Race and Identity

Coincidentally enough, as we are reading and discussing a novel about the problems of being “neither black nor white, yet both,” I ran across an interesting article in the New York Times on this issue, and how it has been elevated in the public consciousness by the candidacy of Barack Obama. There seem to be some connections between this discussion and the issues that Nella Larsen raised in 1928. 80 years later, it’s interesting that this is presented as a “new dialogue” on the question of racial identity.

The Harlem Renaissance

Like any “renaissance,” the Harlem Renaissance involved a negotiation between the past and the present. In the case of African American artists and intellectuals, this negotiation was complicated by the limitations placed upon them in American society during the early 20th century. Despite these limitations, we see concerns in writers such as Hughes and Larsen that correspond to the issues raised by Cather, Pound, Frost, etc. What are some connections you see among the various kinds of modernism represented by these writers?