W.E.B. Du Bois as a Study Abroad Student in Germany, 1892-1894
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v2i1.25Keywords:
W.E.B. Dubois, authobiography, study abroadAbstract
This paper examines Du Bois's study in Germany, making use of a variety of documents relating to his stay in Berlin. Du Bois describes his life as a student in Berlin quite vividly in chapter 10 of his Autobiography, which is largely based on diaries and notes Du Bois kept as a student. The Du Bois papers stored at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst)1 provide an interesting perspective on chapter 10, for here we can see the diaries in their original form, unedited by Du Bois, who wrote the Autobiography many years later and who left out much that is of interest not only to students of Berlin in the 1890s but also to biographers of Du Bois. In this paper I will draw not only on his correspondence and Autobiography but also on unpublished sources, including documents I found in Berlin. Although the focus will be on Du Bois, it is also important to sketch in the cultural and political climate of the time, since this provides the setting for Du Bois's development and helps explain some elements in the further course of life.
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References
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