Double-Consciousness: The Du Boisian Hermeneutic
Abstract
W. E. B. Du Bois was among the first scholars to understand the role that double-consciousness plays in the formation of a hermeneutical process interpreting and shaping worldviews among people of color. When interpreting biblical texts, Du Boisian interpreters, informed by double-consciousness, understand the tensions between how the text looks through the eyes of the dominant community (whether in biblical times or today) and how it looks through the eyes of the community that has been marginalized by the dominant group. Double-consciousness, or “listening against our hearing,” when mobilized in biblical interpretation by persons of color or those interpreting from positions of social dominance, can help the interpreter to read texts as instruments of liberation and in ways that have the potential to re-humanize biblical interpretation. Several elements of a Du Boisian hermeneutic are identified: double voice, psychospiritual awareness, dialectical tension, and extended metaphor.For articles: All articles published in Homiletic are the exclusive property of the Journal. All copyright rights to the article shall be owned by and be in the name of the Academy of Homiletics. The Academy of Homiletics in turn grants all authors the right to reprint their articles in any format that they choose, without the payment of royalties, subject to giving proper credit to the original publication with Homiletic. The Academy of Homiletics also permits articles to be copied for non-profit educational use provided proper credit is given to Homiletic. Authors may self-archive their articles in an institutional repository or other online location, provided proper credit is given to Homiletic.
For reviews: All reviews commissioned by Homiletic are the exclusive property of the Journal. Reviews are considered a work made-for-hire, and, as such, all copyright rights to the review shall be owned by and be in the name of the Academy of Homiletics. The Academy of Homiletics in turn grants all review authors the right to reprint their reviews in any format that they choose, without the payment of royalties, subject to giving proper credit to the original publication with Homiletic. The Academy of Homiletics also permits its reviews to be copied for non-profit educational use provided proper credit is given to the review author and the Journal. Authors may self-archive reviews in an institutional repository or other online location, provided proper credit is given to Homiletic.
