This book traces W.E.B. Du Bois's fictionalization of history in his five major works of fiction and in his debut short story The Souls of Black Folk through a thematic framework of cosmopolitanism. In texts like The Negro and Black Folk: Then and Now, Du Bois argues that the human race originated from a single source, a claim authenticated by anthropologists and the Human Genome Project. This book breaks new ground by demonstrating the fashion in which the variants of cosmopolitanism become a profound theme in Du Bois's contribution to fiction. In general, cosmopolitanism claims that people belong to a single community informed by common moral values, function through a shared economic nomenclature, and are part of political systems grounded in mutual respect. This book addresses Du Bois's works as important additions to the academy and makes a significant contribution to literature by first demonstrating the way in which fiction could be utilized in discussing historical accounts in order to reach a global audience. "The Coming of John", The Quest of the Silver Fleece, Dark Princess: A Romance, and The Black Flame, an important trilogy published sequentially as The Ordeal of Mansart, Mansart Builds a School, and Worlds of Color are grounded in historical occurrences and administer as social histories providing commentary on Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, African American leadership, school desegregation, the Pan-African movement, imperialism, and colonialism in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Introduction: African Antiquity and the African Diaspora in Context Part One Chapter 1: Classical Humanism in The Quest of the Silver Fleece and The Souls of Black Folk Chapter 2: Good Character Challenges Hegemony in The Quest of the Silver Fleece Chapter 3: Heuristic Appraisal of Avant-Garde Cosmopolitanism in The Quest of the Silver Fleece Chapter 4: Discrepant Cosmopolitanism in the Imagination of W.E.B. Du Bois in Dark Princess: A Romance Chapter 5: Culture as a Universal Symbol of Cosmopolitanism in Dark Princess: A Romance Chapter 6: Beyond the Color Line: Black Cosmopolitanism in The Black Flame Part Two Chapter 7: Genesis of Traditional Pan-Africanism and Its Aftermath Chapter 8: A Botched Continental Pan-Africanism Master Plan and Friends of W.E.B. Du Bois in Africa and the Caribbean Chapter 9: W.E.B. Du Bois, the Inspirations of Gandhi, and the Pan-Asian Connection Chapter 10: Barack Obama Epitomizes Du Bois' Vision in Dark Princess: Nkrumah and Du Bois Emerge as Unheralded Cosmopolitans Epilogue: The Great Redeemer
