Double consciousness

Double consciousness is a term describing the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society. It was coined by W. E. B. Du Bois with reference to African American 'double consciousness', including his own, and published in the autoethnographic work, The Souls of Black Folk. The term originally referred to the psychological challenge of 'always looking at one's self through the eyes' of a racist white society, and 'measuring oneself by the means of a nation that looked back in contempt'. The term also referred to Du Bois' experiences of reconciling his African heritage with an upbringing in a European-dominated society. The term has since been applied to numerous situations of social inequality, notably women living in patriarchal societies.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 a term describing the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society. It was coined by W. E. B. Du Bois with reference to African American 'double consciousness', including his own, and published in the autoethnographic work, The Souls of Black Folk. The term originally referred to the psychological challenge of 'always looking at one's self through the eyes' of a racist white society, and 'measuring oneself by the means of a nation that looked back in contempt'. The term also referred to Du Bois' experiences of reconciling his African heritage with an upbringing in a European-dominated society. The term has since been applied to numerous situations of social inequality, notably women living in patriarchal societies. The term originated from an article of Du Bois's titled 'Strivings of the Negro People', published in the August 1897 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. It was later republished and slightly edited under the title 'Of Our Spiritual Strivings' in his book, The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois describes double consciousness as follows: