ENGL411: African-American Literature « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors

African-American Literature

Purpose of Course show close

African American literature grew out of the oral tradition of storytelling and spirituals. In this course, you will consider these verbal modes and their impact on the literary production of African American authors from the Colonial period to the current day. Along with considering the content of literary works, you will examine the cultural, historical, and political contexts of the literature, as well as how the issues of gender, race, and class affect the production and meaning of these works. In this course, you will examine the development of African American literature in seven units: Oral Traditions; The Literature of Slavery; Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance Movement; Harlem Renaissance; Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism; Black Arts; and the Contemporary Period. This course begins with a unit that studies African American literature’s inception through oral tradition. This unit will teach you about the beginnings of narrative and will ground your understanding in the development of the literary tradition. We will also identify the principal authors and characteristics of each of these periods and read representative texts.

Course Information show close

Welcome to ENGL411. Below, please find some general information about the course and its requirements.

Course Designer: Patricia Kennedy Bostian

Primary Resources: This course is comprised of a range of different free, online materials. However, the course makes primary use of the following materials:

The Annenberg Foundation's American Passages series
UC College Prep’s US History course
Documenting the American South, hosted by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all of its assigned materials. Pay special attention to Unit 1 as this lays the groundwork for understanding the more advanced, exploratory material presented in the later units. You will also need to complete:

The Final Exam

Note that you will only receive an official grade on your Final Exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, you will need to work through all of the materials in the course.

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the Final Exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Time Commitment: This course should take you a total of 116 hours to complete. Each unit includes a “time advisory” that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These should help you plan your time accordingly. It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself. For example, Unit 1 should take you 5 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunit 1.1 (a total of 3 hours) on Monday night; subunit 1.2 (a total of 2.25 hours) on Tuesday night; subunit 1.3 (a total of 3 hours) on Wednesday night; etc.

Tips/Suggestions: Re-reading is a helpful tool to understand context and meaning in a literary work. Take your time while reading each text, and keep a reading journal or take notes on what you have read to reinforce your understanding. Your notes or journal will also be helpful to review as you prepare for your Final Exam.

Learning Outcomes show close

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

Identify the cultural influences and the development of African American literature.
Analyze the evolution of African American literature from an oral to a literary tradition.
Define the functions of African American literature from its inception in the period of slavery to the contemporary period.
Identify the major authors and/or literary works in the various literary periods and movements (Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance Movement; Harlem Renaissance; Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism; Black Arts; and the Contemporary Period).

Course Requirements show close

In order to take this course, you must:

√ Have access to a computer.

√ Have continuous broadband Internet access.

√ Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader or Flash).

√ Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.

√ Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).

√ Have competency in the English language.

√ Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.

Unit Outline show close

1 Oral Traditions
1.1 Use of the Vernacular
1.1.1 Origins of African American Language
1.1.2 Joel Chandler Harris and the Trickster Figure
1.1.3 Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dialect, and Masking
1.2 Sacred and Secular Music
1.2.1 The Importance of Negro Spirituals
1.2.2 Perseverance and Deliverance
1.2.3 The Blues Defined
1.3 Signifying
1.3.1 Signifying Defined
1.3.2 African Folktales

2 Literature of Slavery
2.1 Conditions of Slavery
2.2 Poetry
2.2.1 The First African American Poet, Lucy Terry
2.2.2 Phillis Wheatley as Colonial Poet
2.3 Voices against Slavery
2.3.1 Abolition and the Press
2.3.2 David Walker's Call to Violence
2.3.3 Sojourner Truth: Slavery and Gender
2.4 Slave Narratives
2.4.1 Characteristics of Slave Narratives
2.4.2 Slave Narratives and Abolitionists
2.4.3 Frederick Douglass
2.4.4 Harriet Jacobs and the Question of Slave Narrative Authenticity
2.5 Slave Novels
2.5.1 Sentimentalism as Technique in Slave Novels
2.5.2 The Tragic Mulatto as Trope
2.5.3 William Wells Brown and the Sentimental Fiction of Slavery
2.5.4 Harriet E. Wilson's Lesser Known Slave Novel

3 Reconstruction to New Negro Renaissance Movement, 1865-1919
3.1 The Plantation Tradition
3.1.1 Reconstruction
3.1.2 The Myth of Plantation Nostalgia
3.1.3 Charles Chesnutt and the Power of Conjure
3.2 Racial Uplift
3.2.1 Racial Uplift Defined
3.2.2 Booker T. Washington and the End of Slavery
3.3 Color Line
3.3.1 Double Consciousness Defined
3.3.2 W.E.B. Du Bois and the Talented Tenth
3.3.3 Anna Julia and Gendered Racial Uplift

4 Harlem Renaissance
4.1 The Harlem Renaissance in New York and Beyond
4.1.1 The New Negro
4.1.2 Claude McKay's Influence on the Harlem Renaissance
4.2 Modernism
4.2.1 The Characteristics of the Modernist Movement
4.2.2 Jean Toomer and Modernism
4.3 Back to Africa
4.3.1 What Was the Northern Migration?
4.3.2 The Back to Africa Movement and Marcus Garvey
4.4 Color Consciousness in the African American Community
4.4.1 Embracing and Rejecting Skin Color
4.4.2 The Quest for American Racial Identity
4.5 Rural Issues and the Depression
4.5.1 Zora Neale Hurston, Folklife, and Gender
4.5.2 Arna Bontemp and Spirituality
4.6 Music and Dialect as Representations of Identity
4.6.1 Langston Hughes as Blues Poet
4.6.2 Rhythm and Poetry

5 Civil Rights Era, 1940s to 1960s
5.1 Fiction
5.1.1 Realism
5.1.2 Naturalism
5.2 Protest Writing
5.2.1 Richard Wright's Influence as a Protest Writer
5.2.2 Ralph Ellison and the Myth of Invisibility
5.3 Poetry
5.3.1 Robert Hayden and the Personal Experience Lyric
5.3.2 Gwendolyn Brooks and the Chicago Renaissance
5.4 Political Voices
5.4.1 Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King, Jr.
5.4.2 Malcolm X and Islam

6 Black Arts, 1960-1975
6.1 Black Arts and Black Power
6.2 The Prison Experience and the Black Revolutionary
6.3 The Construction of a Woman's Place and African American Feminism

7 Contemporary
7.1 The Neo Slave Narrative
7.2 Women and Violence in African American Literature
7.3 Community in Women's Fiction
7.4 Nontraditional Genres of African American Literature: Science Fiction
7.5 Jazz and Protest in African American Poetry

8 Final Exam

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Unit 1: Oral Traditions

African American culture has always drawn on its historical roots in oral tradition for artistic inspiration. Music, both sacred and secular, has lent its rhythms equally to poetry, sermons, and fiction. Oral folk tales and spirituals have migration themes often referring to Heaven, Africa, and the North. Spirituals often have their themes presented through biblical characters, who persevered and were delivered assurances that they were being watched over by a guardian. One example of the allusion to the Bible is with the story of Exodus. In this unit, we will also examine the influence of spirituals and the blues, address the use of vernacular, and explore signifying and its origin in the folktales and storytelling on the plantation

Unit 1 Time Advisory show close

Unit 1 Learning Outcomes show close

1.1 Use of the Vernacular

1.1.1 Origins of African American Language

Web Media: YouTube: Melvyn Bragg’s “Origins of African American Language”
Link: YouTube: Melvyn Bragg’s “Origins of African American Language” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please view the entire video (5 minutes) as Melvyn Bragg explains some of the features of African American language as it developed during slavery and provides examples of the African American vernacular as used in the works of many authors. Take notes as you view the lecture and afterwards, take 5-7 minutes to write a summary paragraph about what you learned from the video. Viewing this video, taking notes, and writing the summary should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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1.1.2 Joel Chandler Harris and the Trickster Figure

Reading: The University of Texas at Austin’s American Literature Archive: Joel Chandler Harris’ "The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story" (1880)
Link: The University of Texas at Austin’s American Literature Archive: Joel Chandler Harris’ "The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story” (HTML)

Instructions: Although a white author, Chandler's depictions of African Americans have influenced the perception of black characters by both white readers and African American authors. His Uncle Remus tales set a standard for the use of dialect that African American authors either embraced or rejected. You should spend approximately 30 minutes studying and taking notes on this text.

