The Harlem Renaissance: Art, Literature, and Classic Women Blues

In this undergraduate course, we will focus on the Harlem Renaissance, also known as the New Negro Movement, the important African American artistic and socio-cultural moment that dates roughly from 1919-1934. Organized as an interdisciplinary course, we will examine the historical context of the period; the literature including novels by Jean Toomer and Nella Larsen; the art including the painting of Aaron Douglas, the sculpture of Richmond Barthé, and the photography of James Van Der Zee; and classic female blues with a focus on the music and lyrics of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. We will also read a range of writers from the period including Marita O. Bonner, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, Elise Johnson McDougald, and George S. Schuyler.