Twentieth-Century African American Poetry and the Struggle for Civil Rights

Sections
P1 (CRN#: 90449): MWF 1:05-1:55, Skiles 169
E2 (CRN#: 84627): MWF 3:05-3:55, CULC 423
Instructor: Dr. Britta Spann
Email: britta.spann@lmc.gatech.edu
Office: Skiles 301
Office hours: MWF 11:00-12:00 and by appointment
Required Materials: WOVENText (available for purchase at
http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/gatech.php. Access codes are also available at
Engineer's and GT Barnes and Noble.
regular access to T-Square
A Piazza account (go to Piazza.com and search for your section of this
course to sign up)
Laptop (should be brought to each class for access to readings and potential
in-class assignments )
Teaching Philosophy
I dont know where you want to go in life, but I can help you develop some of the most important
skills you need to get there: the abilities to read and think critically and to express yourself clearly
and persuasively in a variety of media. These skills are necessary in any workplace, but they are
especially productive in careers that might not initially seem like theyd require much writing or
speaking (such as the STEM careers most of you will pursue). I have seen this from personal
experience: I distinctly remember when my father graduated from college and began his career
working as an electrical engineer at Lockheed Martin. He worked in a small cubicle in a huge maze
of other cubicle-dwelling engineers. Fortunately, he is not only a hell of an engineer but also a
skilled writer and speaker. His superiors noticed and, passing over a number of people who had
more experience, placed him on a major project that required a great deal of face-to-face negotating
and writing documents for non-engineer audiences. He is now an executive at the company and
travels the world working with high-ranking politicians and military officials.
I want you, too, to be able to seize career-changing opportunities when they arise. I will assist you
with developing practical communication strategies that will not only help you stand out amongst
your future colleagues but also to enrich your life outside the workplace.
Course Theme
When we think of the African American movement for civil rights, we tend to think of the relatively
brief period in the middle of the twentieth century. We think of the marches and protests of the late
50s and early 60s, of the end of de jure segregation, and of the dazzling rhetoric of Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr. We might also think of the Black Power movement, of the Black Panthers, and of
another fiery master of rhetoric: Malcolm X. Typically, however, we dont think about stanzas and
rhyme, about spirituals, sonnets, jazz, blues, rap, or HBO. Yet, these have also been important
forces in the push for African American civil rights, which has spanned many decades and continues
into the present day. This course expands on the knowledge of rhetoric and multimodal

communication that students will have gained through ENGL 1101 or the equivalent by exploring
how African Americans have used poetry as a form of protest to advocate for their civil rights. We
will see right away that poetry, which is often stereotyped as a purely aesthetic form of
communicationone concerned with beauty and artistryhad profound tangible effects on the
world: spirituals, for example, contain coded information related to the Underground Railroad and,
further, provided speakers such as MLK Jr. with a rich rhetorical tradition crucial for the success of
his speeches. We will also see that the African American poetic tradition is deeply invested in
multimodal communication: from spirituals and stomps to the jazz and blues of the Harlem
Renaissance to the hip hop, rap, and DEF Poetry Jam performances of the modern era, African
American poetry has synergized written, oral, visual, nonverbal, and even electronic modes with a
skill that few literary traditions can rival. Even poems that take traditional written forms, such as
sonnets, rely heavily on the sound of the spoken word, the visual impact of the way words are
arranged on the page, and the imagery the poem creates In addition to writing traditional
interpretive arguments about a poem or poems, students will also give an individual oral
presentation in which they teach a particular literary term to their peers, create a civil rights playlist
of songs, and collaborate on a final group project in which they translate a poem from the page to
the screen by trying to replicate, in video form, its formal and rhetorical features.
Grading and Assignments
Participation (5%): The Writing and Communication Program has a Program-wide participation
policy. Active participation and engagement in class are required. Students who have not done the
reading and/or who do not actively participate during the class period may be penalized for lack of
participation. Active participation means: arriving for class having done all assigned reading and
bringing all necessary materials (texts, laptop, etc.), being attentive, being respectful to whomever is
speaking, making contributions to group workshops, and offering ideas during in-class discussions.
To get full credit, you must be on time (though Ill give an extra couple of minutes if I know youre
travelling from far offplease let me know if thats the case), prepared for class, respectful,
attentive, and contribute to class discussions at least once a week. I will deduct points for being
overly tardy, being unprepared, not bringing texts to class, being inattentive or disrespectful
(sleeping, listening to mp3 players, surfing the web, carrying on side conversations, coming in more
than a few minutes late, using cell phones, sitting silently rather than contributing during workshops,
and so forth). I will keep close track of class contributions and actions deserving of penalty and will
assess a participation grade for each week (with the exception of the first week).
Reading blogs, quizzes, and in-class work (10%): Poetry requires slow, careful reading. The
assignments in your reading blog will push you to do the in-depth, careful reading that youll need to
succeed in this course. Reading blogs will be graded as follows:
0 = not turned in
50 = unacceptable quality
65 = poor quality
75 = slightly insufficient quality
85 = sufficient quality
90 = above-average quality
95 = outstanding quality
100 = wow . . . just, wow

