Image: Self Portrait. Faith Ringgold. via artist’s website. 1965. Oil on canvas.
For Wednesday 11/15, we’ll go to chapter 9 in (Black Creative Production) Maulana Karenga’s Introduction to Black Studies. Read pages 361-369 and 380-392. Pay attention to the following concepts and time periods: the Black Aesthetic, Harlem Renaissance.
Also read (and print out) poet Langston Hughes’ essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” online here
… and this excerpt from Amiri Baraka’s essay “Jazz and the White Critic,” online here
… and Amiri Baraka’s essay “The Revolutionary Theatre,” online here (PDF). Optional: (only after you’ve done the other reading) Listen to Baraka read his essay in 1965 in the WNYC Radio archives.
What to read/look for:
- What do artists think their work should do?
- What relationship should it have to the Black community?
- What does their relationship to the artistic/ musical establishment seem to be?
Take brief notes of key points from each reading and we’ll go through them in class.
You do not need the Amsterdam News this week or for the rest of the semester. We will not be covering it.
Quick highlights from 11/1 class:
- None this week
Announcements
- No class on Wednesday 11/22 for the holiday. CUNY has not cancelled classes though so check any other classes you have scheduled
- On Wednesday 11/29, we’ll have our a guest speaker, Basir Mchawi, on the history of the Kwanzaa celebration at The East Cultural Center in Brooklyn. Some info here and more details to be posted next week. Feel free to invite guests!
Introduction to Africana Studies 