AJ57015 Topics in American Culture: Harlem Renaissance

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2019
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 10 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jan Beneš, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Friday 15:00–16:40 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course introduces and explores the phenomenon of the Harlem Renaissance, a period spanning from the early 1920s until 1938/1939. The Harlem Renaissance is considered a watershed era; it is viewed as the heyday of black, particularly African American, art as it brought together various themes, authors, and genres from the fields of literature, music, visual arts, philosophy, and culture in general. The course traces the evolution of the period from pioneering works in the early 1920s, through its most active period between 1925 and 1933, until its end marked by the publication of Zora Neale Hurston’s seminal novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. In keeping with the latest research in African American studies, it presents the Harlem Renaissance as both a nationwide and a transnational phenomenon with authors from a variety of U.S. regions as well as from Nigeria, France or the Caribbean, rather than a movement limited solely to the Harlem borough. In addition to providing an overview of the literature of the period, the course also highlights the interconnection and cooperation among various arts, artists, races, and regions. For this purpose, it features sessions concerning the Harlem Renaissance magazines and newspapers, novels, short fiction, poetry, films, theatre, and music. The course thus offers an interdisciplinary mosaic presenting the Harlem Renaissance as a complex phenomenon in American literary and cultural history.
Learning outcomes
The objective of the course is to acquaint students with the major figures of the Harlem Renaissance and to contextualize these artists and their works within the contemporary discussion on modernism, sexuality, the New Negro movement, essentialism, representation of African Americans in art, and transnationalism as well as other crucial issues and themes pertinent to the Harlem Renaissance and to black literature and culture.
Teaching methods
Class discussion Presentations Seminars Group work
Assessment methods
Class participation Short response papers Key-word definition Paper proposal and annotated bibliography Final research paper
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
General note: This course is NOT designated for Erasmus students! List of courses offerd by the Department of English and American studies for Erasmsus students is available at http://www.phil.muni.cz/wkaa/ under "Information for Erasmus students".
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