ETHNIC AND MINORITY CULTURES SEMINAR TWO

1. ETHNIC AND MINORITY CULTURES SEMINAR TWO The rise of themulticulturalsociety

2. Therapeutic self-justification-destruction of stereotypes, search for identity, assigning art a political function—culture is a gun • Essentialism—glorification of Otherness, Black is Beautiful • Conation, conativity: belief in the power of the written word to will social changes into being--Declaration of Independence TECHNIQUES OF IDENTITY BUILDING

3. Versus patterns: black artist v. white artist, White Manifest Destiny—Black Manifest Destiny • Myth-making: self justifying intellectual constructs fusing falsehood and validity • Functions of myths: explanatory, projecting, legitimizing TECHNIQUES OF IDENTITY BUILDING

4. I cannot tell a lie • Explanatory: Washington close to everyday people • Legitimizing: honesty is a model to follow • Projective: promoting national unity WASHINGTON AND THE CHERRY TREE

5. Fourwaves of immigration • 1607-1787: ColonialPeriod: WASP, slaves • 1820-1860: Old Immigration, still WASP dominated • 1880-1924: New Immigration: Non-WASP, Southern, South Eastern Europe • 1945-present: Major source: Latin America, South EastAsia FORMATION OF MULTICULTURAL AMERICA

6. 1492: Columbus’ landfall • 1519-1521: Cortez conquers the Aztecs in present day Mexico • Main goals of the colonization process: finding gold, spreading Christianity • Other explorers: Hernan de Soto, Francisco de Coronado SPANISH COLONIZATION

7. Army and clergyworkstogetherforcolonization • NuevaEspananotassuccessfulas English colonization • Why? Tansplantingfeudalinstitutionsintothe New World: encomienda,Spanishcommandergavelandtoveteransoldiers, Indiansowedforced labor tolandowner—similarto European serfdom SPANISH COLONIZATION

8. 1524: Giovanni da Verrazano • 1534: Jacques Cartier establishes Montreal • New France: Territory of Canada, Midwest, (from Great Lakes to Gulf of Mexico) • Early 17th century: Samuel de Champlain expands Southward, clash with Iroquois FRENCH COLONIZATION

9. Main goal:. Fur trade and religiousconversions • Jesuitsparticipateinboth, convertingtheHurons • Jesuit Relations: Collection of OfficialReportssubmittedtoProvincials • Lack of religioustolerance, settlementsareCatholic • 1643: Captivity of Father Isaac Jogues, captured, torturedbyMohawk, freedbythehelp of Dutch FRENCH COLONIZATION

10. 1584: Roanoke • Cause of settlement: religious persecution, population explosion • 1497: John Cabot: New Foundland • Puritans: followers of Calvin ENGLISH COLONIZATION

11. Sense of nationhood • Mission concept • Chosenness • Common law PURITAN HERITAGE

12. Firstmajor law restricting immigration to the United States. • Enactedin response to economic fears, especially on the West Coast • Signedinto law on May 6, 1882, by President Chester A. Arthur, • Effectivelyhalted Chinese immigration for ten years and prohibited Chinese from becoming US citizens. • Geary Act of 1892, the law was extended for another ten years THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT

13. Seizing the word or writing enables the slave to enter the human community • Slavery as a sign of chosenness • Progress from muted object to human being SEMINAR THREE theslavenarrative

14. Part of themythoforiginationof American culture • Slaveryas a test forthechosenpeople of God“The Almighty seizes upon superior nations and by mingled chastisement and blessing, gradually leads them to greatness” Alexander Crummell • The slavethrownintoHeideggeriannothingness (Houston Baker) and natalalienation (Orlando Patterson) writeshimselfinto being • Apartfromcaptivitynarrativethe most importantaspect of autobiographicalliterature (John Barbour) • Role of religion, race, individuality, and healing • Viawritingtheslaveestablisheshisidentity, a questfor being, description of the life of Africansin an alienworld THE SLAVE NARRATIVE

15. Vividdescription of suffering, slaveas Christ • Connectionstosentimentalliterature, luxury of sorrow • BritonHammon (describesIndiancaptivity) • OlaudahEquiano, James Albert Gronniosaw. Educatedblack • NobleAfric • An authenticdescription of theslaveryexperience THE SLAVE NARRATIVE

16. An efforttorefute and destroystereotypicalimages of blacks • Exoticprimitive • Brutalsavage • Naturalslave • Wretchedfreeman • Tragicmulatto • Autobiographicalacts: transferfromobjecttoliteratesubject (ElizabethBruss) • Ownership, control of theslaveryexperienceviawriting THE SLAVE NARRATIVE

17. OLAUDAH EQUIANO (1745-1797)

18. Offspring of a wealthyAfricanfamily, kidnappedintoslaveryduringchildhood • Yearningfordeathas an escapefromsuffering • ”The firstobjectwhichsalutedmyeyeswhen I arrivedatthecoast, wasthesea and theslaveship, whichwasthenridingatanchor, andwaitingforitscargo” • ”