This is a versatile text to assign. It can be read in its entirety over two or three class meetings, but it is also productive to read in excerpts. The following are some discussion questions related to Chapter 5, Of The Wings of Atlanta.
1) What are your “high and generous ideals”? For what price would you sacrifice them?
2) What does Du Bois mean by the term, “Mammonism”? Would he consider our time to be one of more or less Mammonism?
3) Du Bois argued that the ultimate goal of a college education should be to better understand the purpose and meaning of our lives. What are we living for? What do you live for other than the acquisition of goods or skills that sustain or may sustain your life?
4) “The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork, not simply for pay.” Consider your current course of study. If money or other financial considerations were not an issue, would you pursue a career in that area if you were not paid for it?