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Reading: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Monkeying around: Trickster Figures and American Culture”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Monkeying around: Trickster Figures and American Culture” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this brief lecture to learn more about the oral tradition of the “trickster tale.” This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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1.1.3 Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dialect, and Masking

Reading: Wright State University Libraries: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s "When Malindy Sings,” “We Wear the Mask," and "A Cabin Tale"
Link: Wright State University Libraries: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s "When Malindy Sings," (HTML) "We Wear the Mask," (HTML) and "A Cabin Tale"(HTML)

Instructions: Please read all three poems by Dunbar. It can be difficult to read dialect and more than one reading may be necessary. Harris and Dunbar have different purposes for using dialect in their texts, and these reasons have been both lauded and criticized by scholars. Consider comparing and contrasting the different ways in which Harris and Dunbar use vernacular. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading these poems and comparing and contrasting Harris and Dunbar’s use of vernacular.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Joanne M. Braxton’s “Dunbar's Life and Career”
Link: Modern American Poetry: Joanne M. Braxton’s “Dunbar's Life and Career” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture on the background of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s life and career. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Revell, Williams, Braxton, and Keeling’s “On ‘When Malindy Sings’" and Hudson, Revell, Emanuel, and Braxton’s “On ‘We Wear the Mask’”
Links: Modern American Poetry: Revell, Williams, Braxton, and Keeling’s “On ‘When Malindy Sings'” (HTML) and Hudson, Revell, Emanuel, and Braxton’s “On ‘We Wear the Mask’” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the lecture notes by various authors on Dunbar’s poems “When Malindy Sings” and “We Wear the Mask.” These reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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1.2 Sacred and Secular Music

1.2.1 The Importance of Negro Spirituals

Reading: University of Houston’s Digital History: “Explorations, Spirituals: Negro Spirituals”
Link: University of Houston’s Digital History: “Explorations, Spirituals: Negro Spirituals” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the brief lecture on the origins of spirituals in the African American community. Consider answering the question posed about what Fredrick Douglass meant in his passage about spirituals. This reading and question should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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1.2.2 Perseverance and Deliverance

Reading: PoemHunter.com: "Go Down Moses" and Songs for Teaching: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"
Link: PoemHunter.com: Louis Armstrong’s "Go Down Moses" (HTML) and Songs for Teaching: "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read both of these lyrics in their entirety for examples of texts that address themes of perseverance and deliverance. Consider which lines stand out the most in exemplifying these themes. You should dedicate approximately 45 minutes to reading and studying these lyrics (reading more than once is recommended).

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1.2.3 The Blues Defined

Reading: Northeastern State University: Benjamin R. Kracht’s “The Blues: A History”
Link: Northeastern State University: Benjamin R. Kracht’s “The Blues: A History” (HTML)

Instructions: For an overview of the musical genre of the blues, please read first page linked above on “The Beginnings.” Then, continue on to read the following sections: “The Delta,” “Maps,” “History,” “The Blue Note,” “Examples,” and “Men and Women in Blues.” You should spend approximately 1 hour reading each of these webpages and exploring any embedded hyperlinks.

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1.3 Signifying

1.3.1 Signifying Defined

Reading: University of Arkansas at Little Rock: Professor J. Briton’s “The Signifying Monkey Will Get All Over You”
Link: University of Arkansas at Little Rock: Professor J. Briton’s “The Signifying Monkey Will Get All Over You” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Professor Briton’s lecture, which helps to contextualize signifying in trickster folktales. This reading should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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1.3.2 African Folktales

Reading: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s “The Trickster in African American Literature”
Link: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s “The Trickster in African American Literature” (HTML)

Instructions: The first and third parts of this overview provide an explanation of the importance of the African American trickster tale and scholars' debates over the trickster and its function in African American literature. It may be useful to click on embedded hyperlinks of interest to read about associated content. This reading should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Reading: Oxford University Press: Summary of Henry Louis Gates’ The Signifying Monkey
Link: Oxford University Press: Summary of Henry Louis Gates’ The Signifying Monkey (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the brief description of Gates’ book, The Signifying Monkey. This reading should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: George Mason University: Susan Tichy’s “Some Notes & Quotes from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s The Signifying Monkey”
Link: George Mason University: Susan Tichy’s “Some Notes & Quotes from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s The Signifying Monkey” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Professor Tichy’s notes on Gates’ The Signifying Monkey in their entirety. "The Signifying Monkey" is a bawdy tale that foreshadows folk heroes, such as Stackolee, who live on their quick wits and fast talking. You should spend approximately 30 minutes studying these lecture notes.

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Reading: Louisiana Division of the Arts: Mona Lisa Saloy’s “The African American Toast Tradition”
Link: Louisiana Division of the Arts: Mona Lisa Saloy’s “The African American Toast Tradition” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Saloy’s entire lecture on the oral tradition of performed narratives, called “toasts.” You should spend approximately 45 minutes reading this lecture and studying how the lecture relates to the narrative example, “Shine and the Titanic.”

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Unit 2: Literature of Slavery

The literature of slavery is the literature of freedom as well. Slave narratives were produced by former slaves and were instrumental in documenting life on the plantations for slaves and for abolitionists to further their cause. This unit will explore the writings of slaves (Wheatley) as well as the slave narratives of those who escaped their captivity (Douglass). In this unit, you will study the characteristics of slave narratives and trace how those narratives influenced the genre of slave novels.

Unit 2 Time Advisory show close

Unit 2 Learning Outcomes show close

2.1 Conditions of Slavery

Lecture: UC College Prep’s US History: Lesson 25 King Cotton Topic Three: “Condition of Slaves”
Link: UC College Prep’s US History: Lesson 25 King Cotton Topic Three: “Condition of Slaves” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Once at the above linked site, click on the “Start Lesson” button to begin the lecture. Move ahead to the third section, “Condition of Slaves” and view this entire portion of the presentation. Then, click on the “text” tab, and read the three pages of information on the conditions of slaves. You may also want to click on the images under “Explore.”

You should spend approximately 30 minutes exploring this interactive lecture.

