BIENVENIDO ANTONIO CASO: EXPANDING
THE BORDERS OF SOCIAL THEORY
by
ADRL\N DE LA ROSA CASTILLO, B.A.
A THESIS
IN
SOCIOLOGY
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
Accepted
May, 2002 Copyright 2002, Adrian De La Rosa Castillo ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to say thank you to my parents, Enrique and Dora De La Rosa, for always being not only great parents, but for also being the best role models that I could possibly have. Muchas gracias por todo.
I would also like to thaiUc my siblings, Henry De La Rosa and Daayana R.
De La Rosa, both of whom have continued to support me in everything that I do.
Many things have changed now that we are older, but my love for the both of you is as strong today as it has ever been.
Thank you to my fiiends and colleagues for continuously reminding me that life can still be fim, even while in graduate school.
Lastly, I would like to thank my Thesis Chair, Dr. Julie Harms Carmon, and my Thesis Committee Member Dr. D. Paul Johnson. I appreciate your guidance and support throughout this entire process. You have both allowed me to express myself and I tmly respect the both of you.
I dedicate this work to my nephew Aaron Rodriguez De La Rosa. As I worked on this thesis, I had some very stressful moments alleviated by your smiles, hugs, and kisses. I hope this work in some way helps the educational system in this country expand to include different perspectives, including your own in the future. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. SCOPE AND LIMITS OF SOCIAL THEORY 7
Weil-Known versus Lesser-Known
Sociologists 8
No Latino Sociologists 12
III. TIME FOR A CHANGE: HOOKS AND FREIRE 14
Paulo Freire 15
bell hooks 19
Educational Change—Importance for Latinos 20
IV. DIFFERENT THEORISTS, DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES 24
Antonio Caso 25
The Man 27
The Work 31
Theme 1: Education 32
Theme 2: Socialism 36
W.E.B. Du Bois 42
The Man 44
The Work 49
Theme 1: Education 50
Theme 2: Socialism 58 V. IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVES FOR DU BOIS AND CASO 63
Du Bois and Caso: Formation of Spirit 64
Du Bois and Caso: Different Steps Toward Freedom 67
VI. CONCLUSION 71
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 80 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
I have decided to write about a Mexican sociologist by the name of Antonio Caso.
I am suggesting that now is the time to widen the spectrum of social theorists studied in
college classrooms across the country to include a Latino perspective. This new
perspective, alongside those of recently acknowledged sociologists such as W.E.B. Du
Bois, will add to the understanding of society by allowing voices that all too often get lost
in the dominant culture to be heard. These voices, because of the different cultures and
backgrounds that shape what they say, have many important lessons for a society that is
increasingly composed of their people.
In the following sections I discuss the works of Antonio Caso and W.E.B. Du
Bois. Both Caso and Du Bois mirror each other's work, but more importantly mirror the
social reality that exists in the United States. They represent two of the largest minority
groups in the United States, and yet have very limited incorporation into the curriculum
of sociology. Du Bois has only recently been included into sociological curriculums, and
I have never heard nor read about Caso in any of my undergraduate or graduate level sociology classes. Du Bois' relatively recent inclusion in sociology has allowed many students a minority perspective to relate with, but the specific exclusion of any Latino perspective has left me feeling out of place at different points in my educational Ccireer.
Imagine sitting in a room where everyone else is wearing white, and you are the only person wearing red. Imagine how uncomfortable you feel, as you look around, and notice that this difference makes you stick out. Imagine how you desperately seek someone else that is also different in the room, someone that you can relate with.. .someone who understands what if feels to be different. Finally, seeing that you are alone, you give up searching. Instead you sit back, comfortable in your difference, yet hoping that other people, different people, would also come in to save you from being alone.
This feeling is one that I know all too well. I have attended a University where the Latino population is very small, and I have often felt alone in my thoughts and ideas.
I am currently the only Mexican^ in my department as I pursue my master's degree. I have sat in a room where I am the only minority member. Even then, I have said my piece. I have given my opinion; even if currently it is something only another person of
Mexican descent can understand. I do this because I think it is very important for others to understand my Mexican influence and way of thinking. It is important because this way of thinking has dramatically increased as of lately, according to the 2000 US Census, which shows that the Latino population is quickly growing. I think others need a clearer or more accurate view of the world that includes me and my culture, and our way of thinking, as well as others.
So far, in college, I have read and studied a predominanfly white, male perspective. This is very important, because there are many white male influences on our society. I need to understand that perspective in order to tmly understand this society.
However, this is not the only group in our society, so why is this the only group focused
' I must explain my use of the word "Mexican" in describing myself. I am a first generation United States citizen. Both of my parents are from Mexico, and so therefore I am also Mexican. 1 do not like the term "Mexican American" because it is redundant. Mexicans are also Americans because Mexico is also a part of the Americas. I also choose not to use the term "Hispanic" because it is a name assigned to
0 upon? To look around a classroom, and see that I am the only minority is one obstacle
that I have managed to surpass. Another obstacle I have noticed is that we are also left
out of the curriculum. Our voice, and our opinions seem to lack importance, and are
easily put aside.
Yet, I know this to be unfair. I know that my voice, my Latino voice, my
minority voice, is important. It is important because I also have an opinion about what is
going on in society, because I also live in this society. Even more so, because I have not
only seen social problems, but also I have lived them. I describe and explain a problem
not only from what a textbook tells me, but also by what I know. This is material that
most students in institutions of higher learning do not see, nor read, but is very important
in their understanding of what society tmly is.
I have been placed in situations in institutions of higher learning where my
perspective has been stifled. I have been told that what I know, and what I feel is not a
reality. My understanding of a problem, a social problem involving race, is not real, but
instead something imagined and unimportant. Why is it this the case? Could it be that
the lack of minority input, minority perspectives in educational curriculums, is already
affecting our society? I think so.
This being the case, I continuously approach my studies the only way I know
how, from a Mexican perspective. For example, when presented with a term paper about
social theorists, I took this chance to introduce a Mexican sociologist by the name of
Antonio Caso. I came up with this idea because my peers chose a theorist that they could
relate to. Specifically, a close friend, who is African American, chose to write about
Spanish-speaking people in the United States by the government. I would rather label myself, and I choose 3 W.E.B. Du Bois, an African American sociologist. I lacked someone I could relate to in
the same sense.
This is not to say that I do not appreciate the "better-known" textbook
sociologists, or even the not-as-weU-known sociologists, such as W.E.B. Du Bois. On
the contrary, as I mentioned earlier, I think my understanding of their work is cmcial in
my understanding of society. But I also think it is equally important for other individuals
in a learning environment, specifically people in the discipline of sociology, both students
and instmctors, to understand a minority perspective. In fact, Du Bois' work appeals to
me very much since we are both minorities in the same society. His perspective, that of
an African American in the United States, is similar to that of Latinos in the United States
in that both are minorities in a stmcturally oppressive society that negatively affects both
groups. Even so, I think Latino perspectives should also be included because it is not
exactly the same as that of African Americans. So, I took it upon myself to search for a
Latino sociologist.
I searched online for Latino sociologists, specifically a Mexican sociologist. My
search was not productive. I then decided to search Mexican web sites. Again, my
search did not work as well as I had hoped. I finally decided to instead look for help
from my colleagues in Mexico. I would visit university websites in Mexico, and search
for individuals in sociology departments, both professors and students, asking for their
input on who they study in their sociology classrooms. Finally, some students responded.
I was given several names, from different time periods in Mexico who worked in sociology, but one name stuck out: Antonio Caso. He was held in high regard by many
to label myself "Mexican." of the students who wrote, calling him the sociologist of Mexico. This is the person that brought the study of sociology to Mexico, and is therefore a very important sociologist that should be introduced to U.S. sociologists. This man, I decided, was going to be the theorist whose work I would study and present to my graduate classical theory class.
Although I knew it was a good idea to bring in a new Latino voice to classical sociology, it was a very difficult process. I had a very hard time finding Antonio Caso's work in the West Texas city that I live in. I searched and found a couple of books in my library. The next step involved translating his work, which was not too difficult considering I speak, read, and write in Spanish.
I thought of many ways of presenting this sociologist to my peers, but my professor suggested doing so by comparing him to another, better known sociologist in the United States. Immediately I thought of W.E.B. Du Bois whose work I appreciated and enjoyed reading. Both lived during roughly the same time period, Caso from 1883 through 1946 and Du Bois from 1868 through 1963. I thought the transition to include
Caso would be make more sense if I would compare him to a Du Bois, a sociologist that has recently been receiving acknowledgement in the field of sociology. In this manner, it might seem more feasible for instmctors and students to include Caso because they would see how similar the topics he discussed were to those of someone they have recently started to include in their curriculum.
I also chose to include the works of Paulo Freire (1972) and bell hooks (1994), both of whom strongly support the input of students in a classroom. I use their work as a justification for the question I am most asked, "Why?" They both strongly feel that a classroom, in order to be truly a place of learning, must include the student's perspectives, even if they are not as well known. This is why I have selected a Mexican sociologist, not only for my own benefit of seeing a possible role model in the field of sociology, but for the benefit of my peers as well. Showing how Caso and Du Bois were similar, and even different, from each other would hopefully aid in understanding and accepfing Caso's work, which could thus help in the better understanding of society for everyone.
I begin by examining the spectmm of sociologists currently studied in classical and contemporary sociological textbooks, as well as introductory texts. I note the consistency of how white, male, European and U.S. sociologists are discussed, and the lack of minority sociologists, specifically Latino sociologists. I then bring in the works of Freire and hooks to support the idea that different perspectives are needed in order to fully understand any social phenomena. I go on to describe the dramatic increase of the
Latino population in the United States as a reason to implement Latino perspectives into sociological curricula. I next discuss W.E.B. Du Bois as an example of an African
American sociologist who writes from a minority perspective that brings about new views about society. I do so in order then to introduce Antonio Caso and his perspective.
LasUy, after stressing the importance of different perspectives and how they affect how a person looks at social phenomena, I look at two topics that both Du Bois and Caso wrote about, education and socialism. I examine their views, taking into consideration their individual perspectives, and I try and explain how their perspectives affected whether they were in agreement on a topic, or whether they disagreed. CHAPTER n
SCOPE AND LEVinS OF SOCL\L THEORY
In the textbooks for the study of sociology that I examined, most introductions read similarly. Although I have not done a thorough analysis of all introductory sociological textbooks or books written about sociological theorists, I have selected a variety of introductory textbooks and classical and contemporary theory textbooks, which totaled ten in all. These textbooks were selected from the libraries of some of the faculty members in my university. I thought that using sociology books that belong to faculty members would give me an idea of what was being presented not only at my school, but also at schools across the country. Professors and instmctors will discuss and teach their classes by what they have learned and what they have read. I think it is important to analyze a few of the textbooks that are currently being used in sociology classes.
First of all, I must inform the reader about which books I examined. The introductory textbooks that I have examined are Sociology: A Brief Introduction (2002) by Richard T. Schaefer, Sociology (2002) by Linda L. Lindsey and Stephen Beach,
Society: The Basics (2000) by John J. Macionis, and Sociology: The Core (2002) by
Micheal Hughs and Carolyn J. Kroehler. In all of these books, the definition of sociology is given, stressing the importance of "being aware of the relationship between an individual and the wider society" (Schaefer 2002: 5). The reader is then introduced to the individual historical actors who developed this field of study.
The classical theory texts discuss sociological theorists and their work, and they included Sociological Theory: A Book of Readings (1969) by Lewis A. Coser and
7 Bernard Rosenberg, as well as Jonathan H. Turner's The Structure of Sociological Theory
(1978), Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context (1911) by Lewis A. Coser, and The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory (1981) by Don
Martindale. Doyle Paul Johnson's Sociological Theory: Classical Founders and
Contemporary Perspectives (1981), and George Ritzer's Classical Sociological Theory
(2000) were also examined. In both the introductory textbooks and the theory textbooks,
both classical and contemporary, the same theorists were stressed. This leads to a
question; did anyone else contribute to sociological theory?
Well-Known versus Lesser-Known Sociologists
The importance of individuals such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Karl
Marx, as well as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber are commonly discussed in these textbooks, considering their strong influences on the development of the discipline of
sociology. This trend, which has been constant throughout sociology both in texts and in
education, is clearly stated in the preface of a sociological theory textbook by Doyle Paul
Johnson. He stated that "most of the classical theorists covered are European, and most of the representatives of the contemporary schools are American" (Johnson 1981: viii).
This would further prove that anyone outside of Europe would be excluded from the discipline or field of sociology.
These individuals, those of European descent, are allotted numerous pages in these textbooks in order to give their ideas a thorough summary. For example, in Ritzer's textbook, Marx's background is discussed including the influences he had in his life that affected his work in a section Ritzer entitled The Development of German Sociology
8 (2000: 19). Ritzer also has sections devoted to French sociology, British sociology, and
Italian sociology, with latter chapters entirely being dedicated to the ideas and theories of individuals such as Comte, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, and George H. Mead, and Talcott
Parsons. This would lead many people to believe that sociology was only practiced in
European countries by males, and that this is the reason for the lack of diversity among the theorists discussed in the United States today.
