Art for Whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University African-American Studies Theses Department of African-American Studies Summer 7-17-2012 Art for whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature Ebony Z. Gibson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses Recommended Citation Gibson, Ebony Z., "Art for whose Sake?: Defining African American Literature." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/17 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of African-American Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African-American Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ART FOR WHOSE SAKE?: DEFINING AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE by EBONY Z. GIBSON Under the Direction of Jonathan Gayles ABSTRACT This exploratory qualitative study describes the criteria that African American Literature professors use in defining what is African American Literature. Maulana Karenga’s black arts framework shaped the debates in the literature review and the interview protocol; furthermore, the presence or absence of the framework’s characteristics were discussed in the data analysis. The population sampled was African American Literature professors in the United States who have no less than five years experience. The primary source of data collection was in-depth interviewing. Data analysis involved open coding and axial coding. General conclusions include: (1) The core of the African American Literature definition is the black writer representing the black experience but the canon is expanding and becoming more inclusive. (2) While African American Literature is often a tool for empowerment, a wide scope is used in defining methods of empowerment. (3) Black writers should balance aesthetic and political concerns in a text. INDEX WORDS: African-American literature, Black aesthetics ART FOR WHOSE SAKE?: DEFINING AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE by EBONY Z. GIBSON A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2012 Copyright by Ebony Z. Gibson 2012 ART FOR WHOSE SAKE?: DEFINING AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE by EBONY Z. GIBSON Committee Chair: Jonathan Gayles Committee: Makungu Akinyela Kya Reaves Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2012 iv DEDICATION To my father and his memory. You died long ago but your love still lives. To my mother. You support me in whatever I do. To my best friend. You are my sister, my support system, and my voice of reason. To all black writers who give voice to the voiceless. And to all teachers and scholars who share their stories. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all my members of my thesis committee for your support during this long process. A special thinks to Jonathan Gayles for his patience in my writing process and his willingness to support me in a project outside of his comfort zone. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v 1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................... 10 1.4 Nature of the Study ............................................................................................... 10 1.5 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 11 1.6 Afrocentric Concept .............................................................................................. 12 1.7 Definitions .............................................................................................................. 15 1.8 Assumptions ........................................................................................................... 17 1.9 Scope and Limitations ........................................................................................... 17 1.10 Summary .............................................................................................................. 18 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................................... 19 2.1 Literature Searches ............................................................................................... 19 2.2 Overview ................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 Harlem Renaissance .............................................................................................. 20 2.4 Realism and Modernism ....................................................................................... 29 2.5 Black Arts Movement ........................................................................................... 37 2.6 Contemporary........................................................................................................ 44 2 2.7 Anthologies Used to Teach African American Literature ................................. 51 2.8 Summary ................................................................................................................ 54 3 RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................................................... 55 3.1 Research Method and Design Appropriateness ................................................. 55 3.2 Sample Selection .................................................................................................... 58 3.3 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 59 3.4 Internal Validity .................................................................................................... 63 3.5 External Validity ................................................................................................... 64 3.6 Researcher Bias ..................................................................................................... 64 3.7 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 65 3.8 Summary ................................................................................................................ 66 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS .......................................................... 67 4.1 Overview ................................................................................................................ 68 4.2 The Participants .................................................................................................... 68 4.3 Overview of Definitions and Elements ................................................................ 74 4.4 Defining Elements of African American Literature .......................................... 76 4.5 Elements of the Black Aesthetic Framework ...................................................... 96 4.6 Summary .............................................................................................................. 113 5 CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................ 115 5.1 Conclusions and Discussion ................................................................................ 117 3 5.2 Limitations of the Study ..................................................................................... 131 5.3 Implications for Teaching Practices of African American Literature ........... 132 5.4 Recommendations for Future Research ............................................................ 134 5.5 Summary .............................................................................................................. 136 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 137 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 147 Appendix A: Recruitment Email ............................................................................ 147 Appendix B: Reminder Email .................................................................................. 148 Appendix C: Demographics ..................................................................................... 149 Appendix D: Consent Form .................................................................................... 150 Appendix E: Interview Protocol .............................................................................. 153 Appendix F: Demographics ...................................................................................... 154 4 1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to describe the criteria that African American Literature professors use in defining what is African American Literature. This chapter describes the background of the research problem and includes a problem statement. The significance of the study and the nature of the study are also addressed. Next, the Afrocentric conceptual framework is explained. Finally,