You will complete reading blogs on Piazza. If appropriate and conducive to your learning, I may
give unannounced in-class assignments or pop quizzes. In-class assignments will be unannounced
because I cannot predict when such an assignment will be productive. Quizzes will only happen if it
becomes clear that people are not doing the assigned readings. I will warn you in advance if I decide
it is necessary to begin giving quizzes. I will drop your lowest grade in this category at the end of the
semester. The reading assignment instructions on Piazza will indicate whether you have a blog
assignment due.
Individual presentation (10%): You will give a 10 minute individual presentation on a literary
term/device, a major figure, or a major period/movement. Your presentation must include a visual
aid. You will sign up for a presentation topic and receive detailed instructions on the second day of
class.
Analysis essay (5%): You will write one analysis essay over the course of the term. This essay
should be 1-2 pages in length, not counting any visual images you might include. I will assign a
prompt for this essay.
Poem kit (5%): You will choose a poem from an assigned list, then complete a detailed worksheet
that will guide you through the mechanical aspects of a poem. This assignment will help you to look
in depth at how your chosen poem works and thus will prepare you for your critical reading essay.
Detailed instructions will be given well in advance of the due date.
Civil Rights Play List (10%): You will work in groups of 4-5 to compile an album of African
American music exemplifying civil rights themes. Your album should include at least 12 songs and
will take the form of a CD, including not only the CD itself but also the album art and liner notes
one would expect when purchasing a CD. Your liner notes should, in some way, give a sense of your
organization of the album. Further details will be given in advance of the assignment.
Critical reading essay (15%): This is the major written assignment for the course and will be used
as the written artifact in your portfolio. You will write an interpretive argument of at least four full
pages, and you will support your argument with evidence based on your critical reading of a poem or
poems and on your own research. We will practice critical reading skills in our discussions, and your
reading blogs and analysis essays will prepare you for this assignment. I will give you further details
on this assignment well in advance of its due date. There will be four components to this
assignment: an abstract, 4-item annotated bibliography, rough draft, and final draft.
Group project (25%): You will work in groups of 4-5 to complete a video reading of a poem in
which you attempt to replicate the rhetorical and figurative devices of a particular poem in video
form, and you will collaborate on a brief artists statement to explain how your group has done so.
These videos and their accompanying statements will be presented at a public showing of your work
at the end of the term.
Portfolio (15%): At the end of the course, you will turn in an artifact representing each aspect of
WOVEN multimodality and complete a series of brief reflective essays. You will need both rough
and final drafts for the written and visual artifacts, so SAVE ALL YOUR WORK. This assignment
will be graded on its completeness and on the quality of your reflective essays. You will assemble
and turn in the portfolio on the last day of class. Further details will be given later in the course.

Grading Scale
89.5-100 = A
79.5-89.4 = B
69.5-79.4 = C
59.5-69.4 = D
0-59.4 = F
Policies
Programmatic Policies
The Writing and Communication Program has a number of program-wide policies: every ENGL
1101 and 1102 course at Georgia Tech follows them. To read the Writing and Communication
Programs policies on the following topics, please see this website: http://goo.gl/KfiHda.

