StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Role of Literature in Shaping African American Culture - Annotated Bibliography Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "The Role of Literature in Shaping African American Culture" describes that TV is a powerful media, and Henderson believes that researchers have to look at what’s happening inside the writer’s room instead of just utilizing a contextual analysis, genre study, and audience reception…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.5% of users find it useful
The Role of Literature in Shaping African American Culture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Role of Literature in Shaping African American Culture"

Frenkel believes that South African Indian postapartheid literature uses different vantage points, depending on the personal experiences of the writer. And by trying to understand the background of the writer, Frenkel says that one can gain a holistic view of the entire South African Indian culture. Moreover, Frenkel believes that these post-apartheid works provide a commentary on the workings of society, thereby allowing the researcher to understand how South African Indian and transnational cultures intersect. Through the analysis of texts, Frenkel discovered that the South African Indian culture is made up of diverse practices but despite this diaspora, there is something that unites these communities together.
Knofickova, Marie. “Racial identities revisited: Toni Morrison’s ‘Recitatif’.” Litteraria Pragensia 21.42 (2011): 22-33. Print.
In this article, Marie Knofickova looks at how race and racial identities are treated in Toni Morisson’s Recitatif. Knofickova says that Recitatif is an example of the “amalgamation of cultural heritage” where slavery was seen as a major factor in the formation of the African American culture. The author believes that Recitatif is unique in that it uses an uncommon narrative strategy to present the controversial issue of race and racial identity.
Through Recitatif, Knofickova attempts to debunk racial stereotypes and tries to bind the two races, the Black and White into one. She promotes the idea that race is just one of the many identities that a person has to assume in their lifetime and that the color of the skin should not be used to disunite a previously united people. Using the friendship of Roberta and Twyla as an analogy, Knofickova says that racial identity is not central to the personality of an individual, it is not the color of the skin or other physical attributes that affect an individual’s values. Instead, it is the ideas and assumptions of society about these physical characteristics that made the difference. In short, the physical differences between the Black and White made an impression that these two “cultures” are different, when in fact they were the same from the beginning. Knofickova believes that if there is a difference in the culture of Black and White Americans today, then it is because of the Black American’s experience of slavery. The songs they played, and the entertainment they devised all served to provide them with a separate identity that the Whites were unable to develop because they did not have the same experience.
Knoficka regards Recitatif as an excellent piece of literature because it does not deal with racial identities directly, instead, the story tries to deconstruct and eliminate the issue of race as a determinant of one’s personality.
Henderson, Felicia D. “The culture behind closed doors: Issues of gender and race in the writer’s room.” Cinema Journal 50.2 (2011): 145-152. Print.
Felicia Henderson’s article centers on the dynamics inside the writer’s room – that “sacred space” where television scripts are created and ideas for jokes and quips are approved for public consumption. Through this article, Henderson tries to explore how issues of race and gender are handled in the case of collaborative decision-making such as what happens inside the writer’s room.
Henderson says that the writer’s room is a place where “ideas are negotiated, the consensus is formed, and issues of gender, race and class identities play out” (146). She says that the writer’s room has its rituals and norms, and like that of a traditional society, anybody who refuses to adhere to these sociocultural practices is considered a deviant. Aside from the subscription to the norms, Henderson says that a writer can be “othered” based on differences (gender and race are just two of the many factors). Depending on a writer’s background and perception of his or her influence, a writer learns to present ideas that are acceptable to the more powerful writers who are in the same room. This process effectively silences the “other”, hence creating a homogenization of ideas. The ideas of the powerful are then used in a TV show, which in turn gets consumed by TV audiences.
From Henderson’s discussions, one can already see that the dynamics inside the writer’s room hold for the general society. For example, writers aim to “assimilate” with the more powerful ones. In some cases, Henderson says, the race has a role in a writer’s capability to bond with other writers. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Reconsidering South African Indian Fiction Post-Apartheid, the Return Annotated Bibliography, n.d.)
Reconsidering South African Indian Fiction Post-Apartheid, the Return Annotated Bibliography. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1769593-annotated-bibliography-assignment-and-literary-research-essay-due-date-for-the-annotated-bibliography-friday-march-23rd-at-the-beginning-of-class
(Reconsidering South African Indian Fiction Post-Apartheid, the Return Annotated Bibliography)
Reconsidering South African Indian Fiction Post-Apartheid, the Return Annotated Bibliography. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1769593-annotated-bibliography-assignment-and-literary-research-essay-due-date-for-the-annotated-bibliography-friday-march-23rd-at-the-beginning-of-class.
“Reconsidering South African Indian Fiction Post-Apartheid, the Return Annotated Bibliography”. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1769593-annotated-bibliography-assignment-and-literary-research-essay-due-date-for-the-annotated-bibliography-friday-march-23rd-at-the-beginning-of-class.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Role of Literature in Shaping African American Culture

