The Harlem Renaissance
and
Modernism
What is modern?
Why do people like to
be on the “cutting
edge”?
What does modern
mean to you?
Is this modern?
Can Ideals Survive Catastrophe?
How can people hold on
to their idealism in
light of dire events?
Is it even possible?
How Can People Honor their
Heritage?
Is it important to honor
your past?
Writing is one way to
honor one’s past –
what are other ways
to do this?
What drives human behavior?
Do you think people
regulate their
behavior through
reason and
understanding?
Or are they driven by
unconscious desire?
What are some of the major events
from 1910 to 1940?
Pause and chat with your neighbor…
WWI: 1914 to 1918
How was WWI different from previous wars?
New War Technology
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•
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Machine guns
Poison gas
Airplane bombers
Submarines
WWI: The first modern war
Some facts:
32 nations were involved.
20 million were dead.
What effect did the war have on
society?
“Words such as glory, honor, courage or
hallow were obscene.”
--Ernest Hemingway
The Jazz Age
Some Americans,
disillusioned with the
traditional values that
led to war, sought
escape in the
pleasures of
entertainment and
good times.
(from a 1929 movie poster)
The Roaring Twenties
A booming economy
characterized this
time.
“…the greatest,
guadiest spree in
history” – F. Scott
Fitzgerald
1920’s: Incomes on the Rise
More money for goods
More money for leisure
Prohibition
Alcohol was outlawed from 1920 to 1933.
Speakeasy’s – illegal bars –
became popular
Gangsters made their fortune in the blackmarket
for alcohol.
The Cotton Club, a popular Harlem night club, had
all white guests listening to Black performers.
It was about time!
In 1920, passage of the 19th Amendment
finally gave women the right to vote!
Flappers…the new woman
The flapper was an emancipated young
woman who embraced new fashions and
the urban attitudes of the day.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald was
the voice of the
1920’s. He criticized
the dark underside of
the lives of the very
rich.
The Harlem Renaissance
When: 1916 through 1920’s
What: Flowering of African American arts
and culture
Where: Harlem, New York City
Great Migration
Millions of black farmers
and sharecroppers
moved to the urban
North in search of
opportunity and
freedom from
oppression and racial
hostility.
Destination: Harlem
Harlem – the upper
West side of
Manhattan – quickly
became the cultural
center of AfricanAmerican life.
Zora Neale Hurston
Their Eyes Were
Watching God is
amongst the works
that made her a figure
in the Harlem
Renaissance.
Langston Hughes
One of the leading
poets of the Harlem
Renaissance
The Great Depression
The Wall Street Crash
of 1929 and the
subsequent Great
Depression spelled
an end to the Roaring
Twenties and the
Harlem Renaissance.
Modernism
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942
Modernism means…
“Art of writing that
reflects a loss of hope
after World War I and
believes individuals
are threatened and
isolated by society
and mass culture.”
Bring out the Modernists…
Poet William Carlos
Williams is a
Modernist.
I guess that about covers it…
Thanks for listening!