Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Harriet E. Wilson's Our Nig and Nella Larsen's Passing


African American girl, full-length portrait, seated on stool, facing slightly right. Photo by Thomas E. Askew. From Types of American Negroes, compiled and prepared by W.E.B. Du Bois, v. 1, no. 59. Part of the Paris Exposition of 1900.  



Hi, class,

As I mentioned, I would like to you to comment (150 words MAXIMUM) on Frado's new-found assertiveness at the end of Our Nig. Just use the comment function to post your comment--make sure you write your name at the end of your comment if you decide not to log in (you need not log in). If, for some reason, you have trouble, email your comment to me and I will post it for you.    

In addition, please read Part One (Encounter) of Nella Larsen's Passing for Thursday and be ready to comment on some of the intersecting themes of the novel!

PRESENTATIONS for Thursday, 5/27

Fatima Robinson: William Pickens, "The Kind of Democracy the Negro Expects" (1919)

Natasha Armand: Archibald Grimke, "The Shame of America..." (1920)
Athina Johnson: Marcus Garvey, "The Principles of the U.N.I.A." (1922)
Safiyyah A. Muhammad: James Weldon Johnson, "Our Democracy and the Ballot" (1923)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Harriet Wilson's Our Nig and Class Presentations

1861 photo of girls in the school yard of the Colored Orphan Asylum, located at 5th Ave. & 43rd St. in New York City.  

Wilson's Our Nig

Hi, class,

This evening, we will be examining Harriet Wilson's Our Nig. Please note that the subtitle is Sketches from the Life of a Free Black. In this autobiographical novel, Wilson melds the two most popular literary genres of the 19th century: the slave narrative and the sentimental novel. 

I would like you to consider how this novel fits in with the other works we have read this semester, or other works you may have read outside of this class (written during the same era), and to think about the following questions:

  • How does this novel compare with other works--what are the similarities, and what are the differences? 
  • What is significant about the prefatory note that precedes the beginning of the story? 
  • What major themes emerge in this novel? 
  • What is Harriet Wilson's motive for writing Our Nig that sets her apart from her (white women) contemporaries?
  • How do you "read" race, gender, and class in Our Nig?
I would like you to think about these questions and make some notes on passages of significance to you!

Presentations
In addition, we will have the following 5-minute presentations this evening:


Marcus Hulin: Lucy Parsons, "I Am an Anarchist" (1886)
Makeda Moses: Ida B. Wells, "Lynch Law in All Its Phases" (1893)
Christopher Smith: Booker T. Washington, "The Atlanta Compromise Speech" (1895)
June Joseph: Mary Church Terrell, "In Union There is Strength" (1897)
Anatali SaintLouis: Alexander Crummell, "The Attitude of the American Mind..." (1898)
Prof. Williams: W.E.B.Du Bois: "To the Nations of the World" (1900)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Additional Readings: Harper, Douglass, and Lincoln

Hi, class,

It's only Week 2, and I am already having to make modifications in our reading schedule--lol! I have cut Douglass's "Claims of the Negro, Ethnologically Considered," as it is a long piece, but I will go over the main points Douglass makes as he confronts the pseudo-scientific challenges to black humanity.

Here are links to the additional readings I placed on the syllabus. In addition to this week's discussion of Frederick Douglass's novella, The Heroic Slave, we will be discussing the following:


Frances E.W. Harper readings:
I have cut a couple of the Harper readings, but have added one. They are relatively short pieces--we will take a look at the poems and the short story "The Two Offers" (1859) tomorrow, and the speech "We Are All Bound Up Together" (1866) on Thursday.

From Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1854):

Short Story 
"The Two Offers" (click on link)

Speech

Abraham Lincoln readings:
These are short pieces that we will take a quick look at on Thursday as we attempt to wrap up our discussion of the Douglass novella. They are extremely important in the context of African American post-Civil War struggle.


As with everything that we will be reading this semester, please be ready to comment on a section that you find particularly significant--pay attention to diction, language, tone, and theme.

Individual Presentations: Guidelines and Schedule


Celebrating Lena Horne (1917-2010)

Hi, class,

I am making a few modifications to the individual presentation guidelines. Please note the changes. You will be responsible for delivering a brief presentation (5-7 minutes maximum) on one of the readings from The Black Past, the online reference guide to African American history (click on link at left). The objective of the assignment is to present the work in such a way as to heighten the class’s interest in learning more about the author or the topic presented in the text.