In Lewis Coser's Masters of Sociological Thought (1971), the traditional mainstream sociologists are also discussed. From Auguste Comte to Karl Mannheim, sociologists and their work are presented in a fashion that again excludes minority perspectives. Even more troubling than the sole exclusion of minorities is the title given to this book.. Masters of Sociological Thought. "Masters," a term reminiscent of slavery in the United States, implies a group that has more power or expertise than others, specifically than the oppressed group it "masters." This is another example of how books examining sociological theory have lacked diversity, emphasizing that mainly white,
European males or men from the United States were dealt with in detail. Although I find the exclusion of minority perspectives from Coser's book troubling, I feel that Coser's presentation of the theorists in this book is very well done, and in fact, I will use his book as a model for my latter discussion of Antonio Caso and W.E.B. Du Bois.
In Sociology, by Linda L. Lindsey and Stephen Beach, there is an article entitled,
Rediscovering Sociology's Diverse Roots (2002). In it, it states:
Prior to the 1960s, virtually all senior academic positions in American Sociology were held by white males, except for some of those located at traditionally female or black institutions. It is more than ironic that the discipline of sociology, which has extensively documented the consequences of discrimination against women and minorities, has a long history of ignoring the contributions of nonwhites and women to its own development. (Lindsey and Beach 2002: 18)
The inclusion of works in sociology from minority groups is uncommon, but becoming more noticeable in sociological textbooks.
In several texts, the study of works by sociologists such as Harriet Martineau and
W.E.B. Du Bois are included. In Sociology: The Core (2002) Hughes and Kroehler state:
"Martineau showed how the basic moral values of the young American nation shaped its key institudonal arrangements" (Hughes and Kroehler 2002: 9). In the same book by
Hughes and Kroehler, W.E.B. Du Bois is described as taking "sociology out of the ivory tower and [doing] investigative fieldwork, gathering material on the African-American community of Philadelphia" (Hughes and Kroehler 2002: 15). This direcfly reflects what is occurring in the classroom where we are further discussing the relevance of such sociologists. This new phenomenon is very important to the further development of a study that stresses awareness of the relation between individuals and a wider society.
White European or men from the United States are not the only individuals working to create sociological theory. Other individuals have also taken part in sociology, but to find them, we must move beyond the limiting European and American tradition and widen the spectmm of scholars studied.
It is important to note that sociology has been studied in other non-European countries across the globe. It would seem that the study of sociology, up until the present day, has mosdy been an ethnocentric study of human social life. We, here in the United
States, study only what has directly affected us and makes sense in our western cultural
10 setting, and label ihat the study of sociology. Again, this includes mostly European and
American scholars. Is this tmly a thorough study of sociology?
Although I do not dispute the importance of examining what direcfly affects our country, I think we could develop a more in-depth understanding of the importance of sociology, both historically and globally, by including a wider array of theorists in our curriculum. There is a far larger world outside of the U.S., and any important contributions made within the field should be noted and presented in our texts. This would further demonstrate the wide span and important role sociology plays throughout the world.
Some authors have decided to include other individuals who are not as well known, proving that it can be done. In The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory
(1981), Don Martindale also states the importance of Auguste Comte, calling him "the father of sociology" (1981: 14). But Martindale, goes a step further by also mentioning in the input of other social theorists, from different backgrounds. He stated that, "Han
Fei Tzu in ancient China was the teacher of Li Ssu, the prime minister of Shih Huang Ti
- the great dictator of ancient state of Ch'n. He taught that the essence of society is power" (Martindale 1981: 133). This further proves the wide array of sociologists that are being ignored by most other texts. I have never heard nor read anything about this specific individual.
Martindale also discusses the theories of Ibn Khaldun, which is also included in the text written by Doyle Paul Johnson. "Ibn Khaldun has special interest to sociologists, for he was brought to the attention of the modern world by Ludwig Gumplowicz and treated with great respect by Franz Oppenheimer. Some person have viewed him as the
11 first tme sociologist" (Martindale 1981: 134). This is an important step in sociology because it offers us a glimpse outside the realm of the usual social theorists discussed in most of sociology today. Martindale stresses the important contributions of individuals that are non-western in their thoughts. Even though Martindale makes an effort of widening the spectmm of social theorists, a gap in his presentation of sociologists is still evident, considering one book cannot thoroughly satisfy every diverse group.
No Latino Sociologists
Although strides have been made in further opening the field of sociology to include the works of minority members, not all groups are being represented. As
Martindale has shown, Asian sociologists made important contributions to sociology.
Even the theorists discussed by Martindale are still being ignored in the classroom setting, along with other minority group members.
Specifically, Latino sociologists are still being ignored, although many have had tremendous impacts in their own countries through their work in the sociological arena.
The inclusion of their works could be placed alongside those of Durkheim, Weber,
Spencer, Comte and Marx, and the recent additions of Martineau and DuBois, to give a more culturally representative viewpoint for sociologists of today. Considering we live in a country as diverse as those who have practiced sociology, this would be very beneficial.
As a Latino sociology student, I have yet to be taught the important contributions made by a fellow Latino scholar in the field of sociology. This is problematic because it gives the impression that Latinos did not contribute to classical sociology, which is false.
12 I have yet to study someone in sociology, a Latino scholar that I can closely relate with in terms of sharing a similar culture and background that is evident when examining his or her work.
White male sociology students can look to the writings of Durkheim and Comte to see their place in sociology. White women, more recenfly, see their role in the works of Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, or Charlotte Perkins Oilman, while African-
Americans can relate to the works of W.E.B. Du Bois and Anna Julia Cooper. It is now time to expand the field and include Latino role models.
The Latino population is the fastest growing population in the United States increasing by 60% since 1990. According to the US Census Bureau for the year 2000, there are roughly 35.3 million Lafinos in the United States. This indicates that Latinos make up 12.5% of the total US population. According to Census projections, it is estimated that Latinos will represent 25% of the total US population in the year 2050, and could represent 33.3% of the total populafion by 2100. Lafino population and culture is growing and has an influence in everyday life. This should be reflected in the classrooms of universities across the country generally, and in the sociology curriculum more specifically.
13 CHAPTER ni
TIME FOR A CHANGE: HOOKS AND FREIRE
Changing the classroom in order to reflect the diversity present within is an important step towards true multicultural education. In bell hooks' book. Teaching to
Transgress (1994), she writes about the importance of the materials studied in a classroom. "Despite the contemporary focus on multiculturalism in our society, particularly in education, there is not nearly enough practical discussion of ways classroom settings can be transformed so that the learning experience is inclusive" (hooks
1994: 35). Students, according to hooks, will learn more and become more adequately challenged, in situations where they consider themselves part of the dialogue.
hook's perception of the classroom dynamic was strongly influenced by Paulo
Freire, a Brazilian educator whom she writes about, hooks writes:
Often when university students and professors read Freire, they approach his work from a voyeuristic standpoint, where as they read, they see two locations in the work, the subject position of Freire the educator (whom they are often more interested in than the ideas or subjects he speaks about) and the oppressed/marginalized groups he speaks about, (hooks 1994: 46)
In this case, the students and professors situate themselves as observers rather than active participants. They are onlookers, lacking any sort of empathy for the peasants, and this prevents them from completely understanding what Freire's intentions were.
hooks, on the other hand, immediately identified with the peasants in Freire's work. It was not as though she were studying something from afar. Instead, she was sharing their oppression, feeling their pain. Although it would be impossible for hooks, or anyone other than the peasants themselves, to completely understand the peasants in
14 Freire's work, she and anyone else can compare it to their own situation. Hooks, being an African American woman in the United States, was able to compare her own experiences of oppression to those in Freire's work. In this way she could identify with them. The oppressed and marginalized groups in Freire's work were easily identifiable for hooks and this piqued her interest.
Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire's work, specificaHy Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1912), has been described by many as having had a tremendous impact not only in the field of education, but also in the development of nations. Although his work specifically addressed the education of illiterate people in the Third World, his work can also be applied to the stmggles of the oppressed living in the United States. Many people can see the resemblance between the lower classes of oppressed people in other countries and those oppressed in this country, both economically and racially/ethnically oppressed.
The idea that the stmggles of those in the Latin American countries Freire wrote about were reflected in our society was also feasible for hooks, as well as other scholars.
Richard Shaull wrote in the foreword of Paulo Freire's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed
(1972) that "[oppressed Latin American's] stmggle to become free subjects and to participate in the transformation of their society is similar, in many ways, to the stmggle not only of blacks and Mexican-Americans but also of middle-class young people in this country" (Freire 1972: 10). In order for the oppressed to tmly participate, education must be transformed in order to allow for the inclusion of more diverse backgrounds, especially the backgrounds of the excluded.
15 "Culture of Silence" is the term Freire used in Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1912) to describe the exclusion of oppressed people in a society. The dominant members of society silence the oppressed by means of social control mechanisms. "Rather than being encouraged and equipped to know and respond to the concrete realities of their worid, they were kept 'submerged' in a situation in which such critical awareness and response were practically impossible" (Freire 1972: 11). Educational institutions, according to
Freire, are one such place where silencing occurs. In this setting the dominant group can dictate what is studied and how.
Paulo Freire stressed the importance of education coming about in a dialogical form, as opposed to set up strictly in curricula form. Education occurs when students and teachers engage in a conversation, according to Freire. This most definitely involves respect. Respect is necessary because this involves learning by working with each other, not where one person acts on another person, as would be the case in what Freire called
"banking education."
In "banking education," "knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing" (Freire
1972: 58). Passive learners receive deposits of pre-selected, ready-made knowledge.
The learner's mind is seen as an empty vault into which the riches of approved knowledge are placed. This type of education does not take anyone into consideration other than the person in the role of "educator." In this type of system, the information presented by the instmctor is sure to have gaps, although maybe not intentional, gaps that affect some students.
16 Gaps exist because instmctors select information they deem to be important, based on their educational and cultural backgrounds. In a classroom filled with many different students, many different backgrounds affect what each person would individually deem important and what sticks out to them. In open discussion, students are able to describe their understandings, based on their individual experiences and backgrounds. This further educates people on the differences between groups and the combination of experiences fills in the "gaps"; thus a better understanding of the topic is obtained. Furthermore, Freire argues that more respect is involved because you consider alternatives in what other people deem important. Again, respect is key because it involves learning by working with each other, listening to each other. It cannot be a situation where one person acts on another person, as would be the case in the traditional or curriculum based system.
Through education that involves conversation and discussions, Freire felt that
"praxis" could be achieved. Praxis is the "transformation of the world through speaking tme words" (Freire 1972: 75). It is an activity by which individuals become critically conscious human beings and help create culture and society. Critically conscious human beings are those who are able to interpret problems through testing findings with an open mind, avoiding the negating of ideas because of preconceived ideas and being able to come to new conclusions based on dialogue. This, according to Freire, would enhance the community and build social capital, which is the ability to work closely with other individuals in society leading to important resources that might not necessarily be available to others.
17 This level of consciousness cannot occur with one person, but instead through a collective stmggle, which is a further definhion or facet of "praxis."
But while to say the tme word—which is work, which is praxis—is to transform the worid, saying that word is not privilege of some few men, but the right of every man. (Freire 1972: 76)
Freire's proposed change would allow for everyone's voice to be equally heard. People in classroom settings would thus be able to speak their experiences and this would lead to the transformation of society, somewhat like Kari Marx's class-consciousness or
Habermas' ideal speech situation. With this understanding of praxis, people have the power to speak for themselves, and no one else speaks for them. Speaking for others, according to Freire, is a robbery of words.
Through the use of words, dialogue is achieved, which is an "encounter between men, medicated by the world, in order to name the world" (Freire 1972: 76). Through the reclaiming of the right to speak their word in classroom settings, minority groups have a chance to name their world, to transform it. This is a result of the critical thinking that is required in dialogue, which enables people to interpret problems through testing findings with an open mind. "Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there can be no tme education" (Freire 1972: 81).
Freire works on the assumption that "man's ontological vocation (as he calls it) is to be a subject who acts upon and transforms his world, and in so doing moves towards ever new possibilities of fuller and richer life individually and collectively" (1972: 12).
The "world," according to Freire, is not static, but instead a problem that needs to be worked on and solved. This way of thinking would reform education as we know it because it would introduce new ways of acting in the world with new words to describe
18 situations, coming from those that were previously silenced. "As Freire puts it, each man wins back his right to say his own word, to name the world" (Freire 1972: 13).
The belief that all people, regardless of their situation in society, regardless of how submerged they were into the "culture of silence," are able to look at the world criticaUy through dialogue with others is reflected in the work of bell hooks. More importanUy, hooks agrees that in order to view the world criticaUy through dialogue, everyone needs to be properly equipped to perceive their own personal and social realities, both positive and negative. Everyone must also be able to deal critically with those realities. Hooks would argue that it is time to break the "culture of silence" and give voice to the oppressed in this country, especially in the classroom setting.
bell hooks
Paulo Freire's influence on bell hooks can further be seen in her book entitled
Teaching to Transgress (1994), where she wrote:
Teaching is a performative act. And it is that aspect of our work that offers the space for change, invention, spontaneous shifts, that can serve as a catalyst drawing out the unique elements in each classroom. To embrace the performative aspect of teaching we are compelled to engage "audiences," to consider issues of reciprocity. Teachers are not performers in the traditional sense of the word in that our work is not meant to be a spectacle. Yet it is meant to serve as a catalyst that calls everyone to become more and more engaged, to become active participants in learning, (hooks 1994: 11)
Like Freire, hooks also stresses the importance of open dialogue in a classroom setting.
