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The Harlem Renaissance: Literature, Music, and Art

Note: This assignment is based upon the Harlem Renaissance Webquest created by Alyssa Munski and Andrea Witt, located at: http://eprentice.sdsu.edu/J03CR/amunski/webquest/harlem.html

Introduction

Oh, Happy Day! The St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park is preparing a new exhibit featuring the Harlem Renaissance. The Design Committee is looking for students to present them with ideas for what should be on display. The name of the exhibit is The Arts of The Harlem Renaissance. Therefore, they are looking for pieces of literature and poetry, art, and music that were influential to this time period. They are also concerned with having accurate information regarding the lives and accomplishments of important artists of the Harlem Renaissance.

The Harlem Renaissance represents a time when African-Americans were exploring their writing, artistic, and musical talents in order that they may communicate their thoughts and opinions regarding the condition of black communities in the United States during the first three to four decades of the twentieth century.

Keeping in mind that the word renaissance means "rebirth," what artistic pieces were born out of this era? Who are the major figures involved in this movement, and what were their contributions to the Harlem Renaissance?

Task

You will assume the role of an expert in one of The Arts of the Harlem Renaissance: literature and poetry, art, and music. Working in a group of three, you will then select a number of pieces as related to your field of expertise to be presented to the Design Committee at The St. Louis Art Museum in the form of a PowerPoint, or multimedia presentation.

Process

An Overview...
You will be working together to share what you learn about The Arts of the Harlem Renaissance. You will be assigned to a group of four (4) people. A random process will decide who becomes what expert in the field of literature and poetry, art, and music.

Step1. Getting Started

Individually, you will read through these suggested sites in order to gain some background information on what The Harlem Renaissance was all about. Jot down notes in your journal. Be sure to write down any questions you have, so you can come back to them after you have a chance to confer with your group.

Step2. Time to Research

You are ready to research the sites suggested for your field of expertise. Your job is to learn as much as you can about the pieces of literature and poetry, art, and music that resulted from this period of flourishing creativity.

Focus on works that have received credit for contributing, supporting, analyzing, or interpreting the African American condition in our country during the first four decades of the twentieth century: 1900-1940.

Once you have justifiable reason to believe that this novel, song, or painting has made it's "impact" on this time period, you may consider choosing this piece for your presentation to the Design Committee at The History Museum.

You must explain the reasoning for your choices and include this in your Power Point. Finally, part of your research is to find two sites not included that provide background information on your content. Be sure to site these resources in your Power Point.

If you are the Literature and Poetry expert, look for:
Facts about the lives of accomplished authors and poets who were published during the Harlem Renaissance.
Works of literature (novels, poetry) written during this time period.
Resources for the Literature and Poetry Expert

If you are the Art expert, look for:
Facts about the lives of accomplished artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Paintings that represent the climate of the Harlem Renaissance.
Resources for the Art Expert

If you are the music expert, look for:
Facts about the lives of accomplished musicians during the Harlem Renaissance
Pieces of music (songs or albums) representative of this time.
Resources for the Music Expert

Step 3. Power Point Collaboration

As a group, you will gather the pieces you chose and highlight them in a Power Point presentation. You will want to give some brief background information on the authors, artists, and musicians before you present their "piece." Remember to include an explanation for why you feel this piece is an important contribution to The Harlem Renaissance. Again, be sure to site your resources in the Power Point.

Click on the Evaluation to view the rubrics used for this webquest.

Evaluation- Power Point (100 pts)
Your group will be receiving a grade for the Power Point presentation.

Resources

This is where I got this idea. Harlem Renaissance Webquest

Preliminary Readings:

Encarta Online-Harlem Renaissance Comprehensive overview of the Harlem Renaissance. Read: Intro, Beginnings, Characteristics, Ending, and Influence.

Harlem: An African American Community View a timeline of main events that occured from 1900-1940.

Interactive Map of Harlem

Something for everyone:
Reflections of African Americans and the Harlem Renaissance

A privately operated page, provides great links for literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance.

