Final answer:
W.E.B. Du Bois refers to the feeling of African Americans viewing themselves through the eyes of a prejudiced society as 'double-consciousness.' This concept is a central theme in Du Bois's book, The Souls of Black Folk, and deals with the idea of a split self, influenced by the pervasive nature of racism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase Du Bois gives to “this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” is double-consciousness. Du Bois explores this concept in depth in his work The Souls of Black Folk, where he articulates the inner conflict that African Americans experience due to systemic racism and societal expectations. The term encapsulates the way in which Black people are forced to see themselves from the perspective of a dominant white society that views them with scorn and pity, leading to a split in self-perception.
Du Bois's theory of double-consciousness relates to a broader sense of cultural duality where one feels an identity divided into two parts, making it challenging to reconcile the two into a unified self. This concept goes beyond mere reflection and delves into how systemic oppression can internalize and affect the worldview of those it marginalizes. Du Bois uses potent metaphors such as the 'veil' to describe the separation between Black and white worlds and 'twoness' to express the conflicting identities that a Black person must navigate.