She feels that the classroom is a place of possibilities. That the opportunity to fight for freedom can be done as a collective body, not individually is one such possibility. As a collective imagination, the possibility of "transgressing" outside the normal boundaries of the classroom becomes a reality, and this is "real" education, according to hooks.
19 Freire stressed the importance of literacy and the importance of education for liberation, which made immediate sense to hooks since it reflected her own views about education. "In the United States we do not talk enough about the way in which class shapes our perspective reality" (hooks 1994: 52). Different backgrounds that not only include class, but also race, should be introduced into the classrooms of colleges so that more students will have the ability to identify with them, much like hooks did with
Freire's work.
With the numbers of minority groups increasing both in the population and in educational institutions, yet still significantly low in higher education, piquing different interests would have great results. Not only would different theorists be introduced, but also more students will have another person with whom to relate with as a role model.
Educational Change—Importance for Latinos
The problem with this type of shift in educational practice is that many people will resist. Resistance occurs not only because it is a change in a tradition, noted in sociology textbooks and sociology theory books, but also because it will lead to a more egalitarian distribution of power in the classroom. Latino students will be able to identify their place in sociology, because other Latinos have filled this role in the past, and done so successfully. This allows Latino students to see that they are able to work in sociology and furthermore empowers them by giving them a voice, a voice from a Latino sociologist. This would appeal to many students, even some that might have not thought that college could speak to them individually or culturally.
20 Latino students need more of a sense of belonging in a university classroom.
Sitting in a classroom now, being one, if not the only. Latino in the room is made more difficult due to the exclusion of possible Latino role models from the curriculum. In
Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972), he writes of authentic education as not only being given
to the laborers, ~ urban or peasant ~ in the banking style, to give them 'knowledge' or to impose upon them the model of the 'good man' contained in a program whose content we have ourselves organized. Many political and educational plans have failed because their authors designed them according to their own personal views of reality, never once taking into account (except as mere objects of their action) the men-in-a-situation to whom their program was ostensibly directed, (p. 83)
Freire's description of disastrous education, one where a single view of reality is used as the sole description of reality, seems to describe what the current educational system in the United States resembles generally, and in sociology particularly. Authentic education would include all perspectives, thus avoiding an educational disastrous path.
Those that were freely able to study sociology from the beginning have presented the study of social theorists in this country and pay tribute to those they felt were most important. From early on, when minority groups lacked rights that even allowed them to obtain a higher education, their exclusion from the curriculum was more easily understood. But the times have changed, and minorities have won the rights that include attending a university even though there are still disparities in attendance and completion.
An educational plan that was implemented in a different time, with different social realities, by authors that presented their own personal views of their reality would be deemed disastrous to Freire. The times have changed, along with the demographics of college classrooms, and so different personal views of reality need to be presented in
21 order to meet the heeds of such diverse students. These changes are slow coming, but could result in positive changes in society.
The lack of diversity in educational institutions could very well be the reason that the college completion rates for Latinos are currently so low. According to the 2000 US
Census Bureau, 29% of Latinos attain an education beyond high school, compared to
52% of whites. This directly proves that Latinos are underrepresented in our colleges and universities.
Why is this the case? Again, these figures could be a result of a homogenous approach to teaching the masses of increasingly diverse minority groups in college.
Specifically teaching Latinos with a dominant group member's view of the world in university classrooms ignores their own viewpoint and leads to disinterest in college.
Furthermore, this could be seen as an extension of lower levels of education, such as high school and middle school, where the curriculum could also be biased, and negatively affecting minority students. The mentality is that they have no place and no say in the educational system, so why should they attend?
It would seem that all educational curriculums at all levels could use a revamping of the material discussed and studied in order to ensure that minorities are encouraged to continue their education by making their participation and their group's participation more important in the classroom. The college completion rates for Latinos will worsen if educational institutions of higher learning specifically do not widen the study of sociology, as well as other fields of study, in order to include minority group member representation.
00 Society aswhole is changing and Latinos are growing in numbers. The study of sociology needs also to change to include Latinos, just as it has slowly changed to accommodate for the inclusion of other minority groups, such as women and African
Americans. Other sociologists, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, have recentiy gained more recognition, but the motion toward a more diverse field of study is not complete. We still have many more gaps to fill, and this can only happen with the introduction of different theorists, and their different perspectives.
23 CHAPTER W
DIFFERENT THEORISTS, DIFFERENT PERSPECTFVES
In this country, we currently find sociology m a state of transition. We are currently examining the works of well-known sociologists fi-omth e past but, m some instances, are also re-examining past sociologists who have been previously ignored.
Although the strides in acknowledging minority scholars fi-omth e past are important, many are still being left out, specifically Latmo sociologists.
I have selected to introduce and examine the work of Antonio Caso, a major contributor to sociology in his country of origin, Mexico. I have decided to compare and contrast Caso with W.E.B. Du Bois of the United States. I have decided to include Du
Bois because he is now viewed as a major contributor to sociology and the Civil Rights
Movement in the United States. Begirming with the introduction of Antonio Caso, and then comparing and contrasting him to such a strong sociologist such as Du Bois, I hope to show how minority perspectives are important and how they compare to one another.
Their works are comparable because they deal with similar subjects—sometimes in agreement and sometimes offering opposing viewpoints. Starting with the introduction of a "new Latino" sociologist, Antonio Caso, and placing him beside a once ignored sociologist, W.E.B. Du Bois, I hope to bring Caso the same recognition Du Bois has recently gamered. Because of different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures, both have many things to offer the discipline of sociology in this country, especially since the
U.S. is largely composed of the groups these two sociologists represent. Their writings
24 and ideas are interesting and important; now h is time for both to step forward and take their proper place in the sociology classrooms of universities across the United States.
Antonio Caso
It is idiotic for any modem man to be unilingual. Some of the most annoying misunderstandings of this period of revolutionary change have arisen fi-omth e fact that both in England and in France a man can raiUc as cultured and yet be able to make himself understood in but one tongue. W. E. B. Du Bois (Moon 1972: 127)
The idea of expanding education in the United States to include work done
outside of American soil, and even further, in another language, is beneficial to this
country as well as to the minority groups that populate this nation. Again, classical
sociological theory in this country is most likely associated with names such as Comte,
Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, and Weber. This is due to the fact that these individuals
established sociology as a distinct field in its own right. As the years have passed since
the introduction of sociology to this country, their names still resonate as the foundation
upon which sociology was based
Through the growth and further development of sociology, some minority group
members have also been placed into positions as contributors to the field of sociology.
Their contributions to society have been appreciated and their theories and writings have
been placed into some courses. AlUiough not all sociology courses or texts have taken
steps toward including a wider selection of sociological thinkers, some minority groups
have been taken notice of This holds tme for African Americans, through the writings of
such individual's as W.E.B. Du Bois, and for women, through studying writers such as
Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, and Charlotte Perkins Oilman.
25 It is very important in the field of sociology, a field that examines society and how individuals are treated within social institutions as well as the stmcture of such institutions, that all communities be represented. Through their representation in sociology, minority groups feel as though their voices are important and valued. This being said, it is important to once again stress the fact that Latmo Sociologists are, for the most part, left out of the spectmm of sociology in the United States. The representation of the Latino community within sociology is lacking, but there have been Latino
Sociologists with great influence throughout the world. One such person is Mexico's
Antonio Caso.
Antonio Caso is considered one of the first and most prominent sociologists
produced in Mexico, according to Delia Sutton in Antonio Caso y Su Impacto Cultural en
el Intelecto Mexicano, which translated means Antonio Caso and his Cultural Impact on
Mexican Intellect (Sutton 1974: 7). She went on to state that it was not until Caso
introduced sociological materials into his lectures and courses that Mexicans realized
how interesting and necessary sociology is for a better understanding of human life.
Caso's study of Sociology and Mexican life lead him to write his book, Sociologia,
Genetica y Sistematica, translation: Genetic and Systematic Sociology (1927). His book
was such a sensation that it was used as the official text for sociology classes at "la
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico," also known as the University of Mexico in
Mexico City.
Although Antonio Caso helped define Sociology in Mexico, he focused on similar
topics as many of the sociologists in the United States. Antonio Caso criticized aspects
26 of socialism for Mexico and advocated the importance of education. Both of these points v^U be discussed.
The Man
Antonio Caso was bom in Mexico City on December 19, 1883, and is often called
"El maestro de maestros," which translated means "the teacher of teachers" (Sutton 1972:
Preface). He was the son of an engineer by the name of D. Antonio Caso and his wife
Mrs. Maria A. de Caso. His adolescent years were uneventfiil and ordinary. "At the
proper age he attended the National Preparatory School where he studied psychology
under Ezequiel A. Chavez and history under Justo Sierra" (Haddox 1971: 3). During
Caso's years of education, he discovered that the preparatory school that he was attending
was strongly influenced by the positivism of French philosopher Auguste Comte,
modified by certain elements of the evolutionary philosophy of Herbert Spencer. "This
positivism stressed that the scientific method was the only useful one to be applied not
just to the physical world but also to the area of social and economic affairs" (Haddox
1971:3). The founder of the preparatory school Caso attended, Gabino Barreda, viewed
positivism, "with its denial of metaphysics and theology and its exaltation of science, as
the necessary instrument for social progress" (Haddox 3:1971). Positivism affected all
realms of life in Mexico, including politics.
During this time, political supporters of this ideology called themselves
"cientificos," which means the party of scientists. They were ideologists for President of
Mexico Porfirio Diaz, and held political order and economic progress as their ideals.
They used "the so-called scientific philosophy, positivism, as the intellectual tool and
27 Diaz as the political force to operate it" (Haddox 1971:4). Caso was satisfied with this political ideology for a time, but soon rebelled against h.
After receiving his training in law, Antonio Caso joined with a group of mostly young Mexican mtellectuals to form an organization called the Ateneo de la Juventud, which roughly translated meant the Youth Cultural Centre. This group "was an intellectual and cultural movement that was instituted to challenge poshivism and to provide a means by which its members could reeducate themselves m the classics and gain familiarity with the anti-mtellectualist currents of philosophy in Europe" (Weinstein
1976: 31). A mam purpose for this group was to revive the study of metaphysics, which had been eliminated in the Mexican education system due to the positivist curriculum of the National Preparatory School.
Although the revival of metaphysics was a goal, it was not the only goal toward which this group was moving. It was also this organization's goal to rebel against
President Porfirio Diaz and to take part in a moral revolt. In his essay The Conflict of
Our Democracy, Caso articulated the basis of his opposition to the positivistic dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz: "The error of the great govemor Porfirio Diaz consisted in his development of economic factors, in believing that wealth is the only basis of strong governments, and above all in thinking that national welfare required the suppression of democratic practices" (Caso in Weinstein 1976: 32). It was their goal to remove foreign economic controls in Mexico and to lessen the influences of positivism on cultural life and the education system in Mexico (Haddox 1971:4). Positivism was viewed as a negative aspect of Mexican life and Caso felt that it was important to rebel against it in all fields in which positivism existed.
28 The motivation for their rebellion against a positivistic government was that durmg the term of Diaz, foreign capital had come to dominate in Mexico. Foreign interests ovmed a majority of the land, industries, and natural resources m Caso's home country. A large amount of the profits made m Mexico went to these foreign mterests,
and what profit was kept in Mexico went to the wealthy. "Positivism m Mexico was the
ideological expression of the Mexican bourgeoisie" (Romanell 1952:42). Positivism was
the tool through which the upper class justified its polhical and social actions.
Another problem Caso had with positivism in Mexico was that it created a "stifled
and closed system" (Haddox 1971:5). This was the only political theory in Mexico at the
time and the Ateneo de la Juventud provided a different perspective. "Cultural
interventionists.. .argue that intellectual forces are, or at least can be, the direct agents of
social changes, and hence the Ateneo was responsible for the Revolution of Mexico in
1910" (Romanell 1952:61). Once men of intellect shook the political system and its
ideology, a revolution was bom.
It is important to note that although this organization's ideas led in part to the
Revolution, it did not lead the Revolution. "The ideological expression of the Mexican
Revolution, insofar as we take that Revolution to signify a discovery of Mexico by
Mexicans as weU as a recovery of Mexico^br Mexicans" (Romanell 1952:63). This
attempt at trying to discover the proper character of Mexico, and to develop a Mexican
philosophy, was possible after the Mexican Declaration of Philosophical Independence in
1910.
This declaration also made possible the reopening of the doors of the University
of Mexico, which the original University "held the honor of being the first institution of
29 higher learning in the New Worid" (Romanell 1952:64). This was the best piece of administration that was done to improve the cultural life of Mexico, and allowed Antonio
Caso to write. The attempt at trying to discover the proper character of Mexico and to
develop a Mexican philosophy was largely done through the work of Antonio Caso.