Don't forget: You will want to take notes on this information in your personal research journal, a microsoft Word document to be kept in your English III Folder in your My Documents Folder. I might check your notes at any time.

African American Odyssey: The Harlem Renaissance and the Flowering of Creativity

Exploring the meaning of the term, Harlem Renaissance

The New Negro: An exploration of the Allan Locke's ideas.

General Resources

Father Ryan's Harlem Renaissance: A very good high school project Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Drop Me Off in Harlem: The Kennedy Center Presentation Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro (hypermedia/primary source) Perspectives in American Literature: Harlem Renaissance PALLPerspectives in American Literature: A Research and Reference Guide The Harlem Renaissance: PBS Interactive Map of Harlem African American Odyssey: The Harlem Renaissance and the Flowering of Creativity Exploring the meaning of the term, Harlem Renaissance Photo Gallery of the 1920s American History

Harlem Renaissance: The Capital of Black America and the Cost of White Patronage Drop Me Off in Harlem: The Kennedy Center Presentation Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro (hypermedia/primary source) Great Days in Harlem: The birth of the Harlem Renaissance Harlem Renaissance: The Capital of Black America and the Cost of White Patronage PBS on Speakeasies and Jazz Harlem Speakeasiess Black Migration: Library of Congress Black Migration and Its Influence on Jazz Jazz: PBS and Ken Burns The New Negro: An exploration of the Allan Locke's ideas. Home to Harlem Harlem Rent Parites

Literature Resources		Personalities
Harlem R Poetry: A Brief Guide  Selected Women Writers of the Harlem Renaissance Zora Neale Hurston Jean Toomer's Stories: Jean Toomer: Poetry Jazz Poetry		Marcus Garvey WEB DuBois Duke Ellington: American Masters Billie Holiday: American Masters   American Rhetoric: Speeches Collections  Say It Plain: A Century of Great American Speeches This rich site includes a audio files and texts of speeches by Booker T. Washington, Dick Gregory, and Stokeley Carmichael. The site includes the only known recordings of Marcus Garvey.

Perhaps the most famous writer of the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes:

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes: Library of Congress Langston Hughes: Modern American Poetry Langston Hughes: The Academy of American Poets Langston Hughes: Voices and Visions Langston Hughes: The Kennedy Center Langston Hughes: The Songs on Seventh Avenue (This article explores the connection between jazz music and the poetry of Langston Hughes) Langston Hughes: The Cat and the Saxophone Langston Hughes: on The Negro Speaks of Rivers Aaron Douglas "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" (for Langston Hughes) Langston Hughes and the Poetry of Blues Langston Hughes and Jazz Writing Poetry Like Langston Hughes Langston Hughes and Jesse B. Semple Audio File on some of these stories: Langston Hughes: from American Stories Langston Hughes: Poetry Langstorn Hughes: The Poetry Foundation Langston Hughes' Links

Music Resouces

Harlem.org Harlem Music The Red-Hot Jazz Archive Louis Armstrong: A Cultural Legacy Billie Holiday Earl Hines Earl Hines: An Overview Music of Prohibition Harlem Music The Cotton Club Harlem Speakeasiess The Jazz Age Links All About Jazz Jazz Roots The Flapper Music: Good Selection, audio clips The Roaring 1920s Concert Extravaganza: Audio Clips Radio History Timeline Recorded Jazz: Great Timeline

Art Resouces
	Rhapsodies in Black Glossary of African American Art Terms The Art from the Harlem Renaissance ArtCyclopedia: Harlem Renaissance Harlem Renaissance: Art World Wide Art Resouces African Americans in the Visual Arts

Individual Artist Links
Aaron Douglas Online Aaron Douglas Internet Resources Charles Alston Online Augusta Savage Online Romare Bearden Foundation Romare Bearden Online Romare Bearden: World Wide Arts Resources Allan Rohan Crite Online	Palmer Hayden Online Palmer Hayden Britannica Encyclopedia William H. Johnson Online William H. Johnson from Encarta Lois Mailou Jones Online Jacob Lawrence Online Archibald Motley Online Archibald Motley: PBS Ellis Wilson Online