203 Course Proposal – Cassidy Locke

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Art and Culture in the Roaring 20s

Course Description:

This course invites students to step into American

life in the 1920s. As we entered a new era at the
start of 2020 while also being mid-pandemic,
many people questioned the possibility of a post-
pandemic, money-crazed Roaring 20s
reimagined: the Roaring 2020s. The works of this
period remain influential and continually evoke a
powerful nostalgia throughout generations. Additionally, the literary canon prioritizes books like
The Great Gatsby, which display the lavish lives of the white upper-class. Not only will students
read Gatsby as the quintessential depiction of Jazz Age New York City, but we will also take a
more in-depth approach, in which we examine what the lifestyle was for the marginalized voices,
such as the working class, women, and the Black artists of the Harlem Renaissance. By examining
the art, literature, and culture from the iconic epoch, we can rethink our current day and age: what
has changed? What has stayed the same? What from a century ago, if anything, can we carry into
our new era? Toward the end of the course, we will reflect and review the juxtaposition of the
1920s with the 2020s. With a more well-rounded depiction of the Jazz Age in America, we can
both reminisce on the past and look forward to the new 20s, dreaming of a more equitable world
with the same amount of sparkle and charm. This class intertwines fictional stories with film, art,
and critical essays to ultimately tackle themes of nostalgia, glamour, social justice, artistic
invention, and radical love.

Course Overview:

This course will consist of three major units that break down the key voices from this period.
Each unit will be five weeks long, including a week for introduction and a week for conclusion.
Introduction to the unit will include the articles below, asking the question of if a pandemic has
kickstarted the Roaring 2020s. Students will regularly engage with primary texts and critical
readings to accompany them, produce one analysis paper, one creative project, one research
paper and presentation, as well as reading response journals.

Unit I: Fitzgerald and Hemingway – the Bromance

This unit focuses on two of the most remembered and canonized authors from the time: F. Scott
Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. While reading some of their major works, students will
explore the stereotypical representation of the time, especially through reading The Great
Gatsby. We will also read excerpts from Hemingway’s memoir A Movable Feast, in which he
discusses his relationship with his Fitzgerald. This unit will also include secondary reading
about the relationship, a handful of short stories by both authors, and excerpts of letters
between Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. At the end of this unit, students will write a 3-4 page
literary analysis paper over a text of their choice.

Unit II: The Harlem Renaissance and Lost Voices

This unit shifts the focus to the Harlem Renaissance and the Black writers and artists that
dominated this time of artistic reinvention. By reading selected poetry and prose from Langston
Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, students will critically evaluate and appreciate a
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perspective that (usually) counteracts that of Fitzgerald and Hemingway. These texts, alongside
critical reading, will help students in a more holistic understanding of the period, including the
Black voices who emphasize racial struggle amid their artistic endeavors. At the end of this unit,
students will complete the creative project, having texts from the first two units to choose from
as their inspiration.

Unit III: Poetry, Prohibition, and Putting It All Together

Lastly, this unit will provide a conclusive approach to the era, including various short stories,
some poetry, and nonfiction essays. Readings will include poetry by T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound,
Gertrude Stein; short stories by Zelda Fitzgerald; and excerpts from nonfiction works. In this
last unit, the class will also watch the film Midnight in Paris, which follows a writer who time
travels to 1920s Paris and meets the iconic authors and artists who lived and spent time together
there. This unit will also cover discussion about the art and culture overall: watching videos of
the Charleston, examining Art Deco as an architectural style, listening to Jazz music, etc. The
class will wrap up with holistic discussion about the 1920s literature in context of the 2020s –
with critical discussion about the artistic and literary moves that are either mirrored or forgotten
in our current era. For the final project, students will write a 5-7 page research paper based on a
particular topic and prepare a presentation about their chosen topic.

Course goals:

1.) Read consciously and contextually to develop interpretations of texts

a. Analyze textual details to develop an interpretation of the overall text
b. Identify the generic features and structures of a text
c. Identify and explain the relationships among writers, readers, genres, and
contexts
2.) Demonstrate the ability to use English studies methodologies to think critically about
language, texts, and experience
a. Demonstrate development of deeper understanding of course concepts
b. Form judgments about the assumptions or claims presented in the texts
c. Make evidence-based arguments to support conclusions
d. Analyze contemporary issues in language, texts, and experience based on English
studies methodologies
3.) Write in ways appropriate to the course subject
a. Compose in at least three different types of writing for different purposes,
audiences, or media (e. g. creative, analytical, evaluative, or digital)
b. Address multiple perspectives (scholarly and otherwise) on a topic while clearly
voicing your own
c. Effectively use critical terminology relevant to the course subject
d. Incorporate evidence, following the citation style particular to the course subject
Reading List:1
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Novels:
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Jazz by Toni Morrison (excerpts)

Poetry:
- T.S. Eliot
- Ezra Pound
- Langston Hughes
- Countee Cullen
- Gertrude Stein

Short stories:
- From Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald (2-3 stories)
- From Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald (2-3 stories)
- Selected stories by Ernest Hemingway
- Selected stories by Zora Neale Hurston (at least 2)
- “The Blues I’m Playing” by Langston Hughes
- “The Negro and the Racial Mountain” by Langston Hughes

Nonfiction excerpts from books (to be provided on Blackboard through KU Libraries or my

personal library, following copyright law):
- Excerpts from Flapper by Joshua Zeitz
- Excerpts from Writers Between the Covers by Shannon McKenna Schmit and Joni
Rendon
- Excerpts from Dear Scott, Dearest Zelda
- Excerpts from A Renaissance in Harlem: Lost Voices of an American Community
- Excerpts from Fitzgerald and Hemingway: A Dangerous Friendship
- Excerpts from A Movable Feast

