Short Answer Response #3:
The Harlem Renaissance (and more)
Due: Tuesday, April 18
(Though if you want to turn it in before or over break, you are welcome to do that)
1) Harlem Renaissance Poetry (Choose one of the following prompts for #1 – be sure to indicate which letter prompt you chose for #2; 1 min -2 max pages):
a) W.E.B. DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk has a clear influence over the project, goals, and expressions of the artists and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance. Choose any one of the Harlem Renaissance poems from Week 7 and discuss the selections relationship to, similarity with, and/or emergence from ideas in DuBois. DuBois’s chapter “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” is perhaps the best chapter for comparison.
b) Literary critic Hortense Spillers has argued that one of the “amazing” ideas or achievements of the Harlem Renaissance that happened alongside the other artistic “modernisms” of this period was the development of “an art directly tied to the fortunes of a political agenda.” Choose any one of the Harlem Renaissance poems or the Zora Neale Hurston story from week 7 and discuss and analyze it for the purpose of illustrating Spillers’ claim.
2) Explication practice: To explicate something means to make it’s meaning clear, plain, direct. The practice of explicating a text, usual a poem, is done in a literature class for the purpose of using that explicated text to support a large analytical claim – explication just for its own sake is not usually something we build papers around. However, it is the skill we build papers on, so it’s good to just work out those muscles, and attack a poem line by line, and note it’s meaning and facts in plain speech as well as noting its literary elements, tone, and imagery. For number 2, you will do a line by line explication of one of the short poems from the Carved on the Walls excerpts or any one of the Harlem Renaissance era poems you did not discuss for #1
Grading Rubric for Study Guide #2
Mastery of skill / B: 88, 85, 82
Satisfactory
skill level / C: 78, 75, 72
Basic skill level
achieved / D: 65
Failed skill / F: 50
Element missing
Thesis: The thesis is clear and thoughtful and directly and appropriately responds to the prompt (but more complexly than yes or no).
Text (Quote) Analysis for Argument Support: The answer uses quotes and examples from the text that support the thesis. The quotes are discussed in terms of their language, context, tone, or other literary element(s) that contribute to the support of the argument.
Originality / Critical Thinking & Analysis: The response is original and insightful and addresses the topic fully and insightfully and explores the issue(s) thoughtfully and critically.
Grammar, Punctuation, Usage, Spelling: The response is well written and well organized with no sentence or grammar errors or stylistic problems.
Question #2 / A: 100-98, 95, 92
Mastery / B: 88, 85, 82
Satisfactory / C: 78, 75, 72
Basic / D: 65
Failed / F: 50
Missing
Thesis
Quotes / Argument Support
Originality / Analysis
Grammar, etc.
Avg. for each question #1______#2______Weighted Total Average/Grade: ______
(75%) (25%)