Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
ENGL 286
Spring 2022 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
AFAM 286 |
During this course, students will read canonical and popular literary works by early-20th-century African American authors in tandem with the vibrant body of literary criticism that emerged from this cultural moment in order to arrive at a richer understanding of how the early 20th-century African American canon was curated and proliferated. To this end, we will pay special attention to the role of anthologies and literary magazines (such as "The Crisis," "Opportunity," and "Fire!!") in collating an emergent modern African American literary tradition. At the end of this course, students will be familiar with not only the key authors and works of the Harlem Renaissance, but also with the central debates about the direction and uses of African American literature in the early 20th century. These discussions of the uses and selection criteria of the book-form anthology on the one hand, and the serial literary magazine on the other will prepare students for one of the main assignments: curating a new syllabus entry for future versions of this course. The aim of this assignment is to alert students to the politics of knowledge production that determine which texts get taught, anthologized, and studied. Finally, the differing lengths and types of course assignments will require students to learn how to present their ideas across a variety of genres (syllabus proposal, annotated bibliography, research paper, short close-reading paper). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AFAM-MN)(AFAM)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature) |
Major Readings:
Readings: David Levering Lewis, WHEN HARLEM WAS IN VOGUE Claude McKay, HOME TO HARLEM Alain Locke, THE NEW NEGRO: VOICES OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE, (Touchstone; Reprint edition ) Zora Neale Hurston, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD (Harper Collins) Jean Toomer, CANE (Liveright/Norton, Reissue 2011) Venetria K. Patton and Maureen Honey (eds), DOUBLE TAKE: A REVISIONIST HARLEM RENAISSANCE ANTHOLOGY Wallace Thurman, INFANTS OF THE SPRING (both Northeastern and Dover editions will be fine) Eric Walrond, TROPIC DEATH, (Liveright/Norton edition )
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two close-reading essays (5-7pp.); one syllabus-entry assignment (5pp), one annotated bibliography (8-10 pp) and one longer research paper(12-15pp.). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Literatures of Difference requirements and contributes to the American Literature and Race & Ethnicity concentrations of the English major. |
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