"The Scholar Denied should be required reading for students of sociological theory and intellectual history. The book should spur new histories that do more than tack on Du Bois and other marginalized scholars as 'a kind of affirmative action,' but instead give their work its rightful, meaningful place in the canon. . . . While Du Bois’s relationship with academic sociology evolved over his nearly seven-decade career, at the end, his commitment to Truth remained. Morris deserves recognition for reminding us of this aspect of Du Bois’s legacy, insisting that the discipline of sociology come to terms with its own truths."—Monica Bell Los Angeles Review of Books
"Morris’s book The Scholar Denied affords us insight into a historical moment when white audiences—especially within academia—often ignored, rather than sought out, the experiential expertise of black intellectuals. In particular, Morris details how white sociological and public audiences marginalized the scientific contributions of the sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois and other black social scientists working at the historically black Atlanta University in the early 1900s."—Matthew Clair Public Books
"Dr. Morris' The Scholar Denied is a raucous and, at times, sobering and maddening romp through a segment of intellectual life of the early 20th century that, even to the modern ears of The Diaspora, frequently sounds all too familiar."—Black Kos Daily Kos
"Groundbreaking . . . A must-read . . . the book promises to engender debate and discussion."—Marshal Zeringue HEPPAS Books
"This well-crafted, meticulously researched, and theoretically serious work will command engagement from the disci- pline writ large. . . . The Scholar Denied takes an enormous and sure-footed stride toward righting a great historic wrong."—Lawrence D. Bobo The Du Bois Review
"Groundbreaking."—Hilary Hurd Anyaso Northwestern
"This book thus contributes to the sociology of knowledge, including baleful insight into the racist origins of the very discipline itself. . . . Essential."—CHOICE connect
"Helps rewrite the history of sociology and to acknowledge the primacy of W. E. B. Du Bois’s work in the founding of the discipline."—Diane Patrick Publishers Weekly
"An excellent addition to your library . . . Morris has done outstanding work. . . . I like to think that if DuBois were here, he would be proud to see it."—Donna Davis Seattle Book Mama
"Provides a fascinating and challenging introduction to one of the towering intellects of the twentieth century, himself a potent proof against the inherent inferiority of African Americans, an assumption he devoted his life to disproving."—Christopher N. Breiseth WhoWhatWhy
"Magisterial study of WEB Du Bois' impact on sociology"—Sage
"Morris’s work is a first step in discussing a new school of sociological thought"—American Journal of Sociology
“In
The Scholar Denied, Aldon Morris tests, and convincingly proves, the belief, too long repressed, that W. E. B. Du Bois not only played a pivotal role in the birth of modern scientific sociology in America but was its founding father, on either side of the color line. Toppling prevailing truths like the towering genius at the center of this development, Morris’s account offers a fresh and crisply researched reinterpretation of Du Bois’s pathbreaking Atlanta school of sociology and is sure to be a major book.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
“Aldon Morris’s
The Scholar Denied: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology is one of those landmark studies that change the way we think about a historical occurrence. This well-written book is replete with original insights that challenge conventional wisdom on the origins and development of American sociology. Morris’s meticulous scholarship, based on a careful analysis of revealing primary documents as well as secondary sources, details fascinating and new information regarding Du Bois’s seminal role in the development of scientific sociology and his relationships with Booker T. Washington, Robert Park, and other members of the Chicago school, and with the preeminent social scientist Max Weber.
The Scholar Denied is a must-read for those interested in how race, power, and economics determine the fate of intellectual schools.”—William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University
“Aldon Morris has given us a great gift: the truth of Du Bois’s genius and America’s denial of it! Don’t miss this pioneering text!”—Cornel West
"An eye-opening book! Aldon Morris has written a biography not of W. E. B. Du Bois the man, but of Du Bois's magisterial work and how it fared in the disciplinary scramble for preeminence. In the process, Morris turns the lens of sociological analysis on the discipline itself, with bracing and essential conclusions."—Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor, Graduate Center of the City University of New York
"This is a stunningly original history that should inspire both debate and self-reflection within and beyond the discipline of sociology for years to come."—Mitchell Duneier, Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology, Princeton University