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2.2 Poetry

2.2.1 The First African American Poet, Lucy Terry

Reading: Gibbs Magazine: Susan Robinson’s version of Lucy Terry’s "Bars Fight" (1855)
Link: Gibbs Magazine: Susan Robinson’s version of Lucy Terry’s "Bars Fight" (HTML)

Instructions: Read Robinson’s background information on former slave and poet, Lucy Terry. Also, read Lucy Terry’s poem, “Bars Fight,” on the webpage. You should spend approximately 45 minutes reading the background information and carefully studying the poem (it may be useful to read this a few times to enhance your understanding).

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The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.
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Reading: Memorial Hall Museum Online: David R. Proper’s "Lucy Terry Prince - Singer of History”
Link: Memorial Hall Museum Online: David R. Proper’s "Lucy Terry Prince - Singer of History” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage. David R. Proper details Lucy Terry’s life and provides a look at the background of "Bars Fight." You should dedicate approximately 3 hours to reading and studying this text.

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2.2.2 Phillis Wheatley as Colonial Poet

Reading: Virginia Commonwealth University’s version of Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (1773)
Link: Virginia Commonwealth University’s version of Phillis Wheatley’s “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (HTML)

Instructions: First, read the brief poem one or more times; try reading the poem on the page and also reading the poem aloud. Then, read the poem again, and hover your mouse over the words in red font in order to see study notes to aid your understanding of the poem. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: University of Houston’s Engines of our Ingenuity: John H. Lienhard’s “Phillis Wheatley”
Link: University of Houston’s Engines of our Ingenuity: John H. Lienhard’s “Phillis Wheatley” (HTML or QuickTime)

Instructions: Please read this text for an overview of Wheatley’s life and career. Alternatively, you may click on the link to listen to an audio version (about 3:30 minutes) of this lecture. Note how the two colonial poets discussed in subunit 2.2 of this course, Terry and Wheatley, strove to replicate the style of the contemporary poetry of Europe. Reading and note taking should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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2.3 Voices against Slavery

2.3.1 Abolition and the Press

Reading: South Carolina State University: Professor Stanley Harrold’s "Abolitionist Movement"
Link: South Carolina State University: Professor Stanley Harrold’s "Abolitionist Movement" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this entire lecture. The abolitionist movement was greatly aided by a press that was reaching free blacks through both black presses and white abolitionist papers. This reading should take you approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.

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2.3.2 David Walker's Call to Violence

Reading: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of David Walker’s "Appeal in Four Articles"
Link: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of David Walker’s "Appeal in Four Articles" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire transcription of Walker’s “Appeals in Four Articles,” and view the images of the primary source. You should spend approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes studying this reading.

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Lecture: UC College Prep’s US History: Lesson 31 Reform Crusades Topic Four: “Abolitionism”
Link: UC College Prep’s US History: Lesson 31 Reform Crusades Topic Four: “Abolitionism” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Once at the above linked site, click on the “Start Lesson” button to begin the lecture. Move ahead to the fourth section, “Abolitionism” and view this entire portion of the presentation. Then, click on “Text,” and read all thirteen pages for to learn about the history of abolitionism. You may also want to click on the images under “Explore.” You should spend approximately 30 minutes exploring this resource.

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2.3.3 Sojourner Truth: Slavery and Gender

Reading: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Professor Paul Halsall’s version of Sojourner Truth’s "Ain't I a Woman?"
Link: Fordham University’s Modern History Sourcebook: Professor Paul Halsall’s version of Sojourner Truth’s "Ain't I a Woman?" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” In the two readings from subunits 2.2.2 and 2.2.3, Walker and Sojourner Truth both demand change by appealing to their audience's Christian beliefs. Sojourner Truth introduces gender into the argument and Walker approves of violence to instigate change. This reading should take you approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: Colorado College: Maciej Konieczny and Ugyen Sass's “Slavery and Gender”
Link: Colorado College: Maciej Konieczny and Ugyen Sass's “Slavery and Gender” (HTML)

Instructions: Click the link above, scroll down and click on the “Slavery and Gender” link. Please read this entire lecture to learn about the gender differences in slavery and to help contextualize your readings of David Walker and Sojourner Truth.

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2.4 Slave Narratives

2.4.1 Characteristics of Slave Narratives

Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 7: Slavery and Freedom”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 7: Slavery and Freedom” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage to episode 7 “Slavery and Freedom,” and click on the “VOD” icon to launch the video. Please watch the entire video (28:23 minutes). Please note that this lecture also covers the topics outlined in subunits 2.4.3 and 2.4.4.

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Reading: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “The Slave Narrative” and “Characteristics of the Slave Narrative”
Links: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “The Slave Narrative” (HTML) and “Characteristics of the Slave Narrative” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the first lecture in its entirety for a definition, general information, and examples of the slave narrative. Note that some of the hyperlinks are broken in this text, though most that work may be useful in studying associated content. Then, read the second lecture that breaks down the common conventions of the slave narrative. You should dedicate approximately 1 hour to reading these texts.

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2.4.2 Slave Narratives and Abolitionists

Reading: Cornell University’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections: “I Will Be Heard!” Abolitionism in America”
Link: Cornell University’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections: “I Will Be Heard!” Abolitionism in America” (HTML)

Instructions: Begin by reading the introduction and then click on “continue the tour” at the bottom of the webpage, or click on the titles of each section in the table of contents, to read from “Origins of Abolitionism” to “Thirteenth Amendment.” Reading and note taking should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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2.4.3 Frederick Douglass

Reading: University of Virginia, Electronic Text Center: Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: “Chapter 1”
Link: University of Virginia Library, Electronic Text Center: Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: “Chapter 1” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Chapter 1, an autobiographical narrative of Frederick Douglass, a leader of the abolitionist movement. Please dedicate approximately 1 hour to reading and studying this text.

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Lecture: YouTube: University of Houston: Dr. Barry Wood’s “Frederick Douglass: The Story of an Escaped Slave”
Link: YouTube: University of Houston: Dr. Barry Wood’s “Frederick Douglass: The Story of an Escaped Slave” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please view the entire lecture (1 hour and 24 minutes) for additional biographical information and the important historical contributions of Frederick Douglass.

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2.4.4 Harriet Jacobs and the Question of Slave Narrative Authenticity

Reading: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: “Chapter XVII: The Flight”
Link: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: “Chapter XVII: The Flight” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read “Chapter XVII: The Flight” in its entirety (pages 145-149). Jacobs states that "Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women." Douglass and Jacobs’ two slave narratives are exemplars of the genre but differ in their attention to gender issues, particularly the issue of education that Douglass obtained but Jacobs did not. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Lecture: YouTube: University of Houston: Dr. Barry Wood’s “Harriet Ann Jacobs: The Story of a Slave Girl”
Link: YouTube: University of Houston: Dr. Barry Wood’s “Harriet Ann Jacobs: The Story of a Slave Girl” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please view the entire video lecture (1 hour and 24 minutes) for biographical information on the life of Harriet Ann Jacobs.