You must provide a brief overview of the piece, as well as some analysis as to why you think the work is of continuing literary/historic value. Please provide a one-page handout with one or two passages which exemplify the major theme of the piece. This handout should include 1 or 2 educational/scholarly links  to more information about the author (such as an online bibliography, collected works, etc.).

A 5-minute presentation is approximately 2 double-spaced typed pages. You may prefer to write out your presentation or you may work from notes. Time yourself and rehearse so that you may give a polished, professional presentation--I will stop the presentation at 5 minutes. Be prepared to answer additional questions from the instructor and your classmates on the topic of your presentation. Below is the schedule of readings. Class will begin with the delivery of the presentations, so please come to class on time on the date of your presentation.

*There will be no make-up allowed for this presentation, which is worth 10 points.*


WEEK 2
Tuesday, 5/11
Gilan Abrams: Frederick Douglass, "If There is No Struggle, There is No Progress" (1857)
Onyinyechi Ubaechu: John S. Rock, "I Will Sink or Swim with My Race" (1858)
Samuel Nash: Frederick Douglass, "Men of Color, To Arms!" (1863)

Thursday, 5/13
Michele Spears: Hiram Revels, "The End of Segregated Schools" (1871)
Steadman Channer, Jr.: Frances E.W. Harper, "The Great Problem to be Solved" (1875)
Karima McGhee: John F. Bruce, "Reasons Why the Colored Man Should Go to Africa" (1877)


WEEK 3
Tuesday, 5/18
Kateia Wade: Ferdinand Barnett, "Race Unity" (1879)
Marcus Hulin: Lucy Parsons, "I Am an Anarchist" (1886)
Syeda Fatima: Frederick Douglass, "On Woman Suffrage" (1888)
Daveenah McCallum: Anna Julia Cooper, "Women's Cause is One and Universal" (1893)
William Snell: John H. Smyth, "The African in Africa and the African in America" (1895)

Thursday, 5/20
Makeda Moses: Ida B. Wells, "Lynch Law in All Its Phases" (1893)
Christopher Smith: Booker T. Washington, "The Atlanta Compromise Speech" (1895)
Betty Patterson-Pearson: W.E.B.Du Bois: "To the Nations of the World" (1900)
June Joseph: Mary Church Terrell, "In Union There is Strength" (1897)
Anatali SaintLouis: Alexander Crummell, "The Attitude of the American Mind..." (1898)


 WEEK 4
Tuesday, 5/25
Samantha Braham: Lucy Craft Laney, "The Burden of the Educated Colored Woman" (1899)
Nathan Odotei: Mary Church Terrell, "What it Means to be Colored..." (1906)
Donna Banks: Ida B. Wells, "This Awful Slaughter" (1909)
Fatima Robinson: William Pickens, "The Kind of Democracy the Negro Expects" (1919)
Natasha Armand: Archibald Grimke, "The Shame of America..." (1920)
Thursday, 5/27
Athina Johnson: Marcus Garvey, "The Principles of the U.N.I.A." (1922)
Safiyyah A. Muhammad: James Weldon Johnson, "Our Democracy and the Ballot" (1923)



WEEK 5
Tuesday, 6/1
Jamal Watts: Ralph J. Bunche, "The Barriers of Race Can Be Surmounted" (1949)
Phara Saintlouis: Charlotta Bass, "Acceptance Speech for V-Presidential Candidate" (1952) 
Judy Harris: Malcolm X, "Exhorting Afro-Americans to Confront White Oppression" (1965)



Thursday, 6/3
Judith Nwoso: Bayard Rustin, "From Protest to Politics" (1965)
Nakisha Johnson: Stokely Carmichael, "Definitions of Black Power" (1966)
Stacy Gordon: Shirley Chisolm, "I Am for the Equal Rights Amendment" (1970)
Tiffany Horn: Barbara Jordan: "Who, Then, Will Speak to the Common Good?" (1976)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Welcome, English 238/1AC students!


Isaac and Rosa, Emancipated Slave Children, From the Free Schools of Louisiana, December, 1863. Photo by Kimball.


Good afternoon, students! Here is the blog for our class. I will post all links, handouts, and readings here. Take a look!

All best,
Prof. Williams