Antonio Caso was the recipient of many national and intemational honors. The
degree of doctor honoris causa was conferred upon hun by his own alma mater, the
University of Rio de Janeiro, San Marcos and Guatemala. He lectured at the Univershies
of San Marcos, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Chile, Rio de Janeiro, and Havana. Caso also
won many different decorations for distinguished service from various countries
includmg France, Chile, and Pem. "He was not only a great teacher inside and outside of
Mexico, but served his country as ambassador to Pem, Chile, Argentina, Umguay and
Brazil" (Romanell 1952:70). He was an important man in Mexico, and also globally.
Caso held the following posts as an educational administrator in Mexico: Head of
the National Preparatory School, Secretary and later Rector of the National University,
Director and finally Honorary Director of the University's Faculty of Philosophy and
Letters. He was founder and president of the Centro de Estudios Filosoficos, the
Mexican counterpart of the American Philosophical Association. He was associated with
the following leamed societies: the Academaia Espanola de la Lengua, the French
Academy, the Intemational Institute of Sociology, the Academia de la Historia of
Colombia, and the Academia Nacional de la Historia of Buenos Aires (Romanell 1952:
71). Caso was definitely a very involved academician, which further calls into question,
why is he not recognized in the United States? People may say it is because he was not
known outside of Mexico, but obviously he was very well known in other countries.
30 Antonio Caso died suddenly from a heart attack on March 6, 1946 in Mexico
City. His influence on sociology in Latin American countries was tremendous. It is difficult to comprehend why a sociologist as highly honored and respected, not only in the Latino community, both m Mexico and outside of Mexico, as well as Europe is never discussed in sociology courses in the United States. His writings encompass Mexican thinking as well as helped define sociology as a field of study in many parts of the worid.
The Work
Now that Antonio Caso has been recognized as a sociologist, it is important to examine his writings. In Sociologia Genetica y Sistematica (1927), Antonio Caso discusses what sociology means. Sociology, according to Caso, is the "treatment of social tilings, the phenomena which is produced by cohabitation of humans, which include economics, family, politics, religion, arts, sciences, etc. They are all manifestations of the collective life of the time, and are found in the origins of sociology" (Caso 1927:13).
The relationship between individuals and different social institutions was an important part of Caso's sociological thinking. Caso felt that all of these institutions help shape society and thus are the foundation for his social theories.
He makes clear the distinction between sociology and the philosophy of history.
He states that the philosophy of history determines the intervention of collective understanding. Sociology, on the other hand, expresses similarities between societies in general forms, like biology, physics, and chemistry. Sociology is different than history in that sociology inquires about how human societies are alike. History looks at how
I translated this work for use in my thesis. 31 societies differ. (Caso 1927: 19).^ To Caso, Sociology was an important part of understanding the worid by looking at the grouping of functions that humans create and
practice with each other. Caso examined a variety of different social topics, but two
prevalent topics were education and socialism.
Theme 1: Education
I believe education should tend to free us, to unbind, to relax, in a word, to individualize us. Antonio Caso
(1924: 200).^
Caso made a significant impact on education in Mexico. In Lafilosofia de la
culturay el materialismo historico (The philosophy of culture and history of materialism)
Caso stressed the importance of education. "The most important impact that this essay
had on the Mexican people was very significant. No one until Caso had tried to visualize
the reality of education in Mexico" (Sutton 1974:29). Caso took it upon himself to stress
education in school and education about culture. He thought that both types of education
were needed in order to have a truly educated individual.
In another of his works, Sociologia, Genetica, y Sistematica, Caso also mentions
the importance of education. "I clearly conceive, then, educational institutions as sites of
intellectual information and moral systems, as reposhitores or libraries that offer valuable
data and premises useful to the spirit" (Caso 1924: 201).^ The idea of the importance for
the enlightenment of the spirit is similar to Marx's idea of the humanizing component of
"real" work.
See note on page 31. Translated by Carmen and John Haddox. ^ Ibid. 32 Other scholars have also noted the important role that a University fills. "The
University is the essential character of contemporary civilization and this is the reason that other countries have done so well" (Sutton 1975:72). Caso argues that because learning centers are extremely important, all Mexicans should respect them.
Caso fiuther discusses the importance of education facilities by statmg that they should be used as a place where individuals can socialize with one another, and in this way Mexico can be taken into social and economic relations with other nations in the world. This is justified by Caso's statement "...pues nadie puede vivir solo en el mundo," which translates into "no one can live alone in the worid" (Sutton 1975:72). This statement demonstrates Caso's feeling that Mexico would make progress if exposed to outside ideas fi-om other countries, but outside ideas alone would not help Mexico progress. In other words, Mexico needs to have communication with the world in order to gather ideas on how to improve social problems, but it is important for Mexicans to think for themselves, and how their society works differently than others.
This can be related to Freire's and hook's ideas of dialogue. Dialogue must exist in order for people to progress and become tmly educated. Only when a person can understand other perspectives by listening to them directly can a person tmly understand another's position. Once understanding the perspective, Mexico can then adapt the ideas, if plausible, to their society, taking their own traditions and customs into account.
Caso, a well-respected educator for more than thirty years, was aware of the problems in education in his country. Many youth in Mexico during his time received little or no higher education, and those of his age group were taught under the positivistic
33 teachings he criticized. Positivists felt that the fireedom to leam would lead to mental anarchy, and Caso realized that this mentality was restricting learning (Caso 1924: 200).
Individual Spirits
"In expressing his concept of the spiritual potential of man he sought to make of
his students not merely good philosophers but good men and good citizens of Ids patria
(country), Mexico" (Haddox 1971:20). Better citizens would be a resuh of proper
education, and Mexico would be a better country for this.
All human societies are capable of exaltation and the exhaustion of maximum good. The races that are called inferior can show their worth and transform themselves into seedbeds of intellectual and moral activity. Antonio Caso (1983: 29)^
Through education, "we bring about the realization of the whole man. This means that
we are an ideal entity which has not yet reached complete maturity in History" (Romanell
1952: 75). Caso feh that education fosters a better way of life because h allows
individuals to mature as intellectual beings, therefore maturing them socially as well.
The role of the educator is also important to Caso. It is the educator's
responsibility to create men.
If we wish, then, to make men in schools, retuming to the point of dissertation, we should form individual souls, we should form good animals, we should improve the race, we should form men who are beautifiil and ready for action, but at the same time, we should inculcate in them this subtie egoism of thought, this incomparable pleasure to see, to contemplate, to hear, this magnificent, unique activity, of giving to give, which has a classic and Christian name. Let us make man ch^table; let us make him artistic; let us oblige him to be intelligent, each time more intelligent in his actions wiUi the things of the worid and of the school, and then we shall have achieved the ends of education...
Antonio Caso (1922: 27-28)^
^ See note on page 31 34 Once men have been educated, Caso believed that they could tmly begin to search for tmth. This is an idea that would be sunilar to Du Bois concept of the Talented Tenth.
"Thus the purpose of education is not to deform, but to inform; not to persuade, but to discuss; not to dictate, but to liberate" (Haddox 1971: 23). Once a person is shown how to search for the tmth, they can use the tmth to set themselves fi-ee.
He also explicates the specific type of education he advocates. He finds the idea
of memorizing a book of formulas ridiculous. "The reality is always individual. The
general ideas and general words, are a way of thinking about things.. .but they simply
cannot be applied in solving the important moral, political, social, and other personal
Q
problems in our lives" (Caso 1922:18). Social aspects of life are very diverse and Caso
feels that it is impossible to apply set propositions, especially those facing Mexicans.
Mexican Education
Although he felt that Mexico could leam from other countries, he felt that Mexico
should not simply imitate others. "If they have to adopt ideas, they should do so with
considerable adaptation, tuming their gaze toward the people, their customs, and their
traditions" (Haddox 1971:18). The importance of leaming from other countries is adapting their ideas for Mexico,
Our social and political systems are derived from Europe and the United States of American. It had to be this way, for the most part, given the short time of our independent life; but h is urgent now, for the happiness of our people, that we cease to imitate the socio-political regimes of Europe and that we apply ourselves in discovering the geographic, political, artistic, and other conditions of our nation, the same molds of our laws, the form of our cohabitation; the ideals of our activity. We cannot continue assimilating the attributes of other foreign lives.
See note on page 31. * Ibid. 35 Antonio Caso (1983: 30)^
Mexico is not like other countries in regards to culture and customs, and these differences should be a source of pride for Mexicans.
For Caso, proper education consists of cultural education and patriotic teachings.
He feh that an important part of education was leaming Mexican pride. "Caso feh that la patria (Mexican race) is primary-before the Iberian or Hispanic American race, before humanity in general. Mexico comes first because Mexico is the reality within which he
insists, the Mexican must operate" (Haddox 1971:18). Caso looked at la patria (the
native country) as being a reality like the individual, and race as an ideal that would aid in
the progress of Mexico.
Idealists, who pledge the salvation of the Republic, return your eyes to the soils of Mexico, to the resources of Mexico, to the men of Mexico, to our customs and our traditions, to our hopes and our longings, to what we tmly are. Only in this way will you be able to better lead us to a better states of living and you shall redeem us from our misfortune. Antonio Caso (1983: 30)'^
This is an important distinction because Caso felt that the best way to "serve the race is to
be a good patriot and the best way to serve humanity is to work for the race" (Caso in
Haddox 1971:18).
Theme 2: Socialism
In an essay enthled National Problems, Caso argues that Mexican history has
been marked by a series of revolutions, the consequences of which were never fully
assimilated" (Weinstein 1976:60). Caso states that the problems of Mexico are not new
problems; they are old problems that have never been adequately addressed. "Meanwhile
See note on page 31. 36 the unresolved anthropological, racial, and spiritual problems are not resolved, the
Republic of Mexico wiH confront differences in humans from social group to social group, and individual to individual" (Sutton 1974:71). He pomts to these occurrences as being responsible for Mexico's national problems because they prevent Mexico from havmg a national community and democratic institutions, and contribute to their movement toward socialism, which he considers one of the most serious problems facing
Mexico.
The problem with socialism, according to Caso, is that Mexico does not ftiUy grasp its principles. "[Mexicans] imitate political and social actions of other regimes, and this is why socialism is causing incredible harm in Mexican life"(Sutton 1974:72).
Again, instead of only imitating, Caso argues that invention must also take place in order for a positive resuh to occur. "Let us, in good time, be democratic, socialists, or fascists; but let us remember that our democracy cannot be that of the Greeks nor that of Lincoln; that our socialism cannot be copied from Asia or from the mystic Lenm" (Caso 1983: 29-
30). Caso believed that individuals in a society needed to form new parts of an imitated regime in order to fit their society, the Mexican society, better. To try and fit a similar political and/or social system in two different places is difficult. These societies have different values and ways of looking at social life, and one regime will not necessarily fit both properly.
Caso further criticizes socialism by stating that in its extreme form, as a social theory and a philosophical creed, "[socialism] does not take cognizance of the superior
See note on page 31. " Ibid. T 7 nature of the human being, the level of his spiritual being" (Caso 1941: 189).^^
Communism and socialism look at the importance of the community before that of an
individual; therefore individuals must subordinate themselves to the community. Caso
feh that this view of society is false because "[h places] the values of [biological] life
above culture and the spirit" (Caso 1941: 192).'^ Ignoring these two important aspects of
life ignores what humanity and human society tmly is.
Human society is not the stmggle of the community and individuals; it is, fortunately, something more profound and superior: the coordmation of the person within their rights. The personal being does not want to have something more, but to be something more, as Nietzshe said.
Antonio Caso (1941: 193).^"^
Caso recognized that humans are both economic individuals and moral persons.
Problems come when "while the spiritual-personal side of human nature should control
and direct the biological -individual, in practice the reverse is usually tme" (Haddox
1971: 35). When the biological aspect of humans takes control, Caso says that
communism results. He feels that communism derues the spiritual dignity of man, views
him as an egoistic, economic animal (Caso 1941: 190).^^ In this sense, man is converted
into a cell absorbed by the community, both socially and economically (Caso 1941:
194).^^ In other words, man solely exists in the definition of the economic community,
denying any other personal aspect, which Caso would find important. The error in
communism is that h defines a man vvdth economic terms alone, and this is not a fiill
picture of humanity.
' See note on page 31. •^ Ibid. '' Ibid. '' Ibid. 38 Caso also criticized Communism for being a system in which academic freedom was suppressed and Christian spirituality was denigrated. Communism, to Caso, especially the type that Kari Marx advocated, was a type of religion where God is left out.
There are, besides, etemal tmths, such as freedom, justice, etc., that are common to all states of society. But Communism abolishes etemal tmths, h abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience. (Marx 1988: 229)
Specifically speaking about Soviet communism, Caso felt that it was very similar to a type of religion. It had:
its symbols, its sacred formulae, its liturgical language, hs orthodoxy...It has a dedicated faithful, apostles, missionaries, fathers of the church, saints... It has its ceremonies, its rites, its processions, and its solemn pilgrimages. (Caso 1941: 74)17
This was a major problem for Caso because Christiaiuty was an important part of his
sociological thinking, and this type of communism excluded religion.
