African American Studies

Must include: 1) The artist’s background 2) The artist’s A) genre & B) the aesthetic qualities of their art 3) Your evaluation of whether the artists’ cultural products meet the three criteria for Black art as defined by Karenga in Introduction to Black Studies (364-365). Answer the following questions using supporting evidence and examples from the course readings and the credible/scholarly resources you found in your research for the annotated bibliography: • A) Is the artist’s literature functional? (Is it useful? Does it urge social purpose, inform, instruct and inspire the people, and is it unapologetically partial to Black people?) • B) Is the literature collective? (Was the it done for all? Was it inspired by all Black people and their cultures? If so, what aspects of Black culture does it reflect? Was it rooted in life-based language and images that were full of everyday relevance? Provide supporting examples. Was it understandable without being overly simplistic?) • C) Is the literature committing? (Did it commit Black people to the historical project of liberation and achievement of a higher level of human life? Did it demand and urge involvement in the struggle to build a new world and new people to live in it? Did it teach Black people to dare victory?) 4) Discuss new understandings, perspectives, appreciation, or insight you gained from working on this project. (For instance how it relates to you or your community, your perspective on whether the artist should be judged from the committed-art perspective. Why or why not?) Rubric: You will be graded on the following- (logical organization; relevance; supporting evidence, examples & citations; evaluation & analysis; clarity) Logical organization – Ideas and information are well organized, presentation has strong introduction and conclusion. Interview’s relevance to the assignment’s instructions and African-American culture topics Supporting/background evidence and examples provided from credible & scholarly sources & cited in Chicago style: A) course reading, B) credible source, C) scholarly source Evaluation & analysis- A) of three Black art characteristics B) of understandings, perspectives, or appreciation gained Clarity – paragraph structure, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, wording, and grammar in the presentation

This assignment is a 200-word journal. What is the “theme” of The poem Sympathy.

This assignment is a 7 page paper on the hypersexualization of and responses to black women in music. There should be an analysis on the intersection of gender/sexuality and race/ethnicity, more specifically, misogynoir and colorism. You should analyze the music (song lyrics, musical and visual analysis) of a certain musician (Beyonce) and/or you can explore a certain concept (misogynoir, colorism) in the examples of multiple musicians (Beyonce, Whitney Houstan, Nicki Minaj, Donna Summer, Mariah Carey, Missy Elliot, Janet Jackson)

Research Paper discussing the sometimes subdued accomplishments of the Buffalo Soldiers from 1866-WWII. must contain Abstract and strong thesis statement

How does Racism towards African Americans affect Police Brutality in the U.S? One outside source per paragraph.

Construct an essay based on the following question: How did African-Americans fight to make the Civil War about emancipation and freedom? Your essay should use evidence from three primary sources provided below and should be based on your reading and analysis of the primary source documents. Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length and use double-spacing and 12-point font. Please use MLA style. Primary Source Documents Choose one primary source from each of the following sections: *Slaves Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom by Louis Hughes Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on Slavery *Soldiers Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on being a Civil War Soldier “I Hope to Fall With My Face to the Foe” by Lewis Douglass Letters from Spotswood Rice Letter to President Lincoln *Emancipation Selections from the WPA Interviews of Formerly Enslaved African Americans on Emancipation Maryland Slave to the President George W. Hatton: Retaliation in Camp Black Residents of Nashville to the Union Convention

How did government policies such as redlining, urban renewal, and the implementation of public housing reinforce residential segregation–and thus racialized domination and economic inequality–across the 20th Century? What connections exist between these policies and the waves of public housing privatization and urban neighborhood gentrification that followed anti-discrimination legislation such as the Fair Housing Act? What are some of the ways that communities of color have sought to secure access to safe and affordable housing and create more just cities? Your essay must cite a minimum of 4 course readings (in-text citations are fine).  Short quotes are acceptable; large block quotes will not count towards the word total. The essay is due via Canvas Sunday, January 10 by 4pm. Formatting Guidelines 900-1200 words Double spacing 12-point Times New Roman font

In at least four (4) pages, examine the history of the U.S. and its ethnic minorities by analyzing black women entertainers during/after the Harlem Renaissance, and their effect on the Civil Rights Movement. This essay is a critical analysis of the time and eventual Civil Rights Acts that proceeded. However, many tend to forget the contribution of black entertainment to support in enduring the hardships of the 1900’s. Use two sources, on top of the two required readings, to elaborate on this prompt.

Create a 5 page paper on the creolization of African- American lifeways. Concentrate on the ways its impacted the foodways and culture and well as lifeways. Incorporate information regarding the Atlantic slave trade and how it impacted the enslaved  (foodways and culture and well as lifeways). Add 4 scholarly articles.

In his introduction to Aimé Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, André Breton notes that the book “is a poem ‘with a theme,’ if not ‘a thesis.’” Stipulating that Breton is right in his assessment, write a paper that examines what you believe to be the predominant theme in Notebook. Include in your essay an answer to the following question: What makes this text an expression of Negritude thought?Excellent papers will be ones that have an identifiable thesis; ones that interpret more than one or two stanzas from the text; and ones that are coherently organized and well-written.