The Propaganda of History: W. E. B. Du Bois Takes on the Lost Cause Myth
The Propaganda of History: W. E. B. Du Bois Takes on the Lost Cause Myth In-Person
W. E. B. Du Bois worked throughout his entire life as a scholar and public intellectual to describe a more honest, equal, accurate, and progressive version of American History than that often presented by the historians, artists, and political leaders of his time. No historical distortion was more damaging, and more sinister, than the so-called 'Lost Cause' of the Confederacy. This white-washing of the memory of the Civil War era and Reconstruction became entrenched in the public imagination, and endures to this day. In its time, the Lost Cause contributed to the imposition of a system of racial apartheid in the American South, and the primacy of white supremacist attitudes nationwide. In our time, the Lost Cause fuels the debates over school curriculum, historical monuments, and racial justice. Du Bois worked tirelessly for decades to fight the Lost Cause, and his work serves as a roadmap for those wishing to understand the hard truths of the most divisive issues in American history today.
Location: Du Bois Library, W. E. B. Du Bois Center, Room 2220 (22nd floor)
- Date:
- Friday, April 14, 2023
- Time:
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- W. E. B. Du Bois Library, W. E. B. Du Bois Center (Floor 22)
- Audience:
- Alumni Faculty General Public Graduate Students Library Donors Staff Undergraduates
- Categories:
- Workshops
