Double-Consciousness of the Disabled
Abstract
Ideas for Working across Chapters; Page 308, #2:
Refer to W.E.B. Du Bois’s definition of double-consciousness in Chapter 2. Then reread the personal essays in this chapter—those by Keller, Slackjaw, and Kleege. Is it possible for disabled people to experience a double consciousness parallel to that described by Du Bois? Using at least one of the works suggested write an essay exploring areas where the writer may be evincing a sort of double-consciousness. To what extent is he or she aware of that double-consciousness and participating in its critique?
Double-consciousness of the Disabled Double-consciousness represents, as Du Bois defines it (1903); “A sense of always looking at one’s through the eyes of others.” How then can a blind or deaf person experience a double-consciousness parallel to that as described by Du Bois? What a person sees or hears does not always have to be with their eyes or ears. A person can see a lot with their imagination using their noses, mouths, and hands. Blind and disabled people can experience a double consciousness and can actively participate in its critique.
Double-Consciousness
The idea of a double consciousness as Du Bois employs began as a blend of dualistic preceding concepts. Transcendentalism and Romanticism were movements that expressed a divided consciousness to categorize the disconnection of a person’s identity and the spirit. In addition, experimental psychological therapists of the nineteenth century declared split-personality disorder a double consciousness. Du Bois described double-consciousness by stating; “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.” An individual is aware of the manner in which others see them and this influences the way a person lives their life. The technical definition of
Ideas for Working across Chapters; Page 308, #2:
Refer to W.E.B. Du Bois’s definition of double-consciousness in Chapter 2. Then reread the personal essays in this chapter—those by Keller, Slackjaw, and Kleege. Is it possible for disabled people to experience a double consciousness parallel to that described by Du Bois? Using at least one of the works suggested write an essay exploring areas where the writer may be evincing a sort of double-consciousness. To what extent is he or she aware of that double-consciousness and participating in its critique?
Double-consciousness of the Disabled Double-consciousness represents, as Du Bois defines it (1903); “A sense of always looking at one’s through the eyes of others.” How then can a blind or deaf person experience a double-consciousness parallel to that as described by Du Bois? What a person sees or hears does not always have to be with their eyes or ears. A person can see a lot with their imagination using their noses, mouths, and hands. Blind and disabled people can experience a double consciousness and can actively participate in its critique.
Double-Consciousness
The idea of a double consciousness as Du Bois employs began as a blend of dualistic preceding concepts. Transcendentalism and Romanticism were movements that expressed a divided consciousness to categorize the disconnection of a person’s identity and the spirit. In addition, experimental psychological therapists of the nineteenth century declared split-personality disorder a double consciousness. Du Bois described double-consciousness by stating; “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.” An individual is aware of the manner in which others see them and this influences the way a person lives their life. The technical definition of
References: Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903) From the Souls of Black Folk. In Dilks, S., Hansen, R., & Parfitt, M. (2001). Cultural conversations: The presence of the past. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's. (p. 132) Keller, H. (1905) The World I Live In. In Dilks, S., Hansen, R., & Parfitt, M. (2001). Cultural conversations: The presence of the past. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's. (p. 221) Kleege, C. (1998) Blind Rage. In Dilks, S., Hansen, R., & Parfitt, M. (2001). Cultural conversations: The presence of the past. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's. (p. 278) Mintz, S. B. (October 01, 2002). Invisible Disability: Georgina Kleege 's "Sight Unseen.” Nwsa Journal, 14, 3, 155-177. Slackjaw. (1999) Getting Hip to the Lights Out Way. In Dilks, S., Hansen, R., & Parfitt, M. (2001). Cultural conversations: The presence of the past. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's. (p. 302)