-decade career, at the end, his commitment to Truth remained. Morris deserves recognition for reminding us of this aspect of Du Bois's legacy, insisting that the discipline of sociology come to terms with its own truths."--Monica Bell "Los Angeles Review of Books" (2/9/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"Aldon Morris takes a huge step forward in The Scholar Denied by placing Du Bois at the center of the sociological canon. . . . Morris should be congratulated for providing us a mandate to both think differently about and conduct more work on the legacy of this brilliant scholar."--Alford A. Young, Jr. "Contexts" (2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"An excellent addition to your library . . . Morris has done outstanding work. . . . I like to think that if DuBois were here, he would be proud to see it."--Donna Davis "Seattle Book Mama" (10/19/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Dr. Morris' The Scholar Denied is a raucous and, at times, sobering and maddening romp through a segment of intellectual life of the early 20th century that, even to the modern ears of The Diaspora, frequently sounds all too familiar."--Black Kos "Daily Kos" (10/6/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Groundbreaking . . . A must-read . . . the book promises to engender debate and discussion."--Marshal Zeringue "HEPPAS Books" (8/15/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Groundbreaking."--Hilary Hurd Anyaso "Northwestern" (8/26/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Helps rewrite the history of sociology and to acknowledge the primacy of W. E. B. Du Bois's work in the founding of the discipline."--Diane Patrick "Publishers Weekly" (11/27/2015 12:00:00 AM)

"Morris's book The Scholar Denied affords us insight into a historical moment when white audiences--especially within academia--often ignored, rather than sought out, the experiential expertise of black intellectuals. In particular, Morris details how white sociological and public audiences marginalized the scientific contributions of the sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois and other black social scientists working at the historically black Atlanta University in the early 1900s."--Matthew Clair "Public Books" (5/2/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"Provides a fascinating and challenging introduction to one of the towering intellects of the twentieth century, himself a potent proof against the inherent inferiority of African Americans, an assumption he devoted his life to disproving."--Christopher N. Breiseth "WhoWhatWhy" (8/4/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"The story of The Scholar Denied is much bigger than a professional insider's debate about founders; bigger than something that only the History of Sociology Section of the ASA should bother with. It is also bigger than questions about who to include on our syllabi, or what stories we tell of the University of Chicago. It is a wake up call about our own professional doxa. It is a call to be just a little more skeptical about those sociological standpoints that purport universality when are not--and can never be. And it is a call to be just a little more open to those standpoints that get occluded: standpoints which would otherwise lead us to real and valuable insights into the social world, just as did the work of Du Bois. . . . The Scholar Denied is a powerful and persuasive plea to pay attention to those voices that might still be unwittingly relegated to the margins on the grounds of their ostensible particularism or subjectivism. And it is a reminder that the cost of such marginalization is not simply an ethical one, it is an epistemic one. And it is one that sociology cannot afford."--Julian Go "Berkeley Journal of Sociology" (1/11/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"This well-crafted, meticulously researched, and theoretically serious work will command engagement from the disci- pline writ large. . . . The Scholar Denied takes an enormous and sure-footed stride toward righting a great historic wrong."--Lawrence D. Bobo "The Du Bois Review" (9/1/2015 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Aldon D. Morris is Leon Forrest Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Northwestern University and the author of The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change, among other books.