Religion played an important role in society according to Caso. It teaches
standards that men should try to attain in order to be complete humans. In Nuevos
discursos a la nacion mexicana, (New speeches for the Mexican Nation), Caso notes that
if we wish to achieve our personal fulfillment we must each strive to be a saint, a hero, in
our own way (Caso 1934: 240).^^ Of course, the greatest saint for Caso, and an example
of a tme hero, was Jesus Christ. He held Christ in such high regard that in his essay
entitied La existencia como economia, como desinteres y como caridad, (The economic,
See note on page 31. See note on page 31. Translated by Carmen and John Haddox. 39 unselfish, and charity existence) (1943), he argued that people should unitate Jesus. This would imply that a man made religion, such as communism, would be wrong.
Caso was not religious in the sense of formally organized religion. His father was
a liberal positivist and his mother was a strict Catholic, but he did not accept the
dogmatic views of Catholicism. "He said once in an mterview: T am a Christian and a
follower of the gospels, though not a member of any church or communion" (Haddox
1971:57). This being said, he was a very spiritual person and this had a tremendous
impact on his writings. "He has written: 'Faith is impossible without charity, just as light
is impossible without the sun,' and later: To believe is to act, to see, to live" (Haddox
1971: 56). These examples of his writings indicate how strongly charity and religion
affected Caso. Marxism threatened Caso's way of thinking because it was to him a form
of dogmatism. In other words, Marxism was to be accepted completely without question.
He identifies Marxism as "dogmatism in thought, fanaticism in sentiment, and tyraimy in
action" (Haddox 1971:57). As an educated man, questions are important to Caso in order
to find the tmth. Marxism did not allow for his questions, and thus he considered it a
threat to Mexico.
Furthermore, Caso argued that communism was an unhealthy practice of narrow
nationalism. Caso would be the first to say that patriotism is unportant, but not a system
where the state is placed as an idol, as is the case with some forms of communism. When
the state is placed in such high regard, the importance of the individual is too greatly
reduced for Caso.
When the question of which is more important, the individual or the community,
was asked of Caso he replied "Neither the individual nor the community; but a socieiv
40 based on justice. This is a moral union of men, respecting their value" (Caso 1941:
192). Caso felt strongly that a representative democracy was the only polhical system that would create a successful state. He understood that people were naturally unequal, physically, intellectually, and morally. This is because people are human, not things.
These differences would be respected in a representative democracy where all voices are heard.
In Sociologia, Genetica y Sistematica, Caso states, "civilization is a result of the
stmggles between social classes" (Caso 1927:52).^^ This is sunilar to the class stmggles
that Marx discussed. Caso looks toward the history of all nations, which consists of
various battles and bloodsheds, as his proof. "The state is always, or almost always, the
synthesis of various human groups that have stmggled within it. The victors of the
stmggle sit atop the social pyramid, and the defeated occupy the bottom" (Caso
1927:52).^^ The defeated groups make up the servants and the slaves to the victors, but
Caso makes a point in stating that nothing is lost because of this relationship. The
progression of society in industry resuhs from the class stmggles, as is the case in history.
This is similar to Marx and his idea of economic determinism, where he states Uiat
economic factors are the primary determinants of the stmcture of societies and social
change. Caso also believed that these stmggles lead to social change and progress in
industry.
Caso's work, although written from a dominant position in his country of Mexico,
is comparable to that of W.E.B. Du Bois in the United States. Caso's work was largely
'^ See note page 31. '' Ibid. '' Ibid 41 influenced by this culture and heritage, and Mexicans and other Latinos in this country will be able to relate with some of these cultural norms that mfluenced Caso's way of thinking. Latinos and African Americans in the United States are similar m that they are both minority groups in the same social stmcture. They differentiate in that Du Bois is able to represent an Afiican American way of thinkmg in sociology, and Latinos still lack a voice.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
If we want real peace and lasting culture, however, we must go further. We must extend the democratic ideal to the yellow, broyvn, and black peoples. W.E.B Du Bois (Foner 1970: 253).
The inclusion of other minority groups in the current study of sociology in this country has slowly widened to incorporate both cultural and racial minority groups, (e.g., women African Americans, etc.) This has broadened the scope of tme social understanding by including these diverse backgrounds and experiences. One such inclusion is that of a sociologist by the name of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois.
Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois is recognized as a profound scholar, essayist and political activist. Du Bois is also considered a "pioneer in the formation of sociology as an academic discipline in the United States" (Reed 1997: 3). He has also been described as a major guiding the African American protest movement in this country. Even though this is the case, he has been widely excluded from textbooks in the study of sociology generally and sociological theory in particular. This is somewhat changing and Du Bois has slowly risen in popularity by being included not only in some texts, but also being included in university classrooms.
42 This is important because h creates an outiet for the ideas from members of one minority group in the United States. Afiican Americans are able to look at his writings, and feel that their voice has indeed been taken into account. This is especially tme in educational settings, because Du Bois' work reflects the importance of education and the inalienable right of equality for Afiican Americans and other groups.
This is why h is so necessary for the discipline of sociology to include the works of minority group members. Because sociology often attempts to discuss and explain social behaviors and the groups that are affected by them, to leave out then perspective is to leave out an important source of understanding these dynamics or occurrences. They, members of the oppressed minority group in question, know what causes their problems and they know what steps could help alleviate these same problems. As empathetic as anyone may want to be towards a group and their stmggles, if the oppressed are not allowed to speak for themselves, our guesses at what they feel, at what they know, are only guesses.
Du Bois spoke up and presented an African American perspective. He was a major contributor to "more than a half-century's debate over the condition of and proper goals and strategies for blacks in the United States and, more broadly, peoples of African descent, worldwide" (Reed 1997: 3). Although this was the foundation upon which Du
Bois built his ideas, he was a strong advocate of understanding all civilizations. "To study blacks alone was not to do justice to the broad humanity of all blacks and of others"
(Weinberg 1992: 1). It only makes sense to include such a scholar who argued and worked for the expansion of the borders of social theory in order to introduce the work of
Antonio Caso.
43 The Man
W.E.B. Du Bois was bom m 1868, in Great Barrington, a small town in westem
Massachusetts. His family had settled in this area many years before his birth. They were considered among the oldest residents.
In W.E.B. Du Bois: A Study in Minority Group Leadership (1960), Elliot M.
Rudwick states that Du Bois described his family in the following way: "his matemal grandfather was...'very dark;' his matemal grandmother was "Dutch-African;" his mother was a "dark shining bronze" (Rudwick 1960: 15). His patemal grandfatiier,
Alexander Du Bois, was bom in the Bahamas to a wealthy American and a mulatto slave woman. He was a very light skiimed person, and could easily have passed for a white male. He dealt with this double identity of being black, but resembling a white man, all of his life. Alexander Du Bois proclaimed that he was American, "and would not be forced to remain apart" (Rudwick 1960: 15). In the face of white discrimination,
Alexander claimed his roots and helped to form an Afiican American church, St Luke's
Parish in New Haven.
In search of his identity, Alexander went to Haiti. While in Haiti, Alexander had a son, Alfred, W.E.B. Du Bois' father. Alfred was visibly dark-skinned and resembled his father in that he was a wanderer. In 1867, Alfred found himself in the valley of the
Berkshires, where he met and married Mary Burghardt. Alfred soon felt the need to move on, and he left his child and Mary permanently (Rudwick 1960: 15).
Mary and her son retumed to live with the Burghardts and W.E.B. Du Bois assimilated into the family cultural ways as well as the norms of Great Barrington. Great
44 Barrington was primarily a middle-class community. The Republican Party had control over the town, and polhical involvement was taken very seriously. Emotional restraint was also considered normal, even to the point that daily greetings were used sparingly
(Rudwick 1960: 15). All of these conditions influenced Du Bois and his way of thinking.
Because most of Du Bois' peers were children of wealthy families, he was affected by their way of thinking and, like them, grew to distmst the town's Irish and
German population. He grew very close to his young white friends, even though money was scarce in his home and his mother stmggled to make ends meet (Rudwick 1960: 15).
In such a setting, Du Bois was not faced with, nor personally concemed with, racial discrimination.
As time passed, Du Bois became increasingly aware of the differential treatment he received because of his ethnic background. Because of the differential treatment, Du
Bois took great pride in excelling in school. He minimized the continued rejection he felt from his peers, especially when compared to the stories his family members would tell.
"They, with little education and occupational status, often complained that racial discrimination had killed their chances of advancement" (Rudwick 1960: 17). Du Bois felt that through hard work and academic success, he would be able to "equal whites."
He became increasingly aware of the development of his race. At the age of 15, while working as the local correspondent for the New York Globe, he made it a point to
"push his race forward through capsuled lectures and other bhs of instmction" (Rudwick
1960: 18). He was bothered by the lack of participation on the part of the African
Americans in Great Barrington and felt that they were not taking advantage of available
45 opportunities. Du Bois encouraged African Americans to participate in community betterment programs alongside their white counterparts.
Additionally, African Americans did not attend the annual town meeting.
Recognizmg the importance of politics in Great Barrington, he encouraged more political involvement in order to ensure the rights of Afiican Americans. Du Bois began this work after he noticed that African Americans were not receiving their share of political jobs.
The racial divide continued to grow as Du Bois grew older.
In 1885, Du Bois graduated from high school at the age of 16. Through
scholarships provided by local churches, Du Bois was able to attend Fisk University in
Nashville, Teimessee. Although disappointed that he could not afford to attend Harvard,
Du Bois was very excited about the opportunity to attend a University in the South and
anticipated meeting other African Americans his own age and educational background.
He was ready to leave New England with a feeling of tremendous expectation, for he assimilated the post-Civil War Abolitionist theory of race and leadership—i.e., the Southem Negroes would prove themselves to all Americans when they were led by college-trained Negroes. (Rudwick 1960: 19)
After enrolling at Fisk in the fall of 1885, Du Bois found "people of my own color.. .who
h seemed were bound to me by new and exciting and etemal ties (Rudwick 1960: 19).
During his years at Fisk, Du Bois embraced his race with even more passion.
This was a resuh of the racial reality he was now observing firsthand in the South. He
was: tossed boldly into the Negro Problem. From a section and circumstances where the status of me and my folk could be rationalized as the result of poverty and limited training, and settled essentially by schooling and hard effort, I suddenly came to a region where the worid was spUt into white and black halves, and where the darker half was held back by race and prejudice and legal bonds, as well as by deep ignorance and dire poverty.
46 W. E. B. Du Bois (Moon 1972: 16)
To leam more, he became a teacher in a mral Tennessee country school during two summers and met the ignorance and prejudice up close.
"First, there was a Teacher's Institute at the county-seat; and there distinguished guests of the superintendent taught the teachers fractions and spelling and other mysteries—white teachers in the morning, Negroes at night" (Du Bois 1989: 45). Other incidents, such as this one, continued to illustrate to Du Bois the differential treatment
Afiican Americans in the south had to endure. Another incident occurred when Du Bois rode horseback to a commissioner's house with a young white woman. When he arrived, he was asked to enter and stay for dinner. Du Bois writes, "Oh,' thought I, 'this is lucky; but even then fell the awful shadow of the Veil, for they ate first, then I—alone" (Du
Bois 1989: 45). These events made Du Bois question how progress would ever occur, where one group of people were treated differently than others.
Du Bois graduated from Fisk in 1888 with his bachelor's degree. He won a scholarship to attend Harvard, but after Harvard examined his educational background, they deemed him inadequately prepared for a master's program. He had to register as an imdergraduate. Du Bois received his second bachelor's degree in 1890 and then eruolled in Harvard's graduate school. He earned his master's degree and then his doctoral degree in 1895, becoming the first Afiican American to receive a doctoral degree from Harvard.
Du Bois' long and productive life sparmed nearly a century and endured a historic period of dramatic change. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which banned legal slavery, was adopted before his birth. The Fourteenth Amendment,
47 conferring citizenship upon African-Americans, became law the year he was bom. Du
Bois was two years of age when the Fifteenth Amendment, confimiing the right of ex- slaves and other persons of color to vote, was ratified. As he grew older, he continued to witness the stmggles Afiican-Americans faced when the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court Decision of 1896 validated state-imposed segregation.
During his lifetune, Du Bois he also worked alongside a theorist named Max
Weber who is discussed regularly in current sociology classes. "From this experience came an assimilation of scientific methods of social research" (Rudwick 1960: 27). He observed European social problems, and this lead to his growing interest of the Negro issue in the United States.
These occurrences helped to shape the leadership role that Dr. Du Bois was destined to fill, even if hesitantly. He recounted his reluctance at assuming such a leadership role in the Febmary 1918 Crisis:
Against all my natural reticence and hatred of forwardness, contrary to my dream of racial unity and deep desire to serve and follow and think, rather than to lead and inspire and decide, I found myself sudderUy the leader of a great wing of my people fighting against another and greater wing. (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 15)
The fight against the "greater wing" included the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which Du Bois helped establish. The founding of The Crisis, which was the primary means of voicing challenge, was also a part of Du Bois efforts to gain rights to equality for Afiican-Americans. He also founded the scholarly review Phylon, co-founded the socialist quarterly Freedomways, and inaugurated the influential Encyclopedia Africana.
