Option 2: The Harlem Renaissance Option: In this option, students will explore how the Harlem Renaissance influenced subsequent American literature. The paper should explore the contributions of at least two of the following authors: Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison. Furthermore, the paper should clearly explain how the works of the chosen authors aided the cause of African American social equality and clearly explain and provide evidence of the influence these works and writings had on subsequent American writers. I am most interested in reading a concise comparison between the views and contributions of the two leaders with the majority of the paper focusing on how their social activism influenced other African American writers. I expect to read/see clear evidence of this influence in literary works from other African American authors.
