The Souls of Black Folk is the classic work by W. E. B. Du Bois and a seminal work in the history of sociology, as well as a cornerstone of African-American history. Outside of its notable place in African-American history, The Souls of Black Folk also holds an important place in social science as one of the early works to deal with sociology, in this case dealing with black people in America. The book focuses on race and draws from Du Bois' own experiences to develop this ground-breaking work on being African-American in American society.