ARTS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
ART/ ENGL/MUS 432
CO-INSTRUCTORS
Julia Balén
Office Hours: T 4-5:00 and by appointment
Bell Tower West 1108 (1809); 437-8435
Julia.balen@csuci.edu
Ted Lucas
Office hours:
Bell Tower West
Theodore.lucas@csuci.edu
Course Description:
This course examines the dramatic upsurge of creativity in art, music and literature
resulting from social and political undercurrents in the African American cultural
revolution in New York during the 1920s. Historical geneses and subsequent artistic
legacies will be also be explored.
Course Text:
Venetria K. Patton and Maureen Honey, Double-Take: A Revisionist Harlem
Renaissance Anthology (Rutgers, 2001)
There will also be some additional readings available online through Blackboard.
General Education: Fulfills: GenEd: C1, C2 and Interdisciplinary
Course Requirements:
This course centers on the reading and discussion of the assigned texts, listening to
music, and viewing and discussing all in relationship to each other; therefore keeping up
with the reading, attending, and actively participating in class are vital elements of
participation in this course. Missing two class sessions constitutes grounds for failure.
Writing is also an important element; there will be weekly response papers reflecting on
and synthesizing the assigned readings with art and music. All requirements must be met
on the dates due. All due dates are listed in the syllabus.
Course information may also be accessed through Blackboard:
http://csuci.blackboard.com
Subject to Change
This syllabus and schedule are subject to change. If you are absent from class, it is your
responsibility to check on announcements or changes made while you were absent.
Additional readings for any given week may be posted a week in advance.
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Course Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
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Describe and analyze the connections between the art, history, popular culture and
other aspects of the Harlem Renaissance.
Describe and analyze subjective responses and objective reasoning in the
assessment of images that permeate novels, music, and art of the period.
Critically examine from various perspectives how ideologies, iconography, and
symbolism interact and define cultural identities.
Reflect in written and oral form on the various themes in novels, film and art of
the period.
Critically analyze the meaning of images within their original context as well as
defined by literary, artistic and musical practices.
Develop new ways of looking and thinking about images, texts, and music.
Formulate an interpretative level of analysis based on a comprehensive
understanding of performance arts, visual arts, and literature.
Critically examine in comparative ways the formation of meanings in novels,
music, and art.
Decipher symbols, cultural and artistic codes in art, music, and literature.
Apply the knowledge and information in papers and presentations
Grading:
Class participation:
Weekly Reading Response papers:
25%
25%
These short papers will articulate your response to the assigned readings. The
idea is to attempt to find common threads among the readings, music, and art.
It is an exercise in the process of synthesizing information. These texts will be
submitted on a weekly basis. They will be peer reviewed and then graded.
One or two may serve as a foundation for the final essay.
Midterm/Quizzes
15%
There will be a formal midterm and informal quizzes, as needed, throughout
the semester.
Final Research Paper 12-15pp
Research proposal
Draft
Final Paper
5%
10%
20%
CSUCI policy on academic dishonesty:
All work that students submit as their own work must, in fact, be their own work. For
example, if a paper presents ideas of others, it must clearly indicate the source. Wordfor-word language taken from other sources – books, papers, web sites, people, etc. –
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must be placed in quotation marks and the source identified. Likewise, work on tests and
exams must be the student’s own work, not copied or taken from other students’ work,
and students must comply with instructions regarding use of books, notes, and other
materials.
In accordance with the CSU Channel Islands policy on academic dishonesty, students in
this course who submit the work of others as their own (plagiarize), cheat on tests and
examinations, help other students cheat or plagiarize, or commit other acts of academic
dishonesty will receive appropriate academic penalties, up to and including failing the
course.
Papers with plagiarized ideas or language will be graded “F” and must be
rewritten with proper use of quotations and referencing. The grade of “F”
will remain the recorded grade on that assignment.
Plagiarism or cheating on tests and exams will result in an “F” on the test
or exam, very likely resulting in a lower or possibly a failing final grade in
the course. To complete course requirements, students must retake the test
or exam during the instructor’s scheduled office hours.
In cases where the cheating or plagiarism was premeditated or planned,
students may receive an “F” for the course.
Students are encouraged to consult with the instructor on when and how to
document sources if they have questions about what might constitute an
act of plagiarism or cheating.
Classroom Behavior:
The classroom is a special environment in which students and faculty come together to
promote learning and growth. It is essential to this learning environment that respect for
the rights of others seeking to learn, respect for the professionalism of the instructor, and
the general goals of academic freedom are maintained. Differences of viewpoint or
concerns should be expressed in terms which are supportive of the learning process,
creating an environment in which students and faculty may learn to reason with clarity
and compassion, to share of themselves without losing their identities, and to develop an
understanding of the community in which they live. Student conduct which disrupts the
learning process shall not be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action and/or removal
from class.