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2.5 Slave Novels

2.5.1 Sentimentalism as Technique in Slave Novels

Reading: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Domestic or Sentimental Fiction, 1820-1865”
Link: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Domestic or Sentimental Fiction, 1820-1865” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture notes and note where these themes are used in the selections from William Wells Brown and Harriet Wilson. Note the argument of whether Harriet Beecher Stowe should be included as a practitioner of sentimental fiction; particularly, focus on the text in the “Context and Controversy” section. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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2.5.2 The Tragic Mulatto as Trope

Reading: Ferris State University: David Pilgrim’s “The Tragic Mulatto Myth”
Link: Ferris State University: David Pilgrim’s “The Tragic Mulatto Myth” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture, which provides an overview of the origin and evolution of the literary character of the tragic mulatto. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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2.5.3 William Wells Brown and the Sentimental Fiction of Slavery

Reading: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of William Wells Brown’s Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter: “Chapter XV: To-Day a Mistress, To Morrow a Slave”
Link: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s version of William Wells Brown’s Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter: “Chapter XV: Tod-Day a Mistress, To Morrow a Slave” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read “Chapter XV” in its entirety (pages 143-146). Brown's Clotel is an example of a novel of "passing," whereby a light-skinned African American is able to "pass" for white, and a sentimental novel. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: CBS Interactive Business Network Resource Library: African American Review, M. Giulia Fabi’s “The ‘Unregarded Expressions of the Feelings of the Negroes:’ Gender, Slave Resistance, and William Wells Brown’s Revisions of Clotel”
Link: CBS Interactive Business Network Resource Library: African American Review, M. Giulia Fabi’s “The ‘Unregarded Expressions of the Feelings of the Negroes:’ Gender, Slave Resistance, and William Wells Brown’s Revisions of Clotel” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article (13 pages). Make sure to click on the “next” link to continue on to each page of the article. You should allot for 2 hours to read and take notes on this article.

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2.5.4 Harriet E. Wilson's Lesser Known Slave Novel

Reading: Penguin’s Reading Guide to Our Nig
Link: Penguin’s Reading Guide to Our Nig (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this introductory information to Harriet E. Wilson’s Our Nig prior to reading chapters from the book. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: University of Virginia’s American Studies: Harriet E. Wilson’s Our Nig: “Chapter I: Mag Smith, My Mother”
Link: University of Virginia’s American Studies: Harriet E. Wilson’s Our Nig: “Chapter I: Mag Smith, My Mother” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Chapter 1 in its entirety. Harriet Wilson's slave novel Our Nig was problematic for contemporary abolitionists, because it did not fit squarely within the slave narrative tradition. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Unit 3: Reconstruction to New Negro Renaissance Movement, 1865-1919

The years after the Civil War extending to the first decade of the twentieth century, were a period when the imperative of racial uplift sometimes conflicted with the artist's desire to develop as an individual. The 1867 Reconstruction Act struck down many of the restrictions on the lives of African Americans, but the withdrawal of troops from the South in 1877 led the way for oppressive laws and practices to develop. These issues had an impact on African American artists as they addressed the "Negro Problem:" overturning the stereotypes of the plantation myth (Charles Chesnutt); preparing to be American citizens (Booker T.Washington); instituting change through political agitation (W.E.B. Du Bois); addressing issues of color (James Weldon Johnson), and integrating the philosophy of racial uplift (Anna Julia Cooper).

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Unit 3 Learning Outcomes show close

3.1 The Plantation Tradition

3.1.1 Reconstruction

Reading: University of Houston’s Digital History: Eric Foner’s “America's Reconstruction”
Link: University of Houston’s Digital History: Eric Foner’s “America's Reconstruction” (HTML)

Instructions: Read “America’s Reconstruction” in its entirety; make sure to click on the arrow keys on each webpage to move through each page of the text and all 21 images. You should dedicate approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to read this text and examine the images.

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3.1.2 The Myth of Plantation Nostalgia

Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 8: Regional Realism”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 8: Regional Realism” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Scroll down to episode 8 “Regional Realism,” and click on the “VOD” icon to launch the video. Please view the entire video lecture (28 minutes). Please note that this resource also covers the topic outlined in subunit 3.1.3. For the topic of myth of plantation nostalgia, make sure to focus on minutes 13:20-14:15 of the lecture. To cover the topic of Charles Chestnutt and the Power of Conjure, please focus on minutes 14:30-19:15 of the video lecture.

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3.1.3 Charles Chesnutt and the Power of Conjure

Reading: University of Virginia Library’s version of Charles Chesnutt’s "The Goophered Grape Vine"
Link: University of Virginia Library’s version of Charles Chesnutt’s "The Goophered Grape Vine" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire text. Chestnutt’s Uncle Julius stories resisted the persistence of the plantation myth strengthened by the popular success of white authors such as Thomas Nelson Page. "The Goophered Grape Vine," appearing in the 1899 Conjure Stories, blurred the line between submitting to and upholding that myth and working to overturning it. You should dedicate approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to studying this text.

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3.2 Racial Uplift

3.2.1 Racial Uplift Defined

Reading: National Humanities Center: Kevin K. Gaines’ "Racial Uplift Ideology in the Era of 'The Negro Problem’”
Link: National Humanities Center: Kevin K. Gaines’ "Racial Uplift Ideology in the Era of 'The Negro Problem'" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this entire lecture on racial uplift ideology. This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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3.2.2 Booker T. Washington and the End of Slavery

Reading: Bartleby.com: Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery: “Chapter III. The Struggle for an Education” (1901)
Link: Bartleby.com: Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery: “Chapter III. The Struggle for an Education” (HTML)

Instruction: Please read Chapter III in its entirety. Booker T. Washington's admonition that African Americans needed to be prepared to handle their freedom, though roundly rejected by later authors as too passive, is depicted in wonderful detail in Up from Slavery. You should dedicate approximately 3 hours to reading and studying this text.

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Reading: National Humanities Center: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s "The New Negro and the Black Image: From Booker T. Washington to Alain Locke”
Link: National Humanities Center: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s "The New Negro and the Black Image: From Booker T. Washington to Alain Locke" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading this text.

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3.3 Color Line

3.3.1 Double Consciousness Defined

Reading: University of Virginia’s American Studies: Dickinson D. Bruce, Jr.’s “W.E.B. Du Bois and the Idea of the Double Consciousness”
Link: University of Virginia’s American Studies: Dickinson D. Bruce, Jr.’s “W.E.B. Du Bois and the Idea of the Double Consciousness” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire text to learn about double consciousness. This reading should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

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3.3.2 W.E.B. Du Bois and the Talented Tenth

Reading: Kim Pearson’s "Of the Coming of W.E.B Du Bois”
Link: Kim Pearson’s "Of the Coming of W.E.B Du Bois" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture, "Of the Coming of W. W.E.B Du Bois." This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: Bartleby.com: W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk: “Chapter VI. The Training of Black Men”
Link: Bartleby.com: W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk: “Chapter VI. The Training of Black Men” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read “Chapter VI” in its entirety. Du Bois examines the problems of the color line and double consciousness in the struggle to integrate the African American identity with that of American identity in The Souls of Black Folk, his 1903 collection of essays. This reading should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

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Reading: LibriVox: W.E.B Du Bois’s “The Souls of Black Folk”
Link: LibriVox: W.E.B Du Bois’s “The Souls of Black Folk” (MP3)

Instructions: Download the files for each chapter. Then, listen to the reading of “The Souls of Black Folk.” On this page, you will also find a link to the Project Guttenberg e-book, which will allow you to read the book online.