The impact of stereotypes on African American self perception

The african american Stereotyping Most pertinent to the african american phenomenon of racial stereotyping is the fact that stereotyping pertaining to members of the out-group is a directly influenced by direct interaction with members of the out-group (Pettigrew, 1998).... In fact, it has been expressed by various researchers that the supervisor of the slave owning family showed preferential treatment towards children who belonged to african american backgrounds simply on the basis that they were the offspring of the white slave owner (Schneider & Schneider, 2006)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Rise of the African Americans Culture in Harlem

This research paper "The Rise of the African Americans culture in Harlem" discusses how the African Americans came to establish Harlem as their base and how the establishment subsequently enhanced their solidarity and allowed them to forge a formidable cultural identity.... haracteristics and themes of the Harlem Renaissance cultureThe culture of bonding and struggle for recognition and the fight for black race weakness stereotype were the main features of this period....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper

The history of jazz in America before the 1900s

Their masters did not allow them to practice any other culture other than that of slaves.... The american people value and respect the development of jazz as a form of music.... The main reason of referring to jazz as improvisional music is that it draws its musical and rhythmic styles strongly upon the ragtime, blues, gospel and other African-american styles.... Consequently, jazz is in many ways a symbol for the american idea of democracy3....
19 Pages (4750 words) Research Paper

Life of an American Slave in Early American History

In the paper “Life of an American Slave in Early American History” the author analyzes two articles “Generations of Captivity” by Ira Berlin and “Creating an american culture” by Eve Kornfeld that provide a better understanding of the early American slave life.... In “Creating an american culture,” Eve Kornfeld has done meticulous research on american culture including a vast amount of original documents from the slave era.... This resulted and contributed in the development of the famous american culture that is unique with its racial diversity and ethnicity....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Literature of the African Diaspora

In addition, the paper explores the role of the African Slave Trade in shaping the factors that create these recurring themes.... The paper "Literature of the African Diaspora" discusses that students of African and african american studies can always count on this tastefully edited journal of African and African-American literature to stay abreast with the best in black writing and for understanding.... The paper explores and analyzes these themes in the two African-oriented kinds of literature; Making Callaloo and Reversing Sail....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Popular Culture and the Understanding of Politics

From the paper "Popular culture and the Understanding of Politics" it is clear that politicians should act as agents of goodwill to help nature talents, and provide conditions that are favorable to grow popular art rather than traditionally oppressive ways.... The issue of popular culture is a broad one as demonstrated.... Popular culture does not have a distinct definition of what it entails and different people have their understanding of the exact meaning of popular culture....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Racial Discrimination against African Americans

It is worthwhile to mention that discussion on biased attitude against minority blacks has remained a constant part of american society.... ational discrimination has become a growing debate in last few decades in american society.... According to the following paper, it starts with a formal introduction to racial discrimination against african – Americans by the majority white population.... Indeed, the biased and discriminatory attitude of majority whites against african – Americans, Hispanics, and Asians has an influential relationship with behavioral problems, academic performance, and success, real-life negative attitudes, and perceptions against majority white population....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Analysis of the Ethnic Conflict in the American Army

Army involve African Americans and organizational leadership entwined in american culture.... The critical aspect of ethnic conflicts among african american senior leaders underlies the consensual character of racial identity.... Ethnicity remains a thorn in african american leadership areas, thus not slackening its savours.... Army and the choice of african american leaders is the expression of the past consequences of ethnic differences....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us