In this course we will fully explore a time period and place that many have described as a “Golden Age” in African American arts, music, and culture. The 1920s have become synonymous with flappers and speakeasies, with a continuous party that was wealthy and largely white. However, while what we know of as “The Roaring Twenties” was happening downtown, the area above 96th Street was transforming into another cultural mecca, this one for Black Americans leaving the south for more industrialized areas in the north, creating a safe haven for a creativity that had had few outlets before. In this course we will study the history that led up to the Harlem Renaissance, and we will read several poets and novelists who flourished during the time period, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale-Hurston, and more. We will look at the ways that place can affect art and explore what Harlem offered that allowed creativity to flourish.

Offered Spring 2025