Stephanie Cianciarulo
May 8, 2007
Engl 112B
Unit Project
Unit Project: Harlem Renaissance

The overall purpose of this unit plan is to introduce the Harlem Renaissance in a junior general English course. I have chosen Black Boy by Richard Wright as my centerpiece. Black Boy is a good introduction to this time period because it is an autobiography of Richard Wright's childhood as lived by him. Within the novel Wright deals with death, the Jim Crow South, questioning authority, and the hunger to free himself from oppression. The novel itself is broken into two parts. For the purposes of my unit plan the second part will be left out from teaching in the classroom. It should be stated, however, that the second half of Black Boy could be used in conjunction with The Crucible as it pertains to the Communist Party and McCarthyism. The theme of this unit project will be the introduction of racism in America and how people combated this major and persisting issue during the early part of the twentieth century. Through songs, essays, poetry, art, and novels the class will be able to understand and absorb necessary tools to better their knowledge, both literarily and historically, of this time period.

The unit begins with either an introduction to modern or deco art forms or with the use of a song such as "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. By using art as an opener it makes the unit more approachable because art can be translated in so many ways. I will allow the students to give their ideas on the art used and than supply them with information that links it directed to the centerpiece, Black Boy by Richard Wright, as well as other literary pieces I will be using in the unit plan. The song "Strange Fruit" has lyrics that are incredibly deep and impacting. This would be an attention grabber for the unit plan and a way to get students to think very critically about the place and era for which Richard Wright grew up in (the Jim Crow South).

The unit plan would follow with an introduction to essays and poetry from the Harlem Renaissance. Authors and poets would include:

• Sterling Brown,
• Langston Hughes,
• Jean Toomer,
• Booker T. Washington,
• Zora Neale Hurston,
• W.E.B. DuBois,
• Alain Locke,
• F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Each of these authors and poets contributed directly and indirectly to the Harlem Renaissance, active refusal of Southern concepts of the African-American, and the disillusionment that followed the First World War and lead the United States into the Second World War. Without their powerful works of literature, the Harlem Renaissance would have never existed in American history. Also the use of many of these notable authors and poets could easily link into other unit plans and work for the remainder of the semester or term.

Students are asked to look critically at these pieces of literature and with essays and projects I will have the students focus further on the issues that Black Boy and all the other art forms in use home in to. The students are expected to take away a critical and more through understanding of the Harlem Renaissance once the unit is over.

A list of novels that could accompany this unit plan has also been provided in the POWER POINT to extend the unit further.