Performing a Close Reading Part IV

1. Performing a Close Reading Part IV 9/18/2013 Kingsley 123

2. Art in the Harlem Renaissance How do you read an image?

3. Aaron Douglas from The New Negro, (56)

4. Constructing Questions: AVOID • Avoid vague questions • What is the meaning of the Harlem Renaissance presented in the texts? • Problem: way too big, way too abstract • Avoid questions that ask about you • What do I think about the Harlem Renaissance? • Problem: It’s not about what you think about the Harlem Renaissance but a CLOSE READING of the texts’ presentations.

5. Constructing questions: AVOID • Too specific • What did James Weldon Johnson say about Harlem Real estate? • Problem: Doesn’t get you to closely read across a set of texts • Yes or no answer • Did J.A Rogers like jazz and think it was important? • Problem: Yes, he wrote an essay about it…the question doesn’t prompt me to read and analyze.

6. Constructing your question set • Theme: Masculinity • What are some of the various ways that masculinity is presented in the Harlem Renaissance? What kinds of images, plots, or discussions take place around the idea of masculinity?

7. Constructing your questions, cont. • Theme/recurrent idea: Heritage • In what ways is the idea of heritage represented in the texts of the Harlem Renaissance? What do the writers, artists, and so forth feel about the concept of inheriting the past?

8. Constructing a question, cont. • Image: “Africa” • How do the texts portray or discuss “Africa”? What kind of relationship between Africa and the Harlem Renaissance do the texts present?

9. Your turn • Review your question, make any last second revisions or corrections to your question.

10. REVIEW • (groups of 3) Exchange your question with 2 of your peers. • PEER REVIEW (on separate sheet of paper): • What is the theme, issue, idea or image that the writer is tackling through their questions? • Is there any language in the question that you think is unclear, needs revision, or needs different language choice. • Provide any suggestions for revision you would make or recommend.

11. Organizing the essay • Introduction: introduce your theme, question, texts, and thesis (the overall answer to your question) • Section 1: • Brief summary of first text • Analysis of first text (in terms of your question) • Section 2: • Brief summary of second text • Analysis of second text (in terms of your question) • Section 3: • Brief summary of third text • Analysis of third text (in terms of your question) • Conclusion • What did you discover so far? • What remains unclear or uncertain? • What other research could you do or perform that could be useful

12. Summarizing the texts • Part of the work of this essay will be to select particular texts to perform a close reading on and answer your question. • For each essay or text that you present, you will need to provide a brief summary. • How do you construct a summary?

13. Summary tips • Start with the title of the text, the author, and the main point, idea or conflict • Include important details • Work towards your theme or your question. • “Harlem Types” presents the work of the artist Winold Reiss and his portraitures examining black subjects of Harlem. Included alongside of the portraits is a brief description of Reiss and his work . The writing highlights the important contribution of these portraits and emphasizes their ability to showcase the “soul and spirit of the people” of Harlem (651). The portraits themselves cover quite of range of “types”: from a woman lawyer to a boy scout. However, the portrait I am most interested in is the one titled “Congo: a familiar of the New York Studios”. This portrait echoes similar discussions of African life in Harlem.

14. Next week • MEET IN LIBRARY • Online portfolio (start the process) • Unit 1 formal essay (Draft due)