Introduction
Various concepts and theories were introduced in pre-modern and are still relvant in modern times. Concepts help to bring understanding on how society and its people function. Georg Simmel and W.E.B. Du Bois have significantly impacted social theories that have ignited scholarly debates for many years. As discussed in this essay, the two theorists in social sciences have distinguished their concepts close yet dissimilar in various ways. W.E.B. Du Bois developed the double consciousness concept while Georg Simmel introduced the stranger theory. The theorists have framed their sociological ideologies on concepts like race, gender, and societal structure. Both Georg Simmel and W.E.B. Du Bois reflect the dynamics of pre-modern and modern social interactions through the Stranger and the double consciousness concepts.
Simmel’s Notion of the Stranger
Simmel came about with the concept of the Stranger which has a character described as an outsider. The character has no specific relation to society and is seen as one who wanders. The stranger is regarded as an individual who goes from one place to the other hence he does not fit in a specific group, but he is involved. According to Schwartz (2017), the stranger is seen as exuding the conflicting characteristics of nearness and remoteness. Therefore, this shows that the Stranger’s concurrent closeness and remoteness from other people in society causes him to be respected. The Stranger takes a dissociated and neutral perspective on associations and events.
The Stranger concept reveals both closeness and remoteness. According to Richardson (2017), the Stranger depicted both closeness and distance simultaneously. The character ensures that something considered distant is made near, whereas that which is close is made distant. The Stranger also depicts the collaboration seen as a connection of power and subservience. The racial separation is seen between employees and supervisors in similar ways that affect Africa Americans.
Du Bois’ Notion of Double Consciousness
W.E.B Du Bois developed the concept of double consciousness. The theorist authored “The Souls of Black Folk” in 1903 seeking to elaborate on the impact of racism on blacks and their view towards themselves (Meer, 2019). Du Bois wanted to show the world what the concept meant and what it took to be an African American in the United States of America. Du Bois believed that the blacks could not achieve equality, unlike the whites. W.E.B. DuBois developed the concept of double consciousness, which meant viewing oneself through other people’s eyes. In other words, double consciousness is a feeling of two-ness of contrasting and rival thoughts and ideals. Therefore, double consciousness is a permanent form of consciousness (Okusi, 2021). Hence, W.E.B. DuBois believed that the blacks’ struggle was with the self, best explained as the double consciousness.
Du Bois’s book speaks about the Negro, considered a seventh son, brought into this world with a veil. The Negro character struggles as he is denied his true self-consciousness by the world (Meer, 2019). The African American struggles to understand his identity and authentic self even though the white men constantly put him down. The world looks at the black man with contempt and pity. Du Bois’s work portrays the inner battles that the blacks face even to date. He also admits that racism is structural, thus making his rationale and collectivist theories relevant. Thus, Du Bois continues to challenge the basis of American life and contempt of the blacks, which conceals the African American’s true self. However, up until today, the collective and individual challenge for the black community is the pursuit of their true self.
Compare and Contrast Simmel’s Stranger and Du Bois’ Double Consciousness
The ideologies of the Stranger and double consciousness have similar views in that they recognize how people can fit in a particular group through some general features. For instance, the Stranger seeks to fit in the society by having some characteristics that society sees as good and powerful. At the same time, the Negro is expected to fit as an inferior person different from the whites (Okusi, 2021). The two concepts reveal that an individual can concurrently exist separate from the group based on specific non-consistent dominant characteristics.
Another similarity is that the two theorists emphasize the concept of otherness that continues to inhibit social oneness and averts the realization of a unified sense of self. Blacks are outside the dominant whites and nevertheless must live within the society. Also, we see that the Stranger is part of a cluster in the aggregate; however, he exists separate from the group. Both concepts reveal how individuals can exist internally and externally from a particular group and be confronted by the same people. For instance, the Stranger is antagonized by society since he is not part of it, the way the blacks are confronted by a dominant white race (May & Lahad, 2019). Kavanagh and Yuki (2017) note that collectivist theory argues that the needs of the blacks are not as important as the needs of the dominant whites. Therefore, there is a confrontation of groups that one does not belong to.
A clear difference between the two concepts is that Simmel’s concept of the Stranger has a significant positive form of participation. In contrast, the black peoples’ societal position is negative and an expression of oppression. Racism towards the blacks is seen through the labeling theory, where the black man is referred to as a Negro (Chavez & Rocheleau, 2020). Simmel shows how the Stranger benefits from his situation as an inside outsider. In contrast, double-consciousness is based on strife, as African Americans must strive to discover a way to unify their two-ness. Unfortunately, African Americans living in a white-dominated society are regarded in contempt.
Simmel’s Group Distance, the Outsider Within and the Veil between Races
Simmel’s concept of social distance reflects how nearness and remoteness are seen in all social relationships. López (2021) discusses that the Stranger allows himself to deal with a proportion of proximity and group distance in all social relationships as he is regarded as a wanderer. The veil separates the different races and plays a role in how different racial groupings view the social world (Ritzer, 2011). According to the collectivist theory, the veil demonstrates the needs of the blacks are not as important as those of the dominant whites. The white people cannot see the veil between races, but the blacks can see through the veil in society.
Conclusion
Simmel’s Stranger and Du Bois’ double consciousness concepts are true reflections of what society was and is. The struggle to belong to a particular group and feel part of it is experienced mainly by African Americans represented by the character of the Negro in Simmel’s stranger concept. Similarly, Du Bois’ explains how the black community, especially in the U.S, lives in double consciousness in a white-dominated society. It is critical to note that racism heightens African Americans’ identity crisis and belonging needs.
References
Chavez, J. M., & Rocheleau, G. C. (2020). Formal labeling, deviant peers, and race/ethnicity: An examination of racial and ethnic differences in the process of secondary deviance. Race and Justice, 10(1), 62-86. Web.
Kavanagh, C., & Yuki, M. (2017). Culture and group processes. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 5(4). Web.
López, D. G. (2021). A phenomenological approach to the study of social distance. Human Studies, 44(2), 171-200. Web.
May, V., & Lahad, K. (2019). The involved observer: A Simmelian analysis of the boundary work of aunthood. Sociology, 53(1), 3-18. Web.
Meer, N. (2019). W.E.B. Du Bois, double consciousness and the ‘spirit of recognition. The Sociological Review, 67(1), 47-62. Web.
Okusi, I. (2021). “At least we’re in Canada”: A critical perspective applying Du Bois and Simmel to Black African students’ identity experiences in Canadian universities. Sojourners Undergraduate Journal of Sociology, 12(1), 92-109. Web.
Richardson, L. (2017). Theorizing the extra in pinter’s the comfort of strangers. The Harold Pinter Review, 1(1), 105-121. Web.
Ritzer, G. (2011) Classical sociological theory, (6th ed). McGraw Hill.
Schwartz, B. (2017). How is history possible? Georg Simmel on empathy and realism. Journal of Classical Sociology, 17(3), 213-237. Web.