HNPG 033K
The Arts & History: From Slavery to the Jazz Age

Important Note: This syllabus is from a past course, it is intended for informational purposes ONLY.  Actual class requirements, texts, and grading may vary.

Instructor, Sterling Stuckey

In this course, sustained attention is given to human feeling as a factor in shaping the past.  The historical novel and novella are among the forms of art that will be considered.  Our explorations range from the uses of art in contexts such as slave resistance and burial ceremonies to its uses at festivals and water immersion rites.  In particular, we are concerned with the degree to which art reveals the inner lives and values of people.  Points of intersection among the disciplines -- Folklore, Art History, Music, Literature, and Dance -- will be identified within the context of problems common to them to demonstrate the interrelatedness of the materials employed in the course.  Sustained attention will be given to the historical novel and to the uses of folklore for historical purposes.

Writing Assignments: Three short papers of no more than three pages each and a research paper of approximately twenty pages are due. Grading: The short papers will constitute 1/4 of the grade, seminar discussions 1/4 and the research paper half of the grade.

The research paper will be due at the beginning of the ninth week. Recordings of folk tales and music will be played.

Texts:

E.C.L. Adams, Tales of the Congaree
Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Other Stories Ama Bontemps, Black Thunder
William J. Faulkner, The Days When The Animals Talked
Georgia Writers' Project, Drums and Shadows
Paule Marshall, Praise Song For the Widow
Toni Morrison, Jazz
Mark Twain, Hucklebeny Finn

1st Week:
Introduction

2nd Week:
Hennan Melville, Benito Cereno in Billy Budd and Other Stories

3rd Week:
Amasa Delano, Voyages and Travels, chapters 4, 18,20, and 24.
Hennan Melville, Sketch F ourth of The Encantadas in Billy Budd and Other Stories

4th Week:
Georgia Writers' Project, Drums and Shadows

5th Week:
E.C.L. Adams, Tales of the Congaree

6th Week:
William I. Faulkner, The Days When the Animals Talked

7th Week:
Arna Bontemps, Black Thunder

8th Week:
Mark Twain, Hucklebeny Finn

9th Week:
Paule Marshall. Praise Song For the Widow

10th Week:
Toni Morrison, Jazz