General Education Outcomes

Learning Outcomes
Evaluation Equivalencies
Evaluation Rubric
Attendance
Participation in Class
Non-discrimination
Communication Center
Accommodations
Academic Misconduct
Syllabus Modifications
Week Preceding Final Exams (WPFE)
Reflective Portfolio

Personal Policies
Assignment Submission
All assignment deadlines are clearly posted in the schedule of readings and assignments at the end
of this syllabus.
Assignments are due by the exact time stated. Anything bearing a later time stamp will not be
accepted, though I will allow a 10 minute grade period. Problems with technology are not a valid
excuse: you should not be waiting until the last minute to complete your work in the first place. If
you are having problems with your computer or printer, I expect you to borrow a friends, go to the
library, or find another alternative solution so that you can turn the assignment in on time. Plan
ahead.
Piazza journals will be due precisely two hours before class. I will review these and base our
discussion on your work so that we can cover what you found interesting or confusing. All other
assignments are due by the start of the class period on the day that they are due or at the time stated
in the schedule of readings and assignments.

Behavior
You are expected to conduct yourself in a mature, respectful, and professional manner in my
classroom, and I will not tolerate behavior that disrespects your peers or me. Disrespectful behaviors
include talking while others are talking, texting, looking at websites that are not relevant to course
material, sleeping, doing homework for another class, habitual or egregious tardiness, being rude to
others during discussion or electronic correspondence related to this class, and so forth.
Disrespectful behavior will result in significant deductions to your participation grade. If
that results in a negative number, I will subtract the points from the previous weeks grade. I will not
warn you if you are being disrespectful. I will simply note the infraction and apply it to your grade.
Any disrespectful behavior during one of your peers presentations will earn you an
automatic zero for your weekly participation grade.
Behavior that creates a significant impediment to the learning process will be reported to the Dean
of Students.
Documentation
Requests for exceptions to stated policies will only be granted in extenuating circumstances and if I
receive proper documentation. Absences for university-sanctioned activities, such as athletic
competitions, will be excused if and only if official documentation is provided before the absence.
In other cases, such as family emergencies or serious illness, I require documentation from the
Office of the Dean of Students for excused absences, authorization to turn in late work, and so
forth. A note from a doctor is not acceptable documentation: minor illnesses that you see a
general practitioner for are not extenuating circumstances.
Email
Please allow a reasonable amount of time for email responses. I urge that we follow the Golden
Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I make the following commitment: I will
never give an assignment or issue instructions that require a response within fewer than 48 hours.
In return, I request the following: please allow me at least 48 hours to respond to emails (up to 72
on weekends). Use Piazza for questions that require a more immediate response.
Further, to maximize the amount of time I am able to spend on class preparation and grading, I will
employ a triage system. Emails that can be answered by reading the syllabus or assignment
instructions or by performing quick Google searches will be answered AFTER I have completed all
other duties and may or may not receive any response at all.
Extensions
I am willing to an extension of 48 hours on any assignment other than the presentation and class
project provided you request the extension at least 48 hours in advance of the due date. No
questions asked: if you request an extension, I will give it to you. Requests for extensions must be
submitted via email. Requests received less than 48 hours before the due date will not be granted.
Formatting

All work for this course should follow current MLA formatting guidelines. WOVENText has a
section that covers the basics, and there are a plethora of online sources that will tell you how to
format and cite in accordance with MLA guidelines. I am happy to answer questions to clear up

confusion about citation. You should use both in-text citations and a works cited page to cite
sources.
Late work

I do not accept late work except under extreme extenuating circumstances. If you are absent on