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3.3.3 Anna Julia and Gendered Racial Uplift

Reading: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Anna Julia Cooper’s A Voice from the South: "Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress of a Race"
Link: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Anna Julia Cooper’s A Voice from the South: "Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress of a Race" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire section titled “Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress of a Race” (pages 9-47). Cooper, a long-time educator, explored the importance of women in the development of racial uplift in "Womanhood" (1892). As different as these Booker T. Washington, W.E.B Du Bois, and Anna Julia Cooper were, they agreed that education was an important key to the improvement of the lives of African Americans. You should spend approximately 2 hours reading and studying this text.

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Reading: Howard University Archives: Shirley Wilson Logan’s “’Can Woman Do This Work?’ The Discourse of Racial Uplift”
Link: Howard University Archives: Shirley Wilson Logan’s "'Can Woman Do This Work?' The Discourse of Racial Uplift"(HTML)

Instructions: Select Logan's article from the Highlights box on the Howard University Archives website. Make sure to read the entire article (31 pages) by clicking on ‘next page’ at the bottom of each webpage. You should spend approximately 3 hours reading and studying this text.

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Unit 4: Harlem Renaissance

James Weldon Johnson encouraged African Americans to create their own distinctive literature. The authors of the Harlem Renaissance, a term used to describe a period of great artistic development, followed Johnson’s lead. This unit will explore how African Americans of the early twentieth century celebrated their ethnic identity in a time of Modernism, Northern Migration, and racial oppression.

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4.1 The Harlem Renaissance in New York and Beyond

Lecture: YouTube: Open Yale Courses: Jonathan Holloway’s “The New Negroes”
Link: YouTube: Open Yale Courses: Jonathan Holloway’s “The New Negroes” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch this 50-minute lecture. Locke’s influential essay "The New Negro" introduced an anthology by the same name that was at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. The term refers to the refusal of African Americans to submit to tenets of Jim Crow segregation. You may also read a transcript of the lecture here.

Watching this lecture and taking notes and should take approximately 1 hour.

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4.1.1 The New Negro

Reading: National Humanities Center: Alain Locke’s "The New Negro" (1925)
Link: National Humanities Center: Alain Locke’s "The New Negro" (HTML and PDF)

Instructions: Please review the background information on Alain Locke. Then, click on the hyperlink for the essay “Enter the New Negro” to download the PDF file. Read the entire text (6 pages). You should spend approximately 1 hour to complete this reading.

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4.1.2 Claude McKay's Influence on the Harlem Renaissance

Reading: Poet’s Corner Bookshelf: Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows
Link: Poet’s Corner Bookshelf: Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the introduction on this webpage. Then, select the links to and read the following poems: “America," "The White City," "In Bondage," "Enslaved," "Outcast," "The Lynching," "The Harlem Dancer," "The Tired Worker," and "Harlem Shadows.” You should spend approximately 2 hours carefully reading and studying these poems.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Wayne Cooper’s "Claude McKay and the New Negro of the 1920's"
Link: Modern American Poetry: Wayne Cooper’s "Claude McKay and the New Negro of the 1920's" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture. McKay’s importance to the Harlem Renaissance lay in his novel, Home to Harlem (1928) and in his poetry about Harlem and other race-conscious poetry. You should dedicate approximately 1 hour to read and study this lecture.

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4.2 Modernism

4.2.1 The Characteristics of the Modernist Movement

Reading: Great Writers Inspire: Rebecca Beasley’s “Modernism”
Link: Great Writers Inspire: Rebecca Beasley’s “Modernism” (PDF)

Instructions: Read this article for an overview of Modernism.

Reading this article and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

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4.2.2 Jean Toomer and Modernism

Reading: PoemHunter.com: Jean Toomer’s Cane: “Reapers” and “Her Lips Are Copper Wires” and Poets.org: Jean Toomer’s Cane: “Karintha”
Link: PoemHunter.com: Jean Toomer’s Cane: “Reapers” (HTML) and “Her Lips Are Copper Wires” (HTML) and Rooster: Jean Toomer’s Cane: “Karintha” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read all three poems linked above. Sometimes called a novel, Jean Toomer’s Cane is a collection of stories, poems, and reflections embracing Modernist techniques while expressing ethnic individuality. You should spend approximately 30 minutes studying these poems.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Brown, McKay, North, Jones, Scruggs, and VanDemarr’s “On ‘Her Lips Are Copper Wire’”
Link: Modern American Poetry: Brown, McKay, North, Jones, Scruggs, and VanDemarr’s “On ‘Her Lips Are Copper Wire’” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this literary criticism and review by various authors on Toomer’s poem, “Her Lips Are Copper Wire.” You should spend approximately 30 minutes studying this lecture.

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Reading: The Chronicle of Higher Education: Rudolph P. Byrd and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s "Jean Toomer's Conflicted Racial Identity"
Link: The Chronicle of Higher Education: Rudolph P. Byrd and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s "Jean Toomer's Conflicted Racial Identity" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire essay. Reading and taking notes should take approximately 1 hour for this resource.

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4.3 Back to Africa

4.3.1 What Was the Northern Migration?

Reading: University of Notre Dame: Richard B. Pierce’s “The Migration”
Link: University of Notre Dame: Richard B. Pierce’s “The Migration” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture notes. Take approximately 30 minutes to study this lecture.

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4.3.2 The Back to Africa Movement and Marcus Garvey

Reading: Lehman College: “Marcus Garvey on Africa for Africans”
Link: Lehman College: “Marcus Garvey on Africa for Africans” (PDF)

Instructions: Click on the file name to download the PDF. Then, read the entire file (3 pages). Please note that you may have to rotate certain pages of the reading to appear vertically. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Lecture: YouTube: zenflare’s “Marcus Garvey’s Role in the Harlem Renaissance”
Link: YouTube: zenflare’s “Marcus Garvey’s Role in the Harlem Renaissance” (YouTube)

Instructions: Please view the entire 10-minute lecture. Garvey was the most controversial figure of the Harlem Renaissance, proposing that African Americans return to Africa and develop the country of Liberia. Viewing the lecture and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes.

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4.4 Color Consciousness in the African American Community

Reading: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s "Pigmentocracy"
Link: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s "Pigmentocracy" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture for a sociological exploration of skin color in African American culture and literature. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading and studying this lecture.

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4.4.1 Embracing and Rejecting Skin Color

Reading: National Humanities Center: Nella Larsen’s Passing: “Chapter Three”
Link: National Humanities Center: Nella Larsen’s Passing: “Chapter Three” (HTML and PDF)

Instructions: Please read the background information, and then click “Passing” to download the PDF of excerpts from Chapter 3. Read Chapter 3 in its entirety (8 pages). Larsen's Passing is an examination of skin color from the perspective of the African American community. Through the depiction of characters who have passed, Larsen criticized issues of white supremacy and the denial of race. This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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4.4.2 The Quest for American Racial Identity

Reading: Academic Room: African American Review, John Sheehy’s "The Mirror and the Veil: The Passing Novel and the Quest for American Racial Identity”
Link: Academic Room: African American Review, John Sheehy’s "The Mirror and the Veil: The Passing Novel and the Quest for American Racial Identity” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article (12 pages); make sure to click on the “next” link to move on to each subsequent page of the article. This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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4.5 Rural Issues and the Depression

