What will be the shape of the new black cultural text?
Over the course of this term we have traced the production of black aesthetics and styles called ‘new’ relative to conventions of race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality in the United States and relative to the range of subjectivities that African American thinkers have theorized in response to these conventions. Across various media, sometimes in genres considered nontraditional or ‘alternative’ for the representation of blackness, we might observe a continuity of topics and of critical themes such as the appropriation and commodification of culture, cultural memory and inheritance, information technology and the accessibility of ‘private’ spaces, and shifting signs and signifiers of identity. For this assignment you are to make an argument speculating on the future direction of African American cultural production. Do this in the form of a short essay, developing your thesis as it pertains to literature, music, film, and/or other visual arts of your choice. You may focus your critique on a single text or on a few, but think through the material that we have read, seen, and heard, and select at least two texts from our syllabus to cite as evidence in support of the points that you wish to demonstrate. The rest are up to you. Based on your assessment of the semester’s readings, ground your argument in terms of the continuity of ideas, or frame it in terms of a break from the norm. What will be the next agenda of contemporary African American authors and artists? How will blackness be represented? What will be the shape of the new black cultural text?
These are the requirements for a successful paper:
- Your paper must have a clear thesis statement. Articulate your point, explaining the problem that you are approaching and your proposed critique. State your argument directly, and outline the reasons that it is viable. Support your argument with a series of organized, logical examples from a primary text. Be specific in your critique and in your choice of ideas, passages, phrases, or episodes to incorporate as evidence.
- Your paper must contain some reference to at least two of the texts that we have studied in class thus far. Use this material to ground (contextualize) your thesis and to support your argument thoroughly.
- Your paper must be 1200 words in length double-spaced pages must be numbered.
- you are encouraged to use outside sources. Be sure to cite correctly all of your sources in a consistent manner, such as that suggested in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. You should include an additional works-cited page or bibliography.
- Your paper should represent ideas that are compelling and that are meaningful to you.
Must use a at least four total direct quote from Parable of the Sower and one other book this semester. Listed below
1.The White Boy Shuffle
- The Souls of Black Folk
- Mumbo Jumbo themes too note: appropriation, commodification, exploitation, double-consciousness, agency, use the books and terms as help to ground the argument or just answer the question with books above, mainly Parable of the Sower.