48 Du Bois held professorial chairs at Wilberforce and Atlanta univershies as well as teaching poshions. He also served as editor of The Crisis and author of numerous other bodies of work, including books and articles. He filled many different roles, all of which dealt with his focus on race and the problem of the color line m the United States. W. E.
B. Du Bois died in self-imposed exUe in Ghana in 1963 (Moon 1972: 37).
The Work
W.E.B. Du Bois' pride in his heritage has been a strong theme throughout his work. His joumey into realization of beuig black in America tmly began while at Fisk
University in Nashville, Tennessee. "He became acquainted with the misery, the frustrations, the despair and aspirations of black folk in America" (Moon 1972: 16). The realizations soon became fundamental aspects of Du Bois' writings, beginning with his doctoral dissertation at Harvard entitled The Suppression of the African Slave Trade.
The focus of race in his work was a new and refreshing view of American problems from the perspective of the oppressed group. Most other work during this time period was from a majority person's perspective, guessing as to what African Americans were going through and what they were feeling. Du Bois, on the other hand, described the feelings of being an African American in a society that looked upon Afiican
Americans as being inferior or as a "problem."
His experiences and background allowed him to describe racial problems in unique ways. One of the most important descriptions of life in the United States as an
African American came from Du Bois' book entitled The Souls of Black Folk (1989). In this book, Du Bois describes life within and outside of'the veil.'" At points in Du Bois'
49 life, he feh as though things were going extremely well for him, almost as though the
color of his skm was not holding him back. Then, at some pomt, he would be reminded
of the veil and of the reality of racism in the United States.
The veil means that "the Negro is a sort of seventh son, bom with a veil, and
gifted with second-sight in this American world—a world which yields him no tme self-
consciousness, but only lets hun see hhnself through the revelation of the other world"
(Gates in Du Bois 1989: xx). Du Bois' metaphor of the veil described the image African-
Americans put forth, veiling or masking their cultural selves when placed in public
settings where they were the minority.
From the double life every American Negro must live, as a Negro and as an American, as swept on by the current of the nineteenth while yet stmggling in the eddies of the fifteenth century,—from this must arise a painful self-consciousness, an almost morbid sense of personality and a moral hesitancy which is fatal to self- confidence. The worlds within and without the Veil of Color are changing, and changing rapidly, but not at the same rate, not in the same way; and this must produce a peculiar wrenching of the soul, a peculiar sense of doubt and bewilderment. Such a double life, with double thoughts, double duties, and double social classes, must give rise to double words and double ideals, and tempt the mind to pretence or to revolt, to hypocrisy or to radicalism. (DuBois 1989: xxi)
Living this difficuh life, with the discriminatory realities of society, Du Bois' work
stressed certain ideas and ideals that he feh would aid society, and more specifically, the
position of African Americans in society.
Theme 1: Education
One never knows what one might have done without the training which he received. Certainly, I cannot imagine any of my writing being possible without the training which I received in College. W.E.B. Du Bois (Weinberg 1992: 56).
50 Du Bois feh very strongly about the importance of education to African
Americans in the United States. From the moment slaves were brought to America, Du
Bois feh that they were denied an education in order to maintain and justify the oppressive social stmcture. The laws during this time period explicitly stated that
Negroes could receive no mstmction, and this hindered their progress in society.
The law of Georgia (1829) is typical: 'If any slave, Negro or free person of color, any white person shall teach any other slave, Negro or free person of color to read or write, either written or printed characters, the same free person of color or slave shall be punished by fine and whipping, or fine or whipping at the discretion of the court; and if a whhe person so offend, he, she, or they shall be punished with a fine not exceeding $500 and imprisonment in the common jail at the discretion of the court.
W.E.B. Du Bois (Aptheker 1982: 99)
These types of laws were infuriating to Du Bois because he considered education
as the key to the race problem. When he spoke about education, "education [was]
considered a key to the vexatious race problem—more and better education at all levels
and for each according to his individual capacity" (Moon 1972: 119). At the time Du
Bois was stressing education, he was also confronted with differences of opinion about
what type of education was needed, not only from White Americans, but also from other
well-known and respected African Americans such as Booker T. Washington.
According to Du Bois in June of 1912, "education is the training of men for life"
(Du Bois in Moon 1972: 119). Considering education in this light, Du Bois set out
guidelines for minority groups to follow in order to obtain the most appropriate education
necessary to achieve social reform. First, African American people should "conserve and
select ability, giving their best minds higher college training" (Du Bois in Moon 1972:
51 120). In other words, depending on mdividual skills and personal ability, minority groups should place their most exceptional children in institutions of higher leaming, a group Du Bois called the talented tenth, which I will further discuss later.
Secondly, Du Bois feh that proper education must include Afiican American
culture:
The object of Negro education must be Negro culture; to let no part of our rich experience in this land be lost or die; to preserve our history and experience; our poetry, song and rhythm; our biography and art; our ancient folkways. This is not opposition to whites, rather in sympathy fiilfillment...We face...the preservation and cultivation of Negro talent not simply among our rich and well-to-do, but even more among the vast numbers of our poor and outcast among those locked by the thousands in our jails and penitentiaries. W- E. B. Du Bois (Weinberg 1992: 54)
Du Bois understood the importance of maintaining and fostering an identity that includes
their experiences as a people in the United States.
Du Bois also felt that people of color should "endeavor to give all then children
the largest possible amount of general training and intelligence before teaching them the
technique of a particular trade, remembering that the object of all tme education is not to
make men carpenters, but to make carpenters men" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 120).
Education's end result is not simply educational paraphemalia, such as a cap and gown,
but instead will always be the individual person or soul. "Are the boys quickened in
intelligence, with some knowledge of the world they live in? Are they trained in such
ways as to discover their tme bent and ability, and to be intelligently guided to the choice
of a life work?" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 120). If the answer is yes for all groups, then
the society is doing its job.
52 On the other hand, Du Bois questioned whether the system was only failmg
Afiican American students. He recognized a trend m education in the United States that had many people using "the American public-school system for the production of laborers who will do the work they want done" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 121). The majority group members in a society want many luxuries, such as dumers, chairs, etc., and they want these products cheap. Using the public school system to train these servants, who are typically minority group members, keeps theu training costs low and ensures then place in the lower strata of society. "To such folk Uie problem of education is strikingly simple: to teach the masses to go to work, show them how to do things, increase their output; give them intelligence, of course, but this as a means, not as an end, and be careful of too much of it" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 121).
Du Bois felt that African Americans at the time were kept sufficiently ignorant to prevent them from realizing their power and using such power to resist authority.
For the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent. (DuBois 1989: 23)
Other people felt that African Americans would not feel discontent or dissatisfaction because they would not feel as though they were being oppressed. Instead, they would feel that they were occupying their proper place in society. "If the black man was inferior he was not oppressed—his place in society was appropriate to his meager talent and intellect" (Martin Luther King, Jr. in Foner 1968: 12). Although Martin Luther King,
Jr. spoke after Du Bois' death, this was similar to the logic during the era which Du Bois lived in and made obtaining an education for minorities very difficult if not impossible:
53 The trammg of youth—the revelation of life, its present technique and hs fiiture possibilities to growing young people—is a matter of intricacy and difficulty to any people. But it is peculiarly difficuh to colored Americans, who must, m addition, teach invisible bonds and concealed social barriers, of worids within worids and dangerous waste places, of subtie temptations and unnatural restraints. W. E. B. Du Bois (Moon 1972: 122)
Seeing how difficult education was for Afiican Americans, he knew the important role that educated African Americans would fill. Du Bois called this group of educated elite, the Talented Tenth. They were to aid in the progress of Afiican Americans in an oppressive society.
The Talented Tenth
According to Du Bois, the increased difficulty for Afiican American children should be an additional incentive to make then education and mental development the highest possible.
[Education is] a mighty reality—a glimpse of the higher life, the broader possibiHties of humanity, which is granted to the man who, amid the msh and roar of living, pauses four short years to leam what living means.
W.E.B. Du Bois (Foner1970: 87)
Seeing the importance of education as the tme purpose of life, Du Bois strongly encouraged African Americans to continue their education despite all obstacles. Du Bois knew that African Americans had to work twice as hard in order to receive the proper education they deserved. Because of the extra effort African Americans had to put forth,
Du Bois felt that the entire group needed to see a proper education in institutions of higher leaming as a primary goal. Only in higher intellectual life does Du Bois feel that they can hope to find freedom (Du Bois 1989: 59).
54 Du Bois feh that the men who reached then goal of education, the black educated elite, which he called the Talented Tenth, were going to rise up and save then race. As noted previously, education for Du Bois included cultural and polhical education, which would aid in the maturity of Afiican Americans and enable them to make advancement in society.
[Education] is not simply to teach breadwiiming, or to furnish teachers for the public schools or to be a center of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization. (Du Bois 1989: 59)
After developing an educated voice, Afiican Americans would no longer be viewed as
other objects, or animals, but instead as educated equals.
Du Bois felt that the Talented Tenth would serve as role models and a sign of
hope. If other Afiican Americans saw the possibility of education with the Talented
Tenth, they would be able to see their place as civilized, educated individuals in a society
that currently oppresses them. Their advancement would be possible, but only possible
through education.
The function of the Negro College, then, is clear: h must maintain the standards of popular education, it must seek the social regeneration of die Negro, and it must help in the solution of problems of race contact and cooperation.
W. E. B. Du Bois (DuBois 1989: 75)
As everyday Afiican Americans became properly educated, they would also join the
Talented Tenth and help to continue to aid and guide other African Americans. Du Bois
strongly understood that not everyone would be able to compose the Talented Tenth. He
felt that everyone should leam to their ability, and those that were able to excel in
academia should do so for the benefit of the entire group.
55 The Talented Tenth also served the purpose of showing society that Afiican
Americans were not only worthy of an education, but also capable of providmg for
themselves:
The time has come when the American Negro is being expected to take care of himself, and not much longer to depend on alms and charity; he must become self-supporting—a source of strength and power instead of a menace and a burden to the nation; the hindrance that today prevents him from fulfilling this expectation with reasonable quickness is his anomalous economic condition—his lack of remunerative employment. W. E. B. Du Bois (Foner 1970: 95).
This group of elites was not oiUy going to help educate African Americans, but was
essentially going to educate society. Society viewed Afiican Americans as inferior, and
Du Bois felt that the Talented Tenth would prove otherwise. Other people disagreed with
the role that Afiican Americans should fulfill.
Accommodationists
Other prominent African American leaders contradicted Du Bois' view of the
"Negro Problem". Du Bois "stressed college training as the only meUiod of developing
leadership for a mass of former slaves. The accomodationists stressed the necessity of
training the sons of freedom to take their place as skilled workers in the organized
industry of the country" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 144). Booker T. Washington was one
such leader who voiced the importance of relenting political power and civil rights and
accepting occupational education. "Mr. Washington represents in Negro thought the old
attitude of adjustment and submission; but adjustment at such a peculiar time as to make
his programme unique" (Du Bois 1989: 36). Du Bois feh that Washington's program
56 accepted the alleged inferiority of African Americans and stressed survival by workmg within the existing and indeed oppressive system.
Washington strongly encouraged Afiican Americans to give up political power, civil rights, and higher education for the youth. Instead, he feh vocational education ad industrial education would be more beneficial for Afiican Americans. Du Bois strongly disagreed with this opinion. As a resuh of Washington's program, Du Bois noted Uie following outcomes:
1. The disfranchisement of the Negro.
2. The legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro.
3. The steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro (Du Bois 1989: 37).
Du Bois does not solely attribute these occurrences to the teachings of Booker T.
Washuigton, but he does argue that Washington's propaganda facilitated these results.
Others, including whites, also proposed and encouraged such reform in the educational
system. Du Bois found it troubling that an African American such as Washington
thought that Afiican Americans could make progress "in economic lines if they are
deprived of political rights, made a servile caste, and allowed orUy the most meager
chance for developing their exceptional men" (Du Bois 1989: 37). Du Bois felt that
Washington's viewpoints presented a paradox of ideas.
In addition, Du Bois felt that Washington's opinions were divisive. Many African
Americans disagreed with Washington, but in different ways. One group despised the
South and the treatment Afiican Americans have endured in this country and they felt
anger. Their response to a call for change included aggressive measures. Du Bois, on the
57 other hand, thought it was important to have patience and courtesy in demanding reform
in society. This was a difficult stance to take and present to Afiican Americans
considering the horrible treatment they have had to endure. Du Bois saw then history in
this country as an eye opener, showing them the importance of aspirations and goals for
his people.
Nevertheless, out of the evil came something of good, -the more careful adjustment of education to real life, the clearer perception of the Negroes' social responsibilities, and the sobering realization of the meaning of progress. (Du Bois 1989: 7)
Although the situations and discriminations African Americans had endured were tmly
devastating, Du Bois felt they should be seen as leaming experiences that would enable
the group as a whole to see the importance of education.
