The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Exploration of Literature

by Lynn Domina

Overview

A perfect guide for use in high school classes, this book explores the fascinating literature of the Harlem Renaissance, reviewing classic works in the context of the history, society, and culture of its time.

The Harlem Renaissance is one of the most interesting eras in African American literature as well as a highly regarded period in our country's literary history. The works produced during this span reflect a turbulent social climate in America … a time fraught with both opportunities and injustices for minorities. In this enlightening guide, author and educator Lynn Domina examines the literature of the Harlem Renaissance along with the cultural and societal factors influencing its writers.

This compelling book illuminates the cultural conditions affecting the lives of African Americans everywhere, addressing topics such as prohibition, race riots, racism, interracial marriage, sharecropping, and lynching. Each chapter includes historical background on both the literary work and the author and explores several themes through historical document excerpts and thoughtful analysis to illustrate how literature responded to the surrounding social circumstances. Chapters conclude with a discussion of why and how the literary work remains relevant today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216094524
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/25/2014
Series:	Historical Explorations of Literature
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lynn Domina, PhD, is a professor of English at the State University of New York at Delhi.
Lynn Domina, PhD, is a professor of English at the State University of New York at Delhi.

Table of Contents

I Introduction and Background to the Harlem Renaissance,
II Chronology,
III The Poetry of Claude McKay and Langston Hughes,
Historical Background,
About Claude McKay,
About Langston Hughes,
Historical Exploration: Race Riots of 1919,
Newspaper Reports of Riots,
From "A Crowd of Howling Negroes," 1919,
From "Street Battles at Night," 1919,
From "Ghastly Deeds of Race Rioters Told," 1919,
Responses to the Riots,
From Walter White, "N.A.A.C.P.—Chicago and Its Eight Reasons," 1919,
From "The Chicago Commission on Race Relations," 1922,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Re-invigoration of the Ku Klux Klan,
Legal Responses to the Ku Klux Klan,
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 1868,
From the Ku Klux Klan Act, 1871,
William Garrott Brown's Interpretation of the History of the Ku Klux Klan,
From William Garrott Brown, "The Ku Klux Movement," 1901,
Newspaper Reports on the Ku Klux Klan,
"Atlanta's Ku-Klux Klan," 1906,
"Ku Klux Klan Celebrates," 1921,
"Ku Klux Denounced from Many Pulpits," 1922,
"Ku Klux Klansmen March into Church," 1922,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: The Russian Revolution and Attraction of the Communist Party among American Writers,
Communist Party Writing,
From Communist Party of America, Pamphlet No. 1, 1919,
From Manifesto of the Communist Party of America, 1922,
Newspaper Report on Communism and Race,
"Negro's Rights Here Derided in Moscow," 1922,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Why We Read the Poetry of Claude McKay and Langston Hughes Today,
IV Cane,
Historical Background,
About Jean Toomer,
Historical Exploration: Lynching,
Ida B. Wells,
From Ida B. Wells, "Lynch Law in America," 1900,
Magazine Reports of Lynching,
"Colored Men Protest," 1892,
"Southern Protests against Lynching," 1898,
Newspaper Reports on Lynching,
"Lynching in Georgia," 1897,
"Woman Advocates Lynching," 1898,
Arthur A. Schomburg, "Lynching a Savage Relic," 1903,
The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill,
Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, 1922,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Prohibition,
Temperance Songs,
Mary Lantz, "The Drunkard and His Family," 1854,
Stephen G. Foster, "Comrades, Fill No Glass for Me," 1855,
J. M. Kieffer, "The Temperance Army," 1874,
Legal Documents Addressing Prohibition,
Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, 1919,
From the Volstead Act, 1920,
The Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 1933,
Newspaper Articles Reporting on Prohibition,
From "Whole Country Goes Dry," 1919,
From "Nation-Wide Prohibition Ends Fight of 112 Years," 1920,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Why We Read Cane Today,
V Passing and Quicksand,
Historical Background,
About Nella Larsen,
Historical Exploration: Racial Definitions and Passing,
Definitions of Race,
From Reports of the Immigration Commission, 1911,
From Georgia Laws on Race and Color, 1927,
Court Case Regarding Interracial Adoption,
Robert Green v. City of New Orleans, 1956,
Autobiographies Discussing Racial Passing,
From William Craft, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery, 1860,
From John Howard Griffin, Black Like Me, 1960,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Interracial Marriage,
Legal Cases Addressing Interracial Marriage,
From Pace v. Alabama, 1883,
From Loving v. Virginia, 1967,
A Personal Experience,
Michele DeFreece, "Stop Explaining. My Name's Michele," 2014,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Expatriates,
Expatriate Experiences of American Writers,
From John Dos Passos, "The Republic of Honest Men," 1934,
From James Baldwin, "Encounter on the Sein: Black Meets Brown," 1955,
From Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, 1964,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Why We Read Quicksand and Passing Today,
VI Their Eyes Were Watching God,
Historical Background,
About Zora Neale Hurston,
Historical Exploration: All-Black Towns,
Zora Neale Hurston's Eatonville,
From Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942,
The All-Black Town of Langston, Oklahoma,
"Home, Sweet Home. A Home for You and Your Children. Millions! of Acres in the Cherokee Strip Soon to Be Given to the People for Homes. This Will Tell You How You Can Get the Benefit," 1892,
E. P. McCabe, "Freedom. Peace, Happiness and Prosperity, Do You Want All These? Then Cast Your Lot with Us and Make Your Home in Langston City," 1892,
The All-Black Town of Mound Bayou,
From Booker T. Washington, "A Town Owned by Negroes: Mound Bayou, Miss., An Example of Thrift and Self-Government" 1907,
From Day Allen Willey, "Mound Bayou—A Negro Municipality," 1907,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Migrant and Seasonal Labor,
Migrant Loggers,
From Charlotte Todes, Labor and Lumber, 1931,
Migrant Farmers,
From Robert Coles, Migrants, Sharecroppers, Mountaineers, 1971,
Labor Laws Regarding Migrant and Seasonal Labor,
From U.S. Department of Labor Poster Required to Be Displayed by Employers, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 1983,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Historical Exploration: Hurricanes,
A Flood in Folklore,
From Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and Men, 1935,
Personal Experiences of the Okeechobee Hurricane,
From Charles L. Mitchell, "The West Indian Hurricane of September 10–20, 1928," 1928,
From Eliot Kleinberg, Black Cloud: The Great Florida Hurricane of 1928, 2003,
The Federal Emergency Management Agency,
From "The Federal Emergency Management Agency Publication 1," 2010,
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,
National Weather Center, "Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale," 2013,
Discussion Questions,
Suggested Readings,
Why We Read Their Eyes Were Watching God Today,
Index,
About the Author,