Articles:
- What Caused the Roaring Twenties? Not the End of a Pandemic (Probably)
- 50 nostalgic photos of what the world looked like in the 1920s
- Will the end of the COVID-19 pandemic usher in a second Roaring ’20s?
- Golden Age Thinking
- The Roaring 20s: Jazz, Flappers, and the Charleston

Films:
- The Great Gatsby (2013)
- Midnight in Paris (2011)
- Chicago (2002)

1This is not a final list. With further planning, I will parse out the reading so it’s not too heavy of a load for students
but will aim to fit in as much as I can (within reason). I will try to provide as many of these texts as possible as well;
many of them are available online or through KU libraries. Student-purchased textbooks will be limited.
Major Assignments/Grading Breakdown:
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Literary Analysis Paper (20%)

- This paper will ask students to choose a text and write a literary analysis that uses the
appropriate literary terminology, based on their own thoughts and interpretation of the
story. The paper will require a central claim with textual evidence and support. I will
provide more specific instructions for students with which they can choose a particular
theme, motif, symbol, character, or plot point(s) to focus on. Students have the choice to
write either their literary analysis or rhetorical analysis first, but each student will write
one of each type. This assignment meets all aspects of course goals 1, 2, and 3.

Tentative criteria for evaluation:

• clear, specific, and compelling thesis;
• contain well-organized and focused supporting paragraphs;
• cite convincing evidence from the primary or secondary work in such a way that it is well
incorporated into the sentences and paragraphs of the argument;
• employ literary terms correctly, use present tense for analysis, exhibit an appropriate
academic style, meet page requirement, and follow MLA citation style (with a Works
Cited list).

Creative Work (20%)

- This project will give students creative freedom to imagine themselves as a persona from
the 1920s reimagined in the 21st century. Students will complete this project by choosing
a character, author, or any 20s ‘persona’ that intrigues them and then creating
something that represents their understanding of both the persona and the personas
impact on the 20s – both then and now. It will include a reflective portion in which
students discuss how they used their understanding of the author or character to create a
21st century version of that persona. Each different creative genre will have different
requirements, but they will all be generally equal amount of work and thought. Overall, it
gets students thinking on a deeper level about the concepts we discuss from the 1920s
and how or if they apply to the 2020s. This also gives students a chance to employ
rhetorical skills built from 101, as they develop genres built for specific audiences. This
assignment meets course goals 1, 2, and 3. They will have a range of options, including
but not limited to:
o Write a short story in the style of a chosen author
o Write a screenplay (or part of one)
o Write a fan fiction based off one of the stories or novels
o Create a social media profile for one of the characters we’ve read
▪ Example: Daisy Buchanan as an Instagram influencer – what does she
post about? What does she spend money on? What kind of internet trends
does she participate in? What kind of memes does she share?
o Make a short film or vlog
o Make a blog
o Anything else approved by me

Tentative criteria for evaluation:

- Project is based on class content (a character, author, idea, etc.)
- Writing is creative and contains clear elements that are inspired by the 1920s
- References historically and culturally accurate events, ideas, people, etc
- Meets length requirement (will be specified depending on genre)
 - Uses appropriate language dependent on genre and audience
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Research Project and Presentation (25%)

- This project will consist of two parts: a research paper (15%) and a presentation over the
research topic (10%). For the research paper, students will choose from a list of topics to
explore both the representations in the 1920s of it and potentially explore its
applicability and relevance to a modern-day, 2020s conversation. Students can shape
this project around their personal and/or academic interests. Potential topics include but
are not limited to:
o Jazz, jazz clubs, prohibition, speakeasies
o Jazz age women in popular culture and real life (films, advertising, entertainers,
etc.)
o Jazz, Harlem Renaissance, racial violence and politics (KKK, BLM, etc.)
o Jazz Age music, art, and architecture (art deco, Modernist art movement, etc.)
o Hollywood in the Jazz Age, present-day nostalgia for Hollywood
o World War I and its role in the Jazz Age
o Fashion in the 1920s, flappers

Upon choosing topics, I will hold conferences with students to help focus the research and
discuss their processes. They will ultimately produce a 5-7 page paper over one of these topics.

In addition to the paper, students will do a 7-10 minute presentation in class over their topic.

Tentative criteria for evaluation of paper:

- Clear research topic and explanation regarding the significance of the research;
- Contain well-organized and focused supporting paragraphs;
- Cite convincing evidence from the secondary work in such a way that it is well
incorporated into the sentences and paragraphs of the argument;
- Exhibit an appropriate academic style, meet page requirement, and follow MLA citation
style (with a Works Cited list of at least 4 outside sources).

Tentative criteria for evaluation of presentation:

- Clear research focus with research questions well-framed
- Contains well-organized information and relevant discussion and context of research
- Engages class as audience and displays sufficient effort
- Meets time limit of 7-10 minutes.

Low-Stakes Writing (20%)

Students will complete reading response papers of 250-500 words. They will have a choice over
which texts they respond to, but they will all turn in the same number of responses (probably 5)
by the end of the semester, and the prompt will be the same for each one.

In addition to responses, students will occasionally have short assignments to prepare for class,
such as creating a list of discussion questions, compiling relevant quotes, etc. for classroom
discussion and Socratic seminars.
Attendance and Discussion (15%)
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This category is reserved solely for in-class activity participation.

Additional thoughts:

- I will be finished with coursework after this summer, so next year is reserved for thesis
hours, which means I will be plenty dedicated to teaching this course. This would be nice
timing for me to teach an advanced course, especially because it will come right before I
apply to PhD programs and would fit perfectly on my CV for those applications.
- In addition, I’m about to start my thesis on Fitzgerald and Jazz Age literature, so the
opportunity to teach this course would coincide well with my passions and research
interests, as well as my love for teaching.