Theme 2: Socialism
The one hope of American Negroes is Socialism. Otherwise, under the corporate mle of monopolized wealth, they will be confined to the lowest wage as long as Wealth mles. W. E. B. Du Bois (Weinberg 1992:149).
Du Bois' membership in the communist party was complicated. Du Bois, since
his early writings, had strong leanings towards teachings that paralleled the Socialist
movement. This was tme despite the fact that Karl Marx was scarcely mentioned while
he was at Harvard, and was unknovm to him while at Fisk. "It was while a student in
Germany that he began to get a real inkling of the meaning of Marxism" (Moon 1972:
38). Even then, Du Bois argues that he did not actually read any of Marx' work.
Nevertheless, he attended Socialist meetings and considered himself a Socialist.
58 "On my return to America, I taught and studied for sixteen years. I explored the theory of Socialism and studied the organized social life of American Negroes; but still I neither read or heard much of Marxism" (Du Bois in Lewis 1995: 631). Du Bois eventually made h to New York as an official of the new NAACP and editor of The
Crisis. While at the NAACP, Du Bois was strongly encouraged to join the Socialist
Party by Mary Ovington, WUliam English Walling, and Charles Edward Russell, all members of the leadership at the NAACP (Du Bois in Lewis 1995: 631). He joined the
Socialist Party in 1911.
Although Du Bois joined the Socialist Party, h is important to note that his view of socialism stressed "social reform, for a more equitable distribution of national wealth, for better conditions and higher wages for workers" (Moon 1972: 38). This view of socialism, at times, went against the Communist Party ideals in the United States. Du
Bois even went as far as calling some of the Communist Party leaders of the 1930s
"young jackasses" (Moon 1972: 38). He continuously found himself on opposing sides of the Communist Party.
Even after joining the Socialist Party, Du Bois did not understand Socialist politics and did not vote the Socialist ticket in the campaign of 1912. Instead, Du Bois encouraged African Americans to vote for Wilson. This was contrary to Socialist Party mles, and he resigned from the Socialist Party (Du Bois in Lewis 1995: 631). Even after leaving, Du Bois had questions as to what party he belonged.
For the next twenty years I tried to develop a political way of life for myself and my people. I attacked the Democrats and Republicans for monopoly and disfranchisement of Negroes; I attacked the Socialists for trying to segregate Southem Negro members; I praised the racial attitudes of the Communists, but
59 opposed their tactics in the case of the Scottsboro boys and their advocacy of a Negro state. W.E.B. Du Bois (Lewis 1995: 632).
Du Bois also began to read and study Kari Marx and the Communists and further appreciated their platform.
Du Bois became increasingly immersed in Marxism, denying that he was a communist. At this point, he began to feel as though the class problem was the root of social problems, even the problem of the color Ihie. This mindset is still prevalent today, especially in the works of William Julius Wilson. In The Declining Significance of Race:
Blacks and Changing American Institutions (1978) and The Truly Disadvantaged: The
Inner City, the Underclass and Public Policy (1987), Wilson advocated the belief that class and economics play a more important role than race when looking at the problems of poor urban African Americans. Similarly, Du Bois "wistfully hoped that the elimination of class differences would mean the elimination of the deadly color bar"
(Moon 1972: 39). Yet, the socialist party had trouble dealing with the race problem in the United States, for fear that h would take away from the socialist platform.
The general attitude of thinking members of the party has been this: We must not tum aside from the great objects of Socialism to take up this issue of tiie American Negro; let the question wah; when the objects of Socialism are achieved, this problem will be settled along with other problems.
W. E. B. Du Bois (Lewis 1995: 578)
Du Bois questioned whether this type of reasoning was intelligent. "Can the objects of
Sociahsm be achieved so long as the Negro is neglected?" (Du Bois in Lewis 1995: 578).
60 Considering whether putting aside a problem for ten million people as being different than the problem for the entire Socialist party did not make sense for Du Bois.
"He warned in 1933 that h would be 'idiotic' for Negroes to vote for the
Communists. 'Moreover,' he said, 'in the case of the Communists there is acute danger
that the Negro vote wiU be deliberately sacrificed for ulterior purposes" (Moon 1972: 38).
It is important to note that many leftist intellectuals of time agreed with this statement.
At this time, Du Bois feh that the Communist Party was untmstworthy. Still, he took
notice of Russia's Communist Party and their workings.
Du Bois was sympathetic to the Soviet Union since its inception, and sometime in the middle-1940's he ceased his running battles with American Communists. Having convinced himself that oiUy Russia was practicing race egalitarianism and cultural pluralism, Du Bois pursued a line of thinking which was similar to the foreign policy of that nation. (Rudwick 1960: 286)
After visiting Russia, Du Bois changed his opinion about the Communist Party, finally
applying for admission in 1961. He felt that communism had the most appealing
platform, one that included the correction and aid for problems that Afiican Americans
confronted in the United States. Specifically, the promise of education for all attracted
Du Bois to Communism.
Communism—^the effort to give all men what they need and to ask of each the best they can contribute—^this is the only way of human life. It is difficult and hard end to reach—it has and will make mistakes, but today it marches triumphantly on in education and science, in home and food, with increased freedom of thought and deliverance from dogma. In die end Communism will triumph. I want to help bring that day.
W. E. B. Du Bois (Lewis 1995: 632)
61 Specifically speaking, Du Bois feh that the Communist Party would be a real Third Party in the United States, and h would restore democracy. The Communist Party would call for:
1. Public ovmership of natural resources and of all capital. 2. Public control of transportation and communication. 3. Abolition of poverty and limitation of personal uicome. 4. No exploitation of labor. 5. Social medicine, with hospitalization and care of the old. 6. Free education for all. 7. Training for j obs and j obs for all. 8. Discipline for growth and reform. 9. Freedom under law.
10. No dogmatic religion (Lewis 1995: 632).
For these reasons, Du Bois felt that the Communist Party agenda most closely reflected the needs of African Americans in the United States. Their goals would allow for positive advancements for all individuals, including Afiican Americans. These actions could possibly lead to a solution of the largest problem in the United States in the 20 century, a solution or a move toward the elimination of the color line.
62 CHAPTER V
IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVES FOR DU BOIS AND CASO
Paulo Freire and bell hooks stress the importance of dialogue and giving voice to oppressed groups. Both argue, and I would agree, that it allows for a more thorough understanding of a topic. This being said, I think it is important to examine two different topics that both Caso and Du Bois wrote about. This will explain why considering different perspectives is important in understanding a theorist's way of thinking and acting in society. More specifically, we can understand how social location led Caso and
Du Bois to alternative interpretations of society?
Both Antonio Caso and W.E.B. Du Bois were sociological contemporaries and both chose to focus on similar topics. These were two individuals, living in two different countries, with two different languages, yet each held similar interests and ideas in some respects. However, because of their personal experiences and backgrounds, they differed in opinions on other topics.
For both Caso and Du Bois, education was a very important part of progress, even though they found themselves in completely different social systems. Both held subordinate status in their respective societies, although not equally subordinate, and each viewed education as a key to unlock the door of oppression. They defined an educated person as one with both the future and past in mind. Both knew what they would like to see for their people in the future as well as the importance of their culture and heritage from their past. They both knew that an understanding of culture and heritage was
63 necessary, along with proper education, in order to create a tme person, the creation of a tme soul.
They also both had their opinions about socialism and socialist teachings. Du
Bois felt that socialism was an important step toward egalitarianism and was necessary for the progress of African Americans. Caso, on the other hand, did not agree with some
of the socialist teachings for Mexico and instead thought it would hinder progress, instead
of aid it.
Their perspectives of both topics are interesting. Students from all backgrounds
can gain knowledge by understanding a minority group member's perspective from this
time period. Let us know look at the linkages between these two great scholars.
Du Bois and Caso: Formation of Spirit
Both Du Bois and Caso felt that it was through education that true individuals are
created. Tme education allows for people to view their actual position in society and to
think critically about the social stmctures. Once a person is able to do this, the possibility
for reform is now based on real knowledge, both physical knowledge and spiritual
knowledge. Both agreed that this education extended into the formation of a person's
spirit, freeing his or her soul from these oppressive social stmctures.
Education was important to both theorists because it was not overtly available to
either African Americans in the United States, or to the majority of youth in Mexico. In
the United States, "in sixteen former slave states in 1930, over a million Negro children
of school age were not in school a single day in the year, and half these Negro children
were not in regular attendance" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 62). Du Bois goes on to say that
64 the "southem Negro children, forming a third of the school population, received one tenth
of the school funds, and the million and a half who attended school had an average term
of only six month" (Du Bois in Moon 1972: 62).
hi Mexico, due to the social stratification of society at the time that Caso was
writing, many youths were not able to attend school. Furthermore, the education that was
available was that of the Positivist approach, which Caso ferventiy opposed. The
positivistic approach to education limited what Caso felt was tme education. This type of
curriculum excluded any education and leaming outside of "abstract formulae handbook.
Such general principles may be of value in science, but they simply cannot be applied to
solving the vitally important moral, political, social, and other personal problems in our
lives" (Haddox 1971: 22). Caso thought the notion that a person becomes educated by
memorizing a list to be absurd and criminal.
Both Caso and Du Bois felt that education provided solutions to problems in
society. Caso and Du Bois felt that education taught individuals to seek the tmth, and
that the tmth would set them free. Individuals are liberated as a result of being educated.
Du Bois believed that education was a channel through which African Americans could
gain respect and tme freedom in a country that had suppressed his people for so long.
Both also understood the importance of being culturally educated. Du Bois and
Caso realized that a part of being tmly well rounded was being knowledgeable about one's own heritage. For Du Bois, the reahzation of pride in being an African American came, not while in the North, never having to tmly deal with the problem that is the color line, but instead, when he was confronted with discrimination and prejudice head on in the south. "He recognized the importance of the bonds between American Negroes and
65 the land of their ancestors and he extended his activities to African affairs" (Martin
Luther King, Jr. in Foner 1970: 14).
This mentality can be better understood when compared with that of another person's perspective, specifically that of a person in a dominant position in society. If a group were doing well in society, why would they need to look elsewhere for comfort or a sense of peace? On the other hand, if a group finds itself in a situation of oppression, they would be more likely to look elsewhere or to themselves for a sense of who they are.
Du Bois strongly advocated knowledge of African American culture. "He saw that Negroes were robbed of so many things decisive to their existence [history].. .but Dr.
Du Bois knew that to lose one's history is to lose one's self-understanding and with it the roots of pride" (Martin Luther King, Jr. in Foner 1970: 17). For this reason, he became a historian of African American life. "He was passionately proud to be black and finally he had not only genius and pride but he had the indomitable fighting spirit of the valiant"
(Martin Luther King Jr. in Foner 1970: 13).
Caso also stressed the importance of Mexican culture and traditions. These traits, which he called the Mexican reality, are what need to be considered when attempting to make progress for Mexico, histead of looking to other countries for ideas, institutions, customs, and traditions, Mexico needed "to discover their own reality as Mexicans"
(Haddox 1971: 6). Simply transplanting a system from another country would fail because Mexico is hs own country. Mexico has its own past and unique customs and traditions, which need to be recognized in order to implement a social system that would flourish in such a unique setting. These "Mexican realities" were an important part of
66 education for Caso. This helped an individual become tmly educated and helped them to find their spirit.
Du Bois and Caso: Different Steps Toward Freedom
Du Bois and Caso also examined socialism with regards to personal freedom.
Although they were not in agreement due to their individual experiences and perspectives on society, it is important to understand and to take their individual ideas into consideration. For Du Bois, socialism was necessary for African Americans to succeed in the United States. African Americans suffered from a complete lack of civil rights.
Du Bois saw socialism and communism as ideal solutions to attain civil rights and equality for African Americans. Coming out of a time period of slavery, easing into the difficult position of seeking civil rights and being confronted with obstacles, Du Bois could probably envision that a complete change of social stmctures was needed in order for African Americans to be treated as equals. Working within the existing social stmcture was no longer an option for Du Bois.
Caso was also facing oppression in Mexico from the Positivist curriculum, which he thought restricted personal freedom. But, given his elite status, he had rights that he wanted to see expanded to include all Mexicans. Even though the social stmcture prevented many impoverished individuals from attaining an education, they were able to attend educational institutions, (if they could pay for it.). Basically, Caso was stalling with rights and privileges, as opposed to Du Bois who worked within the shadow of the veil despite his educational successes. This could very well be the reason they differed opinions about socialism.
67 For Du Bois any change would be a good change, whereas Caso felt that the
changes brought about by communism would not necessarily be positive for him or
Mexico. Du Bois believed communism, in theory, would provide what everyone needed;
most importanUy communism would provide free education for aU. Education at the time
was not available for African Americans, and the thought of opening the doors of
leaming institutions for the Talented Tenth, which were going to guide African
Americans to progress, was very appeahng for Du Bois.
Caso, having had access to education and private property, saw that the
implementation of communism would restrict educational freedom already available to
him. In fact, "for Caso a viable and just society is not possible without freedom of
conscience, freedom of political association, and freedom to have private property"
(Haddox 1971: 38). Communism and sociahsm would therefore interfere with the
development of the human person.