DISABILITIES STATEMENT:
Students who have disabilities or special needs and require accommodations in order to
have equal access to classrooms must register with the designated staff member in
Student Affairs in order for us to better accommodate special needs. Students will be
required to provide documentation of a disability when accommodations are requested.
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For more information, contact Terri Goldstein, Disability Accommodation Coordinator,
ext. 8528.
9/1
9/8
1917
1918
1919
1920
9/15
1920
1921
9/22
1922
1923
1924
Introduction
1917-1920
The musical background—African music, ragtime and the blues
Bessie Smith (1895-1937) and Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
Documentary film: The Harlem Renaissance
Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935) Poem: Violets, 147
Claude McKay (1889-1948)
Poem: The Harlem Dancer 272
Music: The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, “Dixie Jazz Band One-Step”
Georgia Douglas Johnson (1877-1966) Poem: The Heart of a Woman, 153
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. (1895-1919)
Poems: And What Shall You Say?;
Is it Because I Am Black? Sonnet to Negro Soldiers; Rain Music, 381-3
Jessie Redmon Fauset (1882-1961) Story: Mary Elizabeth, 237
Claude McKay Poems: If We Must Die, 273
A. Philip Randolph and Chandler Owen, 'The New Negro--What is He?', 7
Marcus Garvey, 'Africa for the Africans,' 83
Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr. Play: On the Fields of France, 384
Total pages 23
1920-1921
Music: The blues—form, structure, content, impact on music Angelina Weld Grimke
(1880-1958)
Play: Rachel, 189
Jessie Redmon Fauset 'Impressions of the Second Pan-African Congress' 75
Alice Dunbar-Nelson
Poem: You! Inez! 147
Claude McKay Poems: Africa; America, 275
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Poem: The Negro Speaks of Rivers, 460
Total pages 46
1922-24
James Weldon Johnson Poems: The Creation; Mother Night; The White Witch 1402
Georgia Douglas Johnson Poems: Motherhood; The Octoroon 154
Fenton Johnson (1888-1958)
Poems The Banjo Player; The Scarlet Woman; Tired 268-70
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) Poem: Passion 324
Langston Hughes Poem: Danse Africaine 460
Ruth Whitehead Whaley, 'Closed Doors: A Study in Segregation' 17
Angelina Weld Grimke Poems El Beso; The Black Finger; The Want of You, 1712
Anne Spencer (1882-1975)
Poem: White Things, 228
Jean Toomer (1894-1967)
Poem: Portrait in Georgia, 374
Story: Blood-Burning Moon, 375
Langston Hughes Poem: Jazzonia, 461
Gwendolyn B. Bennett (1902-1981) Poems: Heritage; To a Dark Girl, 508
Angelina Weld Grimke
Poem: Dusk 172
Jessie Redmon Fauset Poem: Here's April ,234
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Music: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, “Dippermouth Blues”
Total pages 20
9/29
1925 and ART Guest Presentation
1925 Music: Louis Armstrong. Documentary film, Satchmo (60 min.)
William Stanley Braithwaite, 'The Negro in American Literature,' 10
James Weldon Johnson, 'Harlem: The Culture Capital,' 21
Brenda Ray Moryck, 'A Point of View: An Opportunity Dinner Reaction,' 28
W.A. Domingo, 'Gift of the Black Tropics' 90
Langston Hughes Poems: Song to a Negro Wash-Woman, 461; The Weary Blues,
464
Richard Bruce Nugent (1906-1987) Poem Shadow 571; Story Sahdji 573
Helene Johnson (1907-1995) Poem My Race 601
Total pages 30
10/6
1925
1925 Music: Louis Armstrong. The “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” recordings Elise Johnson
McDougald, 'The Task of Negro Womanhood,' 103
Marita O. Bonner, 'On Being Young--a Woman--and Colored,' 109
Alain Locke, 'The Legacy of Ancestral Arts,' 121
Joel A. Rogers, 'Jazz at Home,' 127
Georgia Douglas Johnson Poems: Escape; The Black Runner 155-6
Claude McKay Poems: Like a Strong Tree; The Tropics in New York, 277
Zora Neale Hurston Story: Spunk, 325
Total pages 30
10/13
