The Reconstruction Era
Write a 1.5 – 2 page critical analysis paper analyzing the texts/material for week 1. Choose one (1) of the following three (3) topics: 1. How did education or literacy have an impact on the lives of Black leadership and Black writers in The Reconstruction Era? Analyze the effects of increased literacy and economic opportunity on African American literature, culture, and aesthetics in a well-developed essay. 2. Analyze the philosophies of both Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois. How are the two figures similar? How are they different? Which leader do you think had the most adequate philosophy or methodologies to uplift the race? Explain your reasons in a well-developed essay. 3. How did writers like James Weldon Johnson and Ida B. Wells influence African American Literature in the Reconstruction Era? Analyze their literary contributions and critique the impact their work had during that time and even now. Organize your response in a well-developed essay. Four (4) conventions of writing about literature: * Assume a literate audience; don’t explain basic details; don’t retell/summarize the narrative; analyze it. * Include titles and authors full names in the introduction. Thereafter, refer to authors by the last name only. * Use 3rd person. Don’t use 1st person singular (I) to state opinions; the reader knows the opinions are yours. * Use present tense in literature; the book exists in the present every time someone picks it up and reads it. All papers must be in MLA style & format and are 15% of your Final Grade. Sources must be cited parenthetically when referred to via quoting (directly or indirectly), paraphrasing, or summarizing from the textbook. Outside sources are not required but can be used.