The Communist Party also appealed to Du Bois because it called for the end of
labor exploitation, which direcfly affected African Americans. Furthermore, everyone
was entitied to job training and freedom under law, especially from dogmatic religion.
All of these goals seemed to be exactly what African Americans needed during this time period in order to see social reform. Because of this, Du Bois eventually joined the
Communist Party.
Du Bois felt that the Communist Party agenda most closely resembled the agenda of African Americans in the United States. The communist goals would allow for positive advancements for all individuals, including African Americans. These actions
68 could possibly lead to a solution of the largest problem in the United States in the 20^' century, a solution involving the elimination of the color line.
Caso, on the other hand, did not agree with Socialism, or with Communist views.
He did not agree with the Communist view of humans as solely economic animals. Caso argued that within Communism, people are seen as a part of the larger whole, working for the community, leaving out the reality of what makes a person. Caso felt that the person "wants to be more through his ethical and social activities and, second, that society exists for man—for the realization of his nature and the perfection of his personality" (Haddox 1971: 37).
Caso felt that personalism, which "leads to a just society in which rights and duties of both the individual and the community are not opposed but justly coordinated," was needed instead of Communism (Haddox 1971: 38). In Communism, "all aspects of human life are dominated by the material means of production and distribution of goods in both cases" (Haddox 1971: 38). This view removes the importance of individuals and focuses instead on the community.
The lack of private property in Communism was also restrictive on freedoms that
Caso felt were important. "In fact, for Caso a viable and just society is not possible without freedom of conscience, freedom of political association, and freedom to have private property" (Haddox 1971: 38). Furthermore, Caso viewed the removal of religion as problematic, one part of Communism that Du Bois found appealing, at least in terms of dogmatic religion.
Caso also disapproved of dogmatic religion, but understood the importance of
Jesus Christ and spirituahty. He had a problem with the way the Communism replaced
69 dogmatic religion with its own dogmatic beliefs that excluded Christ. Considering that
Caso viewed Christ as the perfect role model, he did not agree with Communism. It is important to note that Du Bois was also a religious person, but he still considered communism appealing. It would seem that the good qualities about communism far outweighed the bad for Du Bois, but this was not the case for Caso.
70 CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
Freire and hooks would both approve of the inclusion of Antonio Caso and the further inclusion of W.E.B. Du Bois. They would both argue that minority groups in this country need a voice and, by including these two authors, Caso and Du Bois could speak volumes for the minority groups they represent. Hooks argues, "when we, as educators, allow our pedagogy to be radically changed by our recognition of a multicultural worid, we can give students the education they desire and deserve" (hooks 1994: 44). This change in the classroom allows for tme education, not surprisingly the type of education advocated by both Du Bois and Caso.
Freire stressed the importance of minority group members, those he would see as the oppressed group, voicing their concems. "It is absolutely essential that the oppressed participate in the revolutionary process with an increasingly critical awareness of their role as Subjects of the transformation" (Freire 1972: 121). Being that I have sat in numerous classrooms that have left out Latino sociologists, I can no longer wait for someone else to introduce a Latino sociologist. It is my task, being a Latino and more specifically a Mexican graduate student, to further introduce my culture and introduce a
Mexican sociologist that I find interesting and more personally relevant.
Both hooks and Freire acknowledge the importance of open dialogue in a classroom setting. This provides an opportunity to hear and learn from a diversity of perspectives. The intentions of an author, or the meaning of a certain writing, is not necessarily the way an instmctor reads it. In fact, the many different backgrounds and
71 perspectives affect how we each individually interpret that work, h is informative to hear
these different perspectives. Since I have been given this opportunity, I shall make use of
it by introducing my perspective and the perspective of a great Mexican sociologist. I
completely agree with Freire and hooks, both of whom advocate the empowering of
every member of a classroom. I have decided to use my voice to give voice to a missing
segment of sociology, the Latino perspective.
Many people would like to know how or if a social theorist like Caso wUl fit into
U.S. sociology. Questions like this are not a rare occurrence, especially when a new
perspective is being introduced. The same questions were asked when including W.E.B.
Du Bois and other minority social theorists. This question infers that our sociology
curriculum is infallible and that anything not meeting its current specifications is not tmly
"social theory." "New" voices need to fit into our dominant way of thinking, even if their backgrounds and cultures have lead this silenced scholars to view society in a different manner.
The dominant culture that we live in needs an assurance that "new" theorists will somehow fit into the old, traditional molds that we have been working in for years. There needs to be some resemblance to the old for any acceptance to occur. This within itself is a sad commentary about sociology's hesitant steps into a more multicultural-friendh society. We must accept that differences are differences, and do not require justification by the dominant group, through the use of its terms and concepts, in order to be taken seriously and treated with respect.
A better question would be. does U.S. sociology resemble or differ from what
Caso, or even what Du Bois wrote about? Furthermore, how does what we study in this
72 country compare to what Caso said or what Du Bois wrote about? These questions allow for their theories to stand alone, without having to bend into our way of thinking.
Instead, our mainstream curriculum works to include different perspectives and is more flexible and thus more accepting of different approaches.
So how does what we study compare to what Caso and Du Bois wrote about?
They both wrote about the importance of education for individuals. They both stressed that through education, people would be able to transform their society and thus make progress. Progress would not only result from traditional education, but also education conceming culture and heritage, which would give individuals a better understanding of
who they are. Caso and Du Bois' perspectives place strong emphasis on individuals
understanding who they are and resembles the symbolic interactionist theoretical
paradigm.
Symbolic interactionism, and specifically theorists like George Herbert Mead,
focuses on the importance of individuals and their thoughts and emotions and how these
affect their social behavior. "Individuals are viewed as active constmctors of their own
conduct who interpret, evaluate, define, and map out their own action, rather than as
passive beings who are impinged upon by outside forces" (Wallace and Wolf 1991: 237).
Caso and Du Bois would agree with the idea that individuals constmct their own conduct
by interpreting and evaluating their situation with their own concepts of who they are.
Specifically, Du Bois concept of "double consciousness" is similar to what Mead called
the "self." However, Du Bois is actually referring to a divided self due to the forces of
oppression. For Caso and Du Bois, individuals are not passive, but instead active through
education. This is why education can transform society for Caso and Du Bois. because
73 individuals have the power to learn and become critically conscious of who they are and where they stand, and work for positive changes.
The conflict paradigm is another major theoretical paradigm in this country that reflects an active stance by people and groups. "It is a framework for budding theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change" (Macionis 2000:
13). Conflict theory focuses more on social stmctures as opposed to individuals, and would be a macro-level of social analysis. Conflict theory is similar to Caso and Du
Bois' way of thinking because it states that inequality and power relations are built into
every social stmcture. In this type of society, it is problematic for people to make
progress. It is these social inequalities that lead to conflicts, which then lead to social
change.
Both Caso and Du Bois felt that educational institutions would be places for self-
identity, liberation, and a changing of society, similar to what Karl Marx discussed in his
conflict theory. "Marx observed and was repulsed by the conditions of early
industrialization in Europe, [and] he was concemed with initiating and legitimating social
change" (Tumer 1978: 123). There is no consensus of a common good for Caso and Du
Bois, and rewards are not distributed equally either. They would see the focus of society
to be on what generates social disorder and change, the inequalities that plague their lives
and society, not on ways to perpetuate the current social system.
Caso and Du Bois' ideas of the "self and their views of conflict would be
different than that of the functionalist approach in the United States. Specifically, Caso
crhicized the positivistic ideas of Auguste Comte, whom many have referred to as the
"most important intellecmal ancestor of modem functionalism" (Wallace and Wolf 1991:
74 18). Comte argued, "all events in this worid are governed by a set of scientifically discoverable, invariable, natural laws" (Hadden 1997: 31). Furthermore, Comte felt that intellectual reform needed to occur, and he advocated the removal and replacement of
Catholicism with his positivistic philosophy. Caso felt that sociology could not be seen as a cold, inhuman science. Caso felt that not everything was govemed by natural laws.
Furthermore, both Caso and Du Bois would disagree with the removal of religion and the implementation of a new, man-made religion. However, while both Caso and Du Bois would be more inclined to agree with a conflict approach, they would agree with the importance of empirical study of social stmcture that the functionalist approach advocates.
Functionalists would argue that individuals are passive and intermpted by social stmctures in society. Functionalism is a macro-level analysis that places the focus on the larger social stmctures that already exist and assumes that society is orderly and stable, ignoring the inequalities of social class, gender, and race. It would be difficult for Caso and Du Bois to work within a paradigm that ignores a major part of who they are.
Functionalism would say that individuals respond only to what societal stmctures place before them, and eventually, maintenance of systematic values and morals results through the use of social institutions.
Functionalist ideas, and specifically Talcott Parsons' views of education would contend that socialization is learning what is expected of you in order to insure harmony, stability, and shared values. This type of thinking could completely underemphasize the nature of conflict in this country for Caso and Du Bois. Instead of working for change, functionalism could imply acceptance for the "common," or "dominant" good, even if it
75 negatively affects minorities, h is important to note that while both Caso and Du Bois
would be more inclined to agree with a conflict approach, they would agree with the
importance of empirical study of social stmcture that the functionalist approach
advocates.
Although the three theoretical paradigms discussed above are relevant to Caso
and Du Bois, the new, emerging theoretical environment, which stresses individual
sociologists' perspectives, would be more likely to include their work. One example of
such a theorist is Dorothy Smith. Smith argues that in order to tmly understand a socially
constmcted worid we must know it from within, and this would work outside of
traditional mainstream sociology. Smith argues that we must provide an alternative
sociology. "An altemative sociology must preserve in it the presence, concems, and
experience of the sociologist as knower and discoverer" (Lemert 1999: 389). In this type
of social thinking, the perspectives of Caso and Du Bois, whom have lived the
experiences they wrote about, are taken as seriously as their social concepts. What they
have gone through shapes what they see and how they describe the social world around
them, and should be acknowledged and included.
Many people may see the acknowledgement and inclusion of another sociologist
into the current curriculum of the United States as a result of dissatisfaction with the
current field. This is not necessarily an accurate presumption. In fact, I know that the
current, well-known members of the field that we mainly discuss in the United States are important. However, I also know that we are missing many more.
What I am trying to do should not be viewed as a divisive effort. I am not trying to break down the current sociological curriculum. In fact, 1 am trying to improve on the
76 currem system. lam not contending that Caso's perspective of sociology is better than more traditional approaches. Neither am I saying that my sociological perspective is best. I am simply saying that my perspective, and Caso's work, do exist and should be taken into consideration.
I must also recognize that Caso is not the only sociologist to come out of Mexico, nor the only Latino sociologist in the worid. hi addition, I do not know if including Caso in our sociology classrooms will complete the picture of sociology for all of the students or the instmctors in this country. I do not know if Caso's inclusion, or the inclusion of other minority theorists, would completely change the paradigms of sociology as we know them, but we will never know if we do not talk about Caso and his ideas, or the ideas of other ignored sociologists.
Even if no drastic changes result from a wider spectmm of sociologists studied in this country, by simply introducing these new perspectives, many students will have the opportunity of seeing their place in a field that studies the society they inhabit. New and different students, minority students, will have the opportunity of identifying with a theorist whose writings reflect their culture and heritage. If Latino students, or other minority students, are alienated from the discipline early on, they will not further their sociological studies. Latino students could compose a large number of the future sociologists in this country, but not if we continue alienating them by excluding their perspectives in sociology.
Others will also benefit by simply hearing about these cultural differences and better understanding them. By implementing Caso into our study of sociology, we might have a new opportunity to examine the importance that culture has on affecting a social
77 theorists perspective. For example, due to Caso's Latino heritage, family is a ver} important part of life. Understanding, or even simply discussing, a "familial" perspective in a society dominated by "individualism" would be interesting and educational for
everyone involved in the educational process.
This, to me, is what sociology is. h includes the tme understanding of society by
including and respecting different perspectives that are found within the society. The
tmth is if we ever believed sociology to be a comprehensive discipline that documents all
forms of social life, we must acknowledge that it has and continues to be studied
globally. Considering the United States is a country composed of immigrants from all
over the world, we can not only study white male Europeans.
If we expand our knowledge of the presence of other sociologists who have
worked around the globe, both in the past and in the present, we will be a better, more
inclusive field for doing so. Everyone brings something different to the table and this
affects the understanding of social systems and social phenomena and their variety.
Sociology will have more resources from which to pull different ideas if we include more
theorists.
Doing the work of introducing an outside sociologist requires finding new
sources, translating their books and articles, and making linkages with currenfly familiar
sociologists. This is quite a challenge, but does not justify total exclusion of a group
from the field, h is tme that a majority of Caso's work is in Spanish, but this is not the
sole reason for his exclusion. W.E.B. Du Bois work was in English, and we are only
recently acknowledging his importance. Caso's work and the work of Du Bois are both
important and it is cmcial for the advancement of sociology that we include them, as well
78 as other minority social theorists. By including these minority sociologists, social problems that currenfly exist may be better understood and dealt with more appropriately.
It is important that we remain open to the idea of expanding the borders of social theory.
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Wilson, WUliam Julius. (1987). The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass and Public Policy. The University of Chicago Press.
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