Contact Information
Biography Information
Joseph L. Jones is a scholar activist who is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Johnson C. Smith University. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Philander Smith College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Clark Atlanta University. He has been a fellow at the Black Panther Party Research Project at Stanford University and an ambassador for the Black College Fund in the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church. His research interest include: 21st century public diplomacy, African American political thought, African Diaspora politics, and the politics of Hip-hop. Currently he is co-editing a comparative politics text book that examines the contemporary political reality of people of African descent whose ancestors were victims of the transatlantic slave trade in eleven communities and states.
Project Description
This project is a study of W.E.B. Du Bois’ political philosophy of education for Black Institutions of Higher Education (BIHE). Du Bois’ scholarship on education consists of more than a half century of writings, speeches, and articles. Yet, Du Bois’ thoughts on education are not one-dimensional; rather, he addresses issues in primary, secondary, higher, and international education. Still, in these writings there is no single essay, article, or book that explicitly articulates his philosophy of education. Therefore, in this myriad of works lay the challenge and the purpose of the project: conceptualizing Du Bois’ works on education by analyzing his thoughts on BIHE. Therefore there are four objectives to this project: conceptualize the notion of political philosophy of education; extrapolate Du Bois’ political philosophy of education for BIHE; expand his idea of the Talented Tenth to include BIHE; and contextualize Du Bois’ ideas on BIHE to the contemporary challenges that these institutions face.