To prepare for where we’re going next, look at the Amos And Andy presentation on this page.
For Monday, October 4
Read, in Russell Baker,
Four short tales by Zora Neale Hurston:
Talking Mule Story 453 - 454
Competition for a Girl454 - 455
Woman’s Strength Story455 - 458
Squinch Owl Story458 - 459
in Watkins
Also by Hurston, “Why Women Got the Advantage of Men"134 - 138
.
Look familiar to you? It should. We spent all last week with Uncle Remus. Now it is Ms. Hurston's turn. By the time Zora Neale Hurston starts collecting and publishing black humor we begin to see the “war of the sexes” through the eyes of black women. We’ll encounter a number of black women humorists in this course. I think you’re going to enjoy them. What I’d like to see here is how some of the situations we’ve seen in previous tales gets its own spin as the gender and race of the narrator changes. For example, you’ve already read about a sort of “competition” for a girl in the writings of Augustus Baldwin Longstreet. How does this stack up against “Competition for a Girl” as you see it above. Record your views on this in your journal.
Hurston was one of the noted figures in what is known as the Harlem Renaissance. More about that later. For the present, read a bit about her and her works at the Voices from the Gaps website at the University of Minnesota.
Zora Neale Thurston singing "Mule on The Mountain"
For Thursday, October 7
The Reading Assignment for this class is a little complicated. Ask, if you don't understand what I'm after.
Part ONE: Everyone.
Read, in Joseph Boskin, Editor, The Humor Prism in 20th Century America
African American Humor, Resistance and Retalliation (Boskin)--pp. 145-157
`And in Watkins,
The Passing of Grandison, By Charles W. Chesnutt: pp. 30 - 44
Then, LIST APeople will read, in Watkins, The Numskull Tales pp. 20 -24
Talking Turtlle
The Mojo
Amos and the Union Officer
John in Jail
John and the Blacksnake
List B People will read, in Watkins, The Trickster Tales, pp 24 - 29
The Laugh that Meant Freedom
Mo N----
The Champion
Old Master and Okra
Strong Man Jack
Swapping Dreams
A
Abisla, Chris
Bailey, Brittany
Buckler, Dani
DiGirolamo, Barry
Dockray, Cassandra
Grzesiuk, Jillian M.
Hanc, Abby
Hoermann, George
Katchpole, Molly
Magee, Lindsey
McDonough, Dan
Serra, Jordan
Ziegler, Sarah
B
Amorello, Matt
Andersen, Chris
Burke, Brit
De Marco, Erin
Donovan, Erin
Ferrari, Lauren
Hanington, Lydia
Harmon, Clare
Knight, Jen
Letendre, Bryan
Rago, Micaela
Rowan, Thea
We've already touched a bit on the different uses of humor. Resistance and Rebellion will elaborate on that theme a bit. Do note that cross-class issues can also use the humor of resistane and rebellion. Georgia Tales showed some of that. We've also noted that cross-gender humor may also have elements of Resistance and Rebellion in it. Use this essay as a marker for analyzing the other materials for today's class. What kinds of resistance, what kinds of rebellion do you notice in them.
You're going to find that passing in the story The Passing of Grandison is a play on words. So is the name Grandison I'm not going to tell you what that play on words is, but I may ask who "got it", when we discuss this tale.
You're going to be able to discover resistance and rebellion in this story, and also resistance and rebellion in the life story of Chales W. Chesnutt, pictured at the left. Click on the image to reach a website devoted to him and to his works.
You'll also find tricksters and numskulls in the story...and maybe we can spend a little time sorting out which is which--and thereby assure ourselves that numskulls and trickster typology is color-blind. You've probably seen the first word spelled numbskull, if you've seen it at all. I've preferred to spell it as Watkins gives it to us. But I won't be pedantic about it. Spell it either way in your journal
You've met numskulls and tricksters before...Which Uncle Remus character would you classify as a numskull? In the stories, both numskulls and tricksters happen to be black. This suggests that each type is doing something different or fulfilling a different cultural function. What we're going to do in class is pair off, bringing the numskull experts into contact with the trickster experts and have some discussion on how each ot these types can be used for Resistance and Rebellion.
Yup, I'm still posting the video about the Amos and Andy controversy. There's a reason I'm delaying discussion of it. I'm wondering if anyone is beginning to guess why. There's a little clue in the story title I've chosen not to print on the website. That's all I'm saying for now.