4.5.1 Zora Neale Hurston, Folklife, and Gender

Reading: The Library of Congress’s African American Odyssey: “The Depression, The New Deal, and World War II”
Link: The Library of Congress’s African American Odyssey: “The Depression, The New Deal, and World War II” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this entire webpage to learn more information about how the Depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal, and World War II affected the African American community. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: Florida Gulf Coast University: Jill Uppling’s "“Sweat" and “The Gilded Six-Bits:” Between Hurston's Biography and Education"
Link: Florida Gulf Coast University: Jill Uppling’s “‘Sweat’ and “The Gilded Six-Bits:” Between Hurston's Biography and Education”(HTML)

Instructions: In the table of contents, click on the link to the essay “‘Sweat’ and “The Gilded Six Bits:” Between Hurston’s Biography and Education.” Please read the entire essay. Reading and taking notes should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Reading: Florida Gulf Coast University: Barbara L. Williams’ version of Zora Neale Hurston’s "Sweat"
Link: Florida Gulf Coast University: Barbara L. Williams’ version of Zora Neale Hurston’s "Sweat" (HTML)

Instructions: In the table of contents, click on the link titled “The Text of ‘Sweat’ with Anchors for Primary Symbols and Images.” Read this entire text. Almost relegated to obscurity, Hurston's works were recovered in the 1970s and offer deep insight into issues of the African American community, particularly those of women as seen in "Sweat." You should spend approximately 2 hours reading and studying this text.

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Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 13: Southern Renaissance”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 13: Southern Renaissance” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage, and click on the “VOD” icon next to episode 13 “Southern Renaissance.” Please view the video lecture from approximately 15:49 minutes until the end. Viewing this lecture should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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4.5.2 Arna Bontemp and Spirituality

Reading: Modern American Poetry: Charles L James and Robert E Fleming’s “Arna Bontemps' Life and Career”
Link: Modern American Poetry: Charles L James and Robert E Fleming’s “Arna Bontemps' Life and Career” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture about Bontemps’ life and career. Arna Bontemps is best known as a poet of the Harlem Renaissance, but his stories also exude the quiet spirituality that his poetry is known for. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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Reading: Dr. Sandra Crihfield’s American History: Arna Bontemps’ "A Summer Tragedy" (1933)
Link: Dr. Sandra Crihfield’s American History: Arna Bontemps’ "A Summer Tragedy" (PDF)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage about half way, and select "A Summer Tragedy" from the website. Read the entire text (7 pages), and consider answering the questions at the end of the story. "A Summer Tragedy" is part of Bontemps’ collection of stories set in the rural South about dignified and spiritually quiet people. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes.

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4.6 Music and Dialect as Representations of Identity

4.6.1 Langston Hughes as Blues Poet

Reading: University of California, Davis: Anne Fleischmann and Andy Jone’s “Jazz and Literature” Lecture
Link: University of California, Davis: Anne Fleischmann and Andy Jone’s “Jazz and Literature” Lecture (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this entire lecture in which the authors deconstruct the meaning of Langston Hughes’s “The Weary Blues.” You should spend approximately 45 minutes reading the poem and studying this lecture.

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Reading: Poets.org: “Langston Hughes:” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “Harlem,” “Theme for English B,” and "The Weary Blues"
Links: Poets.org: “Langston Hughes:” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “Harlem,” “Theme for English B,” and "The Weary Blues" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the background information on famous Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes. Then, on the right side of the Poets.org webpage, click on the links to and read the following poems: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “Harlem,” “Theme for English B," and "The Weary Blues." Hughes's poems exhibit both his early influences of American poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, and his interest in black musical forms of blues and jazz. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading the background on Hughes, as well as reading and studying each of his poems listed above.

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Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s Voices and Visions: “Episode 6: Langston Hughes”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s Voices and Visions: “Episode 6: Langston Hughes” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the “VOD” icon to launch the video. Please watch the entire video lecture (57 minutes).

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4.6.2 Rhythm and Poetry

Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 10: Rhythms in Poetry”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 10: Rhythms in Poetry” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage to Episode 10 “Rhythms in Poetry,” and click on the “VOD” link to launch the video. Please watch the video from 14:36 minutes until the end. Viewing this lecture should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Unit 5: Civil Rights Era, 1940s to 1960s

After World War II, African Americans who served their country came home to a world that still did not accept them as equal. The authors of this period struggled to make a place for themselves as Americans, seeking equality in all areas of life, yet not lose their cultural identity. Although African American drama begins with William Wells Brown's The Escape; Or, A Leap for Freedom(1857), it came into its own in the latter half of the twentieth century with Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, and August Wilson with its focus on issues of sexism, racism, and classicism.

This unit explores both political and personal movements in drama, poetry, and fiction, as issues of race, sex, and class converge in the highly charged political arenas that would determine the fate of African Americans.

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5.1 Fiction

5.1.1 Realism

Reading: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890”
Link: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture to learn more about the period of Realism in literature. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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Reading: University of North Carolina at Pembroke: Amy Nickell Taylor’s (ed.) Overview of African American Literature: “Section 6: Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, 1940-1960”
Link: University of North Carolina at Pembroke: Amy Nickell Taylor’s (ed.) Overview of African American Literature: “Section 6: Realism, Naturalism, Modernism, 1940-1960” (HTML)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage to Section 6, and read this entire text on Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism. This reading also covers the topic outlined in subunit 5.1.2 and reinforces what you learned about Modernism from Unit 4. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Lecture: SlideShare: Cambridge College: Cbrownell’s “Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism in African American Literature”
Link: SlideShare: Cambridge College: Cbrownell’s “Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism in African American Literature” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please view all 15 lecture slides for an overview of the important African American writers who practiced Realism and Naturalism. This reading also covers the topic outlined in subunit 5.1.2 and reinforces what you learned about Modernism from Unit 4. This lecture should take you approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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5.1.2 Naturalism

Reading: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Naturalism in American Literature”
Link: Washington State University: Professor Donna Campbell’s “Naturalism in American Literature” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture to learn more about the period of Naturalism in literature. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes.

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5.2 Protest Writing

5.2.1 Richard Wright's Influence as a Protest Writer

Reading: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: Milton Moskowitz’s "The Enduring Importance of Richard Wright"
Link: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: Milton Moskowitz’s “The Enduring Importance of Richard Wright” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article to learn about the life and works of Richard Wright, as well as his impact on African American literature. This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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Reading: University of Virginia’s version of Richard Wright’s "How ‘Bigger’ Was Born"
Link: University of Virginia’s version of Richard Wright’s "How 'Bigger' Was Born" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire text. Wright's Native Son (1940), with its main character Bigger was one of the most popular African American novels of the twentieth century with its dominance in the area of protest fiction. In this selection, Wright explains the character's origins. You should spend approximately 2 hours reading and studying this text.

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Reading: University of Pennsylvania’s version of Irving Howe’s "Black Boys and Native Sons"
Link: University of Pennsylvania’s version of Irving Howe’s "Black Boys and Native Sons" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire text of Howe’s review and criticism of Wright’s Native Son. This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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5.2.2 Ralph Ellison and the Myth of Invisibility

Reading: Northshire Bookstore: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: “Chapter I. Battle Royal”
Link: Northshire Bookstore: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: “Chapter I. Battle Royal” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire excerpt of Chapter 1. Ellison's hero is invisible in the anonymity of modern life because he is black. In "Battle Royal," the young narrator of The Invisible Man learns that his place in American is far from assured. This reading should take approximately 45 minutes.

