The Harlem Renaissance Group Video Essay

Abstract: The 1920s were an important time for African American communities all over the United States. Tired of feeling belittled
and overlooked by the general culture, they attempted to rediscover their noble African roots and establish a new and respectable
society for Black Americans that would be equal to that of White Americans. This resulted in an explosion of African American art
and philosophy into the public eye that had a major and permanent impact on American Culture. This was the Harlem Renaissance.

This quarter, we will conduct a group research presentation on the Harlem Renaissance. In your presentation, you will explore how
specific beliefs and philosophies of the Harlem Renaissance were revealed through fine arts (literature, music, film, painting, etc.)
While this is a group endeavor, each member will be responsible for researching, writing, and submitting their own portion of the
presentation.

General Guidelines:

• The written version that each member will submit should use MLA format and should look like a standard essay. Make sure
to include:
o Your name, my name, the course name (English 3), and the date (day month year) in the left-hand corner of the
first page.
o A header containing your last name and page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
o Correctly embedded and punctuated parenthetical citations. See Use of Language for an example.
o An MLA formatted works cited page containing all the sources used for your portion of the essay.
• Each member’s portion must include information from a variety of both primary and secondary sources. These sources
should be equally balanced throughout the paper, and you need to avoid relying too heavily on a single source.
• The scoring of the presentation will be broken into four main categories. Each group member will be graded individually:
o Ideas: This section looks at the main idea that underpins your presentation and how it is supported by your
evidence. In it, you will be graded on your ability to:
▪ Create a clear and coherent thesis which contains a complex and thoughtful answer to the prompt. You
should write this thesis as a group as it will dictate how each group member will write their portion of the
paper.
▪ Discover and incorporate credible sources that enhance and support the arguments in your presentation.
You will also be graded on your ability to smoothly integrate these sources into your work without
committing plagiarism.
o Structure: This section looks at how your presentation progresses from one idea to another. You will be graded on
your ability to:
▪ Organize your ideas so that they work together to build a strong argument. Each of your paragraphs and
main sections in the presentation should have a clear relation and should naturally flow into your
conclusions. This also includes your ability to organize your entire presentation so that each group
member’s section builds up the whole argument.
o Use of Language: This section looks at how you use the English language to express your ideas. You will be graded
on your ability to:
▪ Create a unique and engaging writing voice that enhances your ability to express your ideas. This includes
using precise diction and a variety of syntax to construct grammatically sound sentences.
▪ Correctly embed and punctuate parenthetical citations throughout your presentation. Parenthetical
citations should include the author’s last name and paragraph number. According to Mr. Cauley, “the
citations should look like this” (Cauley 7).
▪ Complete a works cited page that uses correct MLA formatting.
Structure

• All good essays contain a single coherent point. However, it is usually necessary to explore multiple ideas in order to
explain this point. The following contains the main prompt and an outline of the basic structure for your
presentation. You will notice that the presentation is broken into two parts. Please make sure to reference both
sections in your thesis.
o Prompt: How did the arts (literature, music, film, painting, etc.) help to convey the basic beliefs and
philosophies of the Harlem Renaissance?
▪ Part 1: Beliefs and philosophies of the Harlem Renaissance.
• The first part of your presentation should focus on the Harlem Renaissance as a movement.
In this section, you should explore the ideas that drove the Harlem Renaissance and define
the philosophies and beliefs that underpinned these ideas.
• In order to maximize your efforts, make sure that you only discuss ideas that will be
mentioned in the second portion of the presentation. Don’t get off topic!
▪ Part 2: The role of the arts in the Harlem Renaissance.
• After you have determined the underlying beliefs and philosophies of the Harlem
Renaissance, you should select an art form that will be the focus of the second half of your
presentation. While you can discuss this art form in general, you are also allowed to focus
on a single influential person (painter, sculptor, musician, writer, actor, etc.).
• Once you have selected a focus, you need to discuss how the beliefs and philosophies that
you describe in the first part of your presentation are revealed through your chosen art
form.
• You need to refer to specific works in this section. For example, you need to explain how a
specific song or painting reveals something important about the Harlem Renaissance.

Video Essay

In our era, information of all kinds constantly surrounds us! Because of this, it is important to know how to convey
information through digital means. For this assignment, instead of standing in front of the class, you will create a digital
recording of your presentation that you will show to the class.

• Video guidelines:
o Must be 8-10 minutes long
o Must include all members presenting the part for which they are responsible.
o Must include a multimedia aspect (i.e. slide show, embedded graphics in your video, music or short
video clip, pictures, words/word art, etc....)
o Must demonstrate good public speaking skills/techniques.
o Your presentations may be submitted through YouTube or via flash drive. Please make sure that the
video format will play on a PC using Windows 10.
Due Dates

• Written Version: March 12

• Video Showcase: March 16