Simmel and Du Bois

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Classical Sociological Theory Simmel and Du Bois Abstract Georg Simmel stressed a interest in social geometry called distance (Ritzer, 2011, p. 273). Distance played a key role in Simmel's essay called "The Stranger." In his composition there is an actor who is not too close or too far away. If a person happened to be too close they would not be considered a stranger, but if there was too much distance they would end any contact with the group. In W.E.B Du Bois' wellknown work, In the Souls of Black Folk, he establishes and concentrates on two notions that explain the typical Black involvement within the United States - the notion of "the veil" and "double-consciousness." What he meant by this was that a black person has the strange sense, a feeling of constantly viewing themselves through someone else's eyes and measuring their character by the tape of society that look on in pleased, disapproval and compassion (Ritzer, 2011, p. 341). This paper will discuss Simmel's notion of the stranger and Du Bois's notion of double consciousness. It will also compare and contrast the two notions. Georg Simmel stressed a interest in social geometry called distance (Ritzer, 2011, p. 273). Distance played a key role in Simmel's essay called "The Stranger." In his composition there is an actor who is not too close or too far away. If a person happened to be too close they would not be considered a stranger, but if there was too much distance they would end any contact with the group. The type of contact that the stranger participates in within the group involves a mixture of familiarity and detachment. The unusual distance the unfamiliar person has from the group permits them to have a range of abnormal communication arrangement with the group (Ritzer, 2011, p. 274). These types of communications aid in shaping the social order as a whole. George Simmel discuss the function

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