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Lecture: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 14: Becoming Visible”
Link: Annenberg Foundation’s American Passages: A Literary Survey: “Episode 14: Becoming Visible” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Scroll down the webpage, and click on the “VOD” icon next to Episode 14 “Becoming Visible” to launch the video. Please watch the video from up until about 11:07 minutes. Viewing this lecture and taking notes should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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5.3 Poetry

5.3.1 Robert Hayden and the Personal Experience Lyric

Reading: Poetry Foundation: Robert Hayden’s "Those Winter Sundays" (1966)
Link: Poetry Foundation: Robert Hayden’s "Those Winter Sundays" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire poem; try reading the poem on the page and then reading the poem out loud. Hayden is best known for poems about the African American experience from Civil War to Hayden's day. His shorter poems, such as "Those Winter Sundays," are memorable examples of personal or religious experiences. As you read, consider the theme and underlying meaning of the poem. You should spend approximately 15 minutes reading and analyzing this poem.

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5.3.2 Gwendolyn Brooks and the Chicago Renaissance

Reading: Northern Illinois University Libraries: James Hurt’s "Promised Land?" The Black Chicago Renaissance and after”
Link: Northern Illinois University Libraries: James Hurt’s "Promised Land?" The Black Chicago Renaissance and after" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article for an overview of the Black Chicago Renaissance. Reading and taking notes should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Reading: PoemHunter.com: Gwendolyn Brooks’ "We Real Cool” and "Kitchenette Building"
Links: PoemHunter.com: Gwendolyn Brooks’ "We Real Cool” (HTML) and "Kitchenette Building”(HTML)

Instructions: Please read these two poems by Gwendolyn Brooks. Remember that reading aloud and reading multiple times will help your understanding. You should spend approximately 30 minutes reading and analyzing these poems.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Stavros, Brooks, Sims, Smith, Lindberg, Sullivan, and Spillers “On ‘We Real Cool’"
Link: Modern American Poetry: Stavros, Brooks, Sims, Smith, Lindberg, Sullivan, and Spillers “On ‘We Real Cool’" (HTML)

Instructions: Gwendolyn Brooks' poems moved from a universal perspective to more politically critical poems reflecting the experiences of poverty-stricken neighborhoods. You should spend approximately 30 minutes studying this lecture.

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5.4 Political Voices

5.4.1 Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Kimberley Brownlee’s “Civil Disobedience”
Link: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Kimberley Brownlee’s “Civil Disobedience” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire encyclopedia entry for a historical introduction to civil disobedience. Use this information as context for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” You should spend approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes on this resource.

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Reading: University of Pennsylvania’s African Studies Center: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
Link: University of Pennsylvania’s African Studies Center: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which King responded to white clergymen’s claim that racial segregation should be challenged through legal channels, rather than in the streets. King had been arrested for a nonviolent protest, thus writing the letter from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama. You should spend approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes reading and critically analyzing this letter.

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5.4.2 Malcolm X and Islam

Reading: University of Georgia: Alan Godlas’s "The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, W.D. Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan"
Link: University of Georgia: Alan Godlas’s "The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, W.D. Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the section of text “The Nation of Islam, Malcolm X, W.D. Muhammad, and Louis Farrakhan” (which should be the sixth hyperlink on the page). This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Reading: Shikshantar: Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X: “Chapter Eleven”
Link: Shikshantar: Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X: “Chapter Eleven” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Chapter 11 in its entirety. Religion plays a large part in how Malcolm X (a Muslim) and Martin Luther King, Jr. (a Baptist minister) approached their activism. Malcolm X has been described as waving the sword of change, while King extended the olive branch of peace. You should dedicate approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to reading and studying this resource.

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Unit 6: Black Arts, 1960-1975

Artists of the Black Arts movement, even while they criticized the aesthetic aims of the movement as a whole, were moved by continuing injustices to be politically active in their art. Considering all aspects of post-Civil Rights era life, they wrote scathingly of the failings of America to create a just system—some from prison, some from urban areas, some from within homosexual relationships. This unit traces a wide range of artistic and cultural ideas. It will examine the aesthetic that at times fought against itself with its narrow conception of what topics could and should be addressed by African American writers and how the African American society should be portrayed in artistic representations.

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6.1 Black Arts and Black Power

Reading: Modern American Poetry: Documents from the Black Arts Movement
Link: Modern American Poetry: Documents from the Black Arts Movement (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage. Make sure to pay special attention to Larry Neal’s from The Black Arts Movement (about ¾ of the way down the page). Neal produced a seminal text defining the Black Arts Movement. He argues that the aims of the cultural Black Arts and the political Black Power movements merge in the African American desire for self-determination and nationhood. You should spend approximately 2 hours reading and studying this resource.

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6.2 The Prison Experience and the Black Revolutionary

Lecture: YouTube: Duke University’s “Office Hours with Maurice Wallace on Prison in African-American Literature”
Link: YouTube: Duke University’s “Office Hours with Maurice Wallace on Prison in African-American Literature” (YouTube)

Instructions: View the entire video (approximately 1 hour and 2 minutes). Maurice Wallace explores the influence of prison experiences on African American literature.

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Reading: Poets.org: Etheridge Knight’s "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane"
Link: Poets.org: Etheridge Knight’s "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane" (HTML)

Instructions: First, read the poem aloud. Then, read the poem a second time on the page. Based on his own incarceration, Knight uses a variety of voices to explain Hard Rock's prison experience, and thus the prison experience in general. You should spend approximately 30 minutes reading and analyzing this poem.

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Reading: Modern American Poetry: Hunter, Hill, Vendler, and Seelow’s On "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane"
Link: Modern American Poetry: Hunter, Hill, Vendler, and Seelow’s “On ‘Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane’” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage, with excerpts of criticism from various authors on Knight’s poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane.” You should allot approximately 30 minutes for reading and note taking.

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6.3 The Construction of a Woman's Place and African American Feminism

Reading: Voices: Nikki Giovanni’s "The American Vision of Lincoln"
Link: Voices: Nikki Giovanni’s "The American Vision of Lincoln" (HTML)

Instructions: First, read the poem aloud. Then, re-read the poem on the page. Consider the theme of feminism and how the role of females is portrayed in this poem. You should spend approximately 30 minutes reading and analyzing this poem.

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Reading: Pittsburgh State University: K. Nichol’s “Women’s Poetry: Selections:” Audre Lorde
Link: Pittsburgh State University: K. Nichol’s “Women’s Poetry: Selections:” Audre Lorde (HTML)

Instructions: Read the five poems under the author’s name: "A Woman Speaks," "From the House of Yemanja," "125th Street and Abome," "Dahomey," and "The Women of Dan Dance." Remember that multiple readings will help reinforce your understanding. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading and analyzing these poems.

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Reading: PoemHunter.com: Lucille Clifton’s "wishes for sons," "the lost baby poem," and "homage to my hips"
Links: PoemHunter.com: Lucille Clifton’s "wishes for sons," "the lost baby poem" and "homage to my hips" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read these three poems. Clifton, Lourde, and Giovanni all write about women and families and their influences on the larger political picture. Clifton's humor and love for life come through in the three poems here about ordinary experiences that tie ordinary women together. You should spend approximately 30 reading and analyzing these poems.