1926 and review
1926 Music: Fletcher Henderson and the beginning of the Big Bands
Amy Jacques Garvey, On Langston Hughes: I am a Negro--and Beautiful, 45
W.E.B. Du Bois, 'Criteria of Negro Art,' 47
Langston Hughes, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, 40; Poems: To
Midnight Nan at Leroy's; Lullaby; Listen Here Blues; Bound No'th Blues, 465-8
Jessie Redmon Fauset Poem: Words! Words! 235
Zora Neale Hurston Play: Color Struck, 338
Gwendolyn B. Bennett Poem: Hatred, 509; Story: Wedding Day, 511
Wallace Thurman (1902-1934) Poems The Last Citadel; God's Edict 521
Story: Cordelia the Crude, 523
Richard Bruce Nugent Story: Smoke, Lilies, and Jade! 574
Helene Johnson Poems; Magalu; The Road; Mother, 601-2
Total pages 38
10/20
Midterm and Research Proposals
10/27
1926-7
1926- Duke Ellington and the Cotton Club Orchestra, “East St.Louis Toddle-Oo”
1927 Rudolph Fisher, 'The Caucasion Storms Harlem,' 96
Alice Dunbar-Nelson, 'Woman's Most Serious Problem,' 113
Dorothy West (1907-1998) Story: The Typewriter, 591
Anne Spencer Poem: Letter to My Sister, 229
Jessie Redmon Fauset Poems Touché; La Vie C'Est la Vie, 235-6
Effie Lee Newsome (1885-1979) Poem: The Bird in the Cage, 244
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Langston Hughes Poem: Song for a Dark Girl, 469
Arna Bontemps (1902-1973)
Poems: Golgotha is a Mountain; Length of Moon; Nocturne at Bethesda; A Black
Man Talks of Reaping; God Give to Me; The Return, 539-45
Countee Cullen (1903-1946)
Poems: Colored Blues Singer; To Certain Critics; From the Dark Tower, 559-62
Helene Johnson Poems: Bottled; Poem; Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem, 602-5
Total pages 33
11/3
Julia at conference; Ted and music
11/10
1927-8
Research Proposals Due
1927- Music: Louis Armstrong, “West End Blues”
1928 Gwendolyn B. Bennett (1902-1981) The American Negro Paints, 134
Poem: Fantasy, 510; Story Tokens, 516
James Weldon Johnson Poem: My City, 144
Alice Dunbar-Nelson Poem: I Sit and Sew, 148
Angelina Weld Grimke Poems: A Mona Lisa: Tenebris 173-4
Georgia Douglas Johnson Poems: Wishes; I Want to Die While you Love Me, 156-8
Play: Plumes: A Folk Tragedy, 163
Mae V. Cowdery (1909-1953) Poem: Dusk, 607
Richard Bruce Nugent Play: Sahdji, an African Ballet, 583
Total pages 25
11/17
1929-31
1929 Music: The Stock Market Crash and its effect on music style
Alice Dunbar-Nelson Poems The Proletariat Speaks, 148
Story: His Great Career (unpublished), 150
Anne Spencer Poem: Grapes: Still-Life; Black Man o' Min, 230-1
Anita Scott Coleman (1890-1960) Poem: Black Baby; Black Faces, 316
Wallace Thurman, Stories: Emma Lou, 526
Countee Cullen (1903-1946) Poem: Little Sonnet to Little Friends, 562
1930 Anita Scott Coleman (1890-1960) Poem: Negro Laughter, 317
Nella Larsen (1891-1964) Story: Sanctuary, 353
Eulalie Spence (1894-1964) Play: Undertow, 360
Total pages 34
11/24
Research week/Film
12/1
1932-34
Paper Version 1 DUE
1932 Music: The Big Bands and dance craze. Count Basie and his Orchestra
Claude McKay Story: Mattie and Her Sweetman, 278
Sterling A. Brown (1901-1989)
Poems: Ma Rainey Sam Smiley; Southern Road; Strong Men, 451-6
1933 Rudolph Fisher (1897-1934) Story: Miss Cynthie 400
Arna Bontemps Story: A Summer Tragedy, 546
1934 Langston Hughes Story: The Blues I'm Playing, 469
Dorothy West Story: The Black Dress, 597
Total pages 38
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12/8
1935
1936
1937
12/15
1935-37
Music: Billie Holiday. Documentary film, Lady Day (60 min.)
Zora Neale Hurston, 'Characteristics of Negro Expression,' 61
Langston Hughes Play: Mulatto: A Tragedy of the Deep South, 476
Marion Vera Cuthbert, 'Problems Facing Negro Young Women' 116
Mae V. Cowdery (1909-1953) Poems: Heritage, Insatiate; Poem ... for a Lover, 608-9
Richard Wright, 'Blueprint for Negro Writing' 52
Georgia Douglas Johnson Story: Tramp Love, 159
Total pages 32
Presentations and Final papers due
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