DOCUMENT RESUME ED 057 062 TE 012 699 AUTHOR Turner, Darwin T.; Stanford, Barbara Dodds TITLE Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Literature by Afro-Americans. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. ERIC Clearinghouse on the Teaching of English. SPONS AGENCY Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 71 NOTE 106p.; NCTE/ERIC Studies in the Teaching of English AVAILABLE FROMThe National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyoh Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (Stock No. 38658: $1.50 prepaid) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$6.58 DESCRIPTORS Bibliographies; Books; *Curriculum Design; *English Curriculum; High School Curriculum; Instructional Materials; Junior High Schools; Lesson Plans; *Literature PrOgrams; *Negro Literature; *Teaching Techniques; Thematic Approach ABSTRACT 3rief prescriptions are offered for the teaching of Afro-American Literature, and specific materials that might be used in conventionally structured high school literature courses are suggested and discussed in relation to the historical periods in which they were created. Following this, a selected reading list of literature by Afro-Americans for the teacher of Grades 7-12 is provided. A high school teacher then presents detailed and specific suggestions about illustrative approaches to matErials by and about Afro-Americans. Works that can be used in thematic units for students in junior high school are discussed first, and an approach to one example of each of three kinds of works--a novel, a noem, and an essay--is outlined, this being aimed at higb udents. The lessons presented contain a detailed analysi tAIL ,,hree works with suggestions for dealing with the work in the classroom. (Author/DB) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION A WELFARE OFFICE Of EDUCATION $ 1 .50 THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY ASRECEIVED FROM IdE POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. OF EDUCATION STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE POSITION OR POLICY. HEORY AND PRACTICE IN THETEACHING OF LITERATURE BY rNi.0 c, AFRO-AMERICANS 1123 Darwin T Turner and arbara Dodds Stanford 111111111BAIN A CLEARINGHOUSE ON THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH NUCOR:MAIM 1111 KENYON ROAD, URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801 I am black, but beautiful.. 0 2 ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of cedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Canticle of Canticles 1:4 NCTE / ERIC Studies in the Teaching of English THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE BY AFRO-AMERICANS "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS ,COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED 'BY BARA14Rb & rzeU Da No. 7eit./e tg. 1"-0 ERIt AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION. FURTHER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.' Know;edge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know wher: we can find information uponit. Samuel Johnson The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) of the U.S. Office of Education exists both for those people who have information and for those who want to find it. Its basic objective is to provide information on significant current documents (re- ports, articles, monographs, speeches, books, etc.) and to TPI" them readily available through the ERN Dotuixient Repie, tio,Sr.rvic. inincipal source of information about all current accessions into the ERIC system is Research in Edu- cation (RIE), a monthly catalogue which presents bibliographical information, abstracts, and prices. It also announces documents which are available through normal pubtication charnels. (RZE may be obtained from the U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.) NCTEJERIC, the ERIC Clearinghouse on the Teaching of English, one of 19 clearinghoutnes authorized to date, abstracts and indexes research reports and other documents relevant to all aspects of the teaching of English from kindergarten through grade 12, tbe preparation of teachers of English for the schools, and the preparation of specialists in English education and the teaching of English. In addition, NCTEJERIC emphasizes the production of selective bibliographies and state-of-the-art reports, the publication of abstracts in special fields of interest, and the provision of similar services which assess rather than merely list current resources for the teaching of English. NCTE / ERIC Studies in the Teaching of English THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE BY AFRO-AMERICANS Darwin T. Turner Vniversity of Michigan Barbara Dodds Stanford Fairview High School, Boulder, Colorado IZT". National Council of Tea chers of English Educational Rcsources Ittformation Center Clearinghouse on the Teaching of English 1111 Kenyon Road Urbana, 11ois 61801 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 76-173254 ISBN: 0-8141-3865-8 NCTE Stock Number: <58658 Published December, 1971 NCTE/ER.IC This monograph was prepared pursuant to a contract with the Office of Educa- tion, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Contractors undertak- ing such projects under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Office of Education position or policy. FOREWORD TO THE SERIES The National Center for Educational Research and Devel- opment (NCERDformerly the Bureau of Research)of the United States Office of Education has in recent years consider- ably expanded its support to basic and applied research in education. It has also made possible and encouraged the dis- semination of findings and conclusions. As the body of infor- mation derived from research has expanded, however, so has the gap between research and classroom teaching. Recognizing this problem, NCERD has charged ERIC (Educational Re- sources Informafon Center) to go beyond its initial function of gathering, evaluating, indexing, and disseminating informa- tion to a significant new service; information analysis and synthesis. The ERIC system has already made availablethrough the ERIC Document Reproduction Servicemuch informative data, including all federally funded research reports since 1956. However, if the findings of specific educational research are to be intelligible to teachers and applicable to teaching, con- siderable bodies of data must be reevaluated, focused, trans- lated, and molded into an essentially different context. Rather than resting at the point of making research reports readily accessible, NCERD has now directed the separate ERIC Clear- inghouses to commission from recognized authorities state-of- the-art papers in specific areas. Each state-of-the-art paper focuses on a concrete educational need. The paper attempts a comprehensive treatment and qualitative assessment of the published and unpublished ma- terial on the topic. The author reviews relevant research, cur- riculum trends, teaching materials, the judgments of recognized experts in the field, reports and findings from various national committees and commissions. In his analysis he tries to answer the question "Where are we?"; sometimes finds order in appar- ently disparate approaches; often points in new directions. The knowledge contained in a state-of-the-art paper is a necessary foundation for reviewing existing curricula and planning new beginnings. NCTE/ERIC, with direction and major substantiveassis- tance from its Advisory Committee, hasidentified a number of timely and important problem areas in theteaching of English and has commissioned state-of-the-art papersfrom knowledgc- able members of the profession. It is hopedthat this series of papers, each subject toreview by the National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Publications,will provide a place to stand. The next step isthe lever. Bernard O'Donnell Director, NCTE/ERIC vi T. CONTENTS Foreword to the Series PA RT I: Theory by Darwin T. Turner 1 Teaching Literature by Afro-Americans 3 Notes 35 A Selected Reading List of Literature by Afro-Americans for the Teacher of Grades 7-12 41 PART II:Practice by Barbara Dodds Stanford 47 Literature about the Black Experience for Junior High School Students 49 Literary Analysis of Literature by Afro-Americans for Senior High School Students 85 vii Teaching Literature by Afro-Americans Within recent years, literature by Afro-Americans has be- come the newest, most exciting, most controversial, and most confusing material in the literary curricula of English depart- ments. On all levels of American education, curriculum com- mittees are busily conceiving new courses in black literature or restructuring existing courses to include examples of that literature. Teachers are devoting Saturdays or summers to institutes, conferences, and courses designed to familiarize them with the literary works and their cultural backgrounds; during the weeks of the academic year, those teachers are struggling to transmit unfamiliar materials to students whose hostility or eagerness has displaced (temporarily, at least)their pro- verbial studied indifference to literature. Literary historians are traveling to little known libraries in a desperate search for volumes which they cannot find even in the microfilm col- lection of their own institutions. Critics are happily preparing explications and theories for journals. Anthologists are franti- cally snipping and pasting for anxious publishers who pray that the interest will continue at least until their volume is ready for the spring sales tour. Private foundations are under- writing black studies programs which include