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Unit 7: Contemporary

This unit will examine the influence of American postmodernism as well as musical trends, such hip-hop, and the embrace of nontraditional literary genres, on contemporary African American authors. We will situate African American fiction in the context of social, political, and cultural issues of the post-Civil Rights era America. The struggles of communities to overcome drug epidemics, HIV, and continued racism are the focal point of many contemporary African American authors in this unit. The pervasive modern culture of violence and its effect on the African American community and the literature it produces will also be examined.

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7.1 The Neo Slave Narrative

Reading: Simon and Schuster: Charles Johnson's Oxherding Tale: Introduction and “Chapter One” and Sacred Texts: D.T. Suzuki’s The Manual of Zen Buddhism: “The Ten Oxherding Pictures”
Links: Simon and Schuster: Charles Johnson's Oxherding Tale: Introduction and “Chapter One” (Adobe Flash) and Sacred Texts: D.T. Suzuki’s The Manual of Zen Buddhism: “The Ten Oxherding Pictures” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the selections from Oxherding Tale (Introduction, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2) and the Buddhist Ten Oxherding Pictures, along with reviewing Donna Campbell's overview of Naturalism from 5.1.2. As you read Johnson, consider how Naturalism as a literary style, the philosophy of Buddhism, and the history of African American civil rights from the 1960s shape the work. You should spend approximately 3 hours on these readings.

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Reading: NPR: Toni Morrison's Beloved, Excerpt (1987)
Link: NPR: Toni Morrison's Beloved, Excerpt (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire excerpt. Reading and note taking should take approximately 1 hour.

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Lecture: New Jersey Institute of Technology: Norbert Elliot’s “World Literature, Lecture Five: Toni Morrison's Beloved”
Link: New Jersey Institute of Technology: Norbert Elliot’s “World Literature, Lecture Five: Toni Morrison's Beloved” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Click on the link to “audio” or “video” next to Lecture 05. Listen to audio or view video lecture. Elliot places Beloved in context of great world literature and focuses on the characters and how they are shaped by the forces of memory. Taking notes and viewing this lecture should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

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7.2 Women and Violence in African American Literature

Reading: Harcourt Trade Publishers: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
Link: Harcourt Trade Publishers: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this excerpt from Walker’s famous epistolary novel, The Color Purple. This novel addresses the lives of black females in the South during the 1930s. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading and studying this text.

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Reading: University of North Carolina: Brett England and Emily Williams’ “True Color Shining Through: The Color Purple, an Adequate Portrayal of Domestic Violence”
Link: University of North Carolina: Brett England and Emily Williams’ “True Color Shining Through: The Color Purple, an Adequate Portrayal of Domestic Violence” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire lecture. The lecture is an introduction to the themes of violence in Walker's novel. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading and studying this lecture.

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7.3 Community in Women's Fiction

Reading: American Studies at the University of Virginia: Alice Walker's "Everyday Use"
Link: American Studies at the University of Virginia: Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Walker’s short story, “Everyday Use,” which addresses different perspectives of African American identity with the interactions of Mama (the mother) and her two daughters. This reading should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.

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Reading: Virginia Tech’s Digital Library and Archives: The ALAN Review: KaaVonia Hinton-Johnson’s “African American Mothers & Daughters: Socialization, Distance, & Conflict”
Link: Virginia Tech’s Digital Library and Archives: The ALAN Review: KaaVonia Hinton-Johnson’s “African American Mothers & Daughters: Socialization, Distance, & Conflict” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article. Hinton-Johnson sheds life on the relationships between African American mothers and daughters as is seen in Walker's story. This reading should take you approximately 1 hour to complete.

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7.4 Nontraditional Genres of African American Literature: Science Fiction

Reading: The Washington Post: Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild and Other Stories" (1995)
Link: The Washington Post: Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild and Other Stories" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read “Chapter One: Bloodchild” in its entirety. You should dedicate approximately 3 hours to reading this text.

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Reading: DePauw University: Matt Brauer’s “A Critical Examination of Octavia Butler's ‘Bloodchild’”
Link: DePauw University: Matt Brauer’s “A Critical Examination of Octavia Butler's ‘Bloodchild’” (HTML)

Instructions: Click on the links to “Octavia Butler” for biographical information on the author; “Story Overview” for a brief summary of “Blood Child;” “Analysis” for varying views of the story; and “Criticism and Significance” with quotes from critics. You should spend approximately 1 hour reading each section of this website.

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7.5 Jazz and Protest in African American Poetry

Reading: Poets.org: “A Brief Guide to Jazz Poetry”
Link: Poets.org: “A Brief Guide to Jazz Poetry” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this entire article for an overview of the literary genre of jazz poetry. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

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Web Media: Vimeo: Sekou Sundiata: "Welcome to the Mainland: The Language of Life with Bill Moyers”
Link: Vimeo: Sekou Sundiata: "Welcome to the Mainland: The Language of Life with Bill Moyers” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: View the interview and poetry reading segments: 16:00-21:00; 28:50-33:50; and 40:35-50:00.

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Reading: Poets.org: Quincy Troupe’s "The Day Duke Raised: May 24th, 1974"
Link: Poets.org: Quincy Troupe’s "The Day Duke Raised: May 24th, 1974" (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the poem, and listen to the audio version of the poem. You should spend approximately 30 minutes reading, analyzing, and listening to the poem.

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Web Media: University of California Television: “Root Doctors: Quincy Troupe and Phil Upchurch”
Link: University of California Television: “Root Doctors: Quincy Troupe and Phil Upchurch” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please view the entire video lecture (29:30 minutes).

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Reading: Poets.org: Yusef Komunyakaa’s "Blue Dementia" and "My Father's Love Letters"
Link: Poets.org: Yusef Komunyakaa’s “Blue Dementia” (HTML) and “My Father's Love Letters” (HTML and Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please read “Blue Dementia,” and then listen to the audio of “My Father’s Love Letters.” Remember that playing the audio file multiple times and re-reading the poem will help enhance your understanding. You should spend approximately 30 minutes reading and listening to these poems.

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Reading: National Humanities Center: the annonymous’ "The Dogwood Tree"; Poem of the Week: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s "The Haunted Oak"; History Matters: Claude McKay’s "If We Must Die"; Poetry Foundation: Gwendolyn Brooks’ "The Sundays of Satin-Legs Smith"; National Humanities Center: Sonia Sanchez’s "right on: white america"
Link: National Humanities Center: the anonymous’ "The Dogwood Tree" (PDF); Poem of the Week: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s "The Haunted Oak" (PDF); History Matters: Claude McKay’s "If We Must Die" (PDF); Poetry Foundation: Gwendolyn Brooks’ "The Sundays of Satin-Legs Smith" (HTML); National Humanities Center: Sonia Sanchez’s "right on: white america" (PDF)

Instructions: Read all of these poems. For the Nation Humanities Center readings, click on the link for the appropriate poem. In addition, compare the Dunbar poem to the image and poem written by a White author, "The Dogwood Tree," as an exemplar of what Dunbar is protesting against.

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Reading: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s “African American Protest Poetry”
Link: National Humanities Center: Trudier Harris’s “African American Protest Poetry” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the article, which reviews the history of African American protest writing from times of slavery to the present, from the beginning to the section titled "Contemporary." Reading and note taking should take approximately 2 hours to complete.

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Final Exam

Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's ENGL411 Final Exam
Link: The Saylor Foundation's ENGL411 Final Exam

Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link.
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