the day that an assignment is due, you are still responsible for turning it in on time. Again, I expect
you to plan ahead so that technical difficulties dont prevent you from turning your work in on time.
Content Warning
The poetry that we are studying comes from a very turbulent period of history and contains material
that could upset or disturb you. Some poems contain racist, anti-Semitic, sexist, homophobic, or
profane language. Others have content that describes, sometimes explicitly, violence, lynching,
murder, rape, drug use, and other sensitive topics. There is at least one poem that contains all of
those and more. I include these poems because of the value of analyzing their shocking rhetoric and
because omitting them would ignore a major voice in our countrys history of civil rights. However,
I understand the very strong emotional impact these subjects can have on some readers. If you find
a reading too upsetting to discuss in class, please let me know so that I can find a way to give you
access to classroom activities without triggering strong negative emotions. Our readings should be
emotionally challenging at times, but I do not want them to be traumatizing.
Schedule of readings and assignments
Please Note: Specific readings and deadlines may be changed for logistical reasons as the course
progresses. The syllabus will be updated to reflect any and all changes, and deadlines will never be
moved earlier than stated here unless there is unanimous agreement amongst students.
Readings will be posted on Piazza. All readings will be from WOVENText or will be provided in
.pdf form.
Week 1
08/18: Welcome to course
08/20: Key concepts
Reading: WOVENText 1 Making the Transition to Georgia Tech, Critical Concepts,
the following sections under the FAQ WOVEN Assessment tab: What Does the Rubric
Mean? and How Does the Rubric Impact My Grades?, and sections 2.1a-e, 2.2, 2.3b-c
08/22: Key concepts, contd
Reading: WOVENText 2.17a-i, 2.18c, 2.19a-c
Week 2
08/25: Rhetoric and Spirituals; see Piazza for assigned readings
Piazza Journal Due (Remember: deadline is two hours before class time!)
08/27: Theoretical Contexts: DuBois and Hughes; see Piazza for assigned readings
08/29: Discussion: The Early 20th Century: Johnson, Dunbar, Brown; see Piazza for assigned
readings
Piazza Journal Due (Again: deadline is two hours before class!)
Individual Presentations

Week 3
09/01: School Holiday
09/03: Literary Modernism: Toomer, Tolson, Harper; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
09/05: Early Harlem Renaissance and Conventional Forms: Cullen and McKay; see Piazza for
assigned readings
Individual presentations
Week 4
09/08: Harlem Renaissance cont: Cullen and McKay, Hughes; see piazza for assigned readings
Piazza Journal Due (last reminder: deadline is two hours before the start of class!)
Individual presentations
09/10: Harlem Renaissance: Hughes; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
09/12: Harlem Renaissance: Hughes, Jazz, and Blues; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
Week 5
09/15: The Civil Rights Movement: MLK Jr. and Malcolm X; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
Piazza Journal Due
09/17: The Civil Rights Movement: Brooks; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
09/19: NO CLASS MEETING
Week 6
09/22: The Civil Rights Movement: Brooks, contd.; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
Analysis essay due electronically by 8:00pm
09/24: The Civil Rights Movement: Brooks, contd; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
Piazza Journal Due
09/26: Dr. Spann Attacked By Bad Luck Curse: No Class Meeting
Week 7
09/29: Black Arts Movement Ideology; see Piazza for assigned readings
Individual presentations
10/01: Black Arts Movement Poetry: Baraka; see Piazza for assigned readings
Piazza Journal Due
10/03: Black Arts Movement Women; see Piazza for assigned readings
Week 8
10/06: Contemporary and Performance Poetry; see Piazza for assigned readings
10/08: Contemporary and Performance Poetry contd
Poetry kit due in hard copy by the beginning of class
10/10: Contemporary and Performance Poetry contd

Week 9
10/13: School Holiday
10/15: Awesome Poems that We Have Not Had a Chance to Discuss; see Piazza
Piazza Journal Due
10/17: Civil Rights Playlist workshop
Week 10
10/20: Civil Rights Playlist workshop
10/22: Hip Hop, Rap, R&B; see Piazza for assigned readings
10/24: Lecture and workshop: How to craft an argument about literature
Civil Rights Playlist assignment due by the beginning of class
Week 11
10/27: Lecture and workshop: Research and use of sources
10/29: Group project preliminaries
Abstract due via email by 10:00pm
10/31: Visual rhetoric; readings TBA
Week 12
11/03: Making a successful video; readings TBA
Annotated bibliography due via email by 10:00pm
11/05: Sound and sense; readings TBA
11/07: Rough draft workshop
Rough draft due electronically by start of class; bring hard copy of essay to class for

workshop!!

Week 13
11/10: Mandatory individual conferences
11/12: Group project workshop
11/14: Group project workshop
Week 14
11/17: Group project workshop/group conferences
Final draft due via email by 10:00pm
11/19: Group project workshop
11/21: Group project workshop
Week 15
11/24: Group project workshop
11/26: Group project viewings and discussion
Group project due electronically by start of class
11/28: School Holiday
Week 16
12/01: Group project viewings and discussion
12/03: Portfolio workshop
12/05: Portfolio workshop

Finals Week
Portfolio due via T-Square by the end of the final exam period for your section