Reimagining the “Pythian Madness” of Souls

This essay offers a close reading of the tenth chapter of W. E. B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk, which is often referenced but rarely unpacked for its careful examination of the relationship between religion and African American modernity. I argue that Du Bois's encounter with the rhy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Africana religions 2013-07, Vol.1 (3), p.324-347
Main Author: Manigault-Bryant, James Arthur
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This essay offers a close reading of the tenth chapter of W. E. B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk, which is often referenced but rarely unpacked for its careful examination of the relationship between religion and African American modernity. I argue that Du Bois's encounter with the rhythms of southern African American religion during the late nineteenth century moves him into a different time, which he is only able to articulate through mythology. As a result, Du Bois constructs a discourse that subjects the nation to a collective psychoanalysis by prodding it to bring Africa into its metaphysics of time and space.
ISSN:2165-5405
2165-5413
DOI:10.5325/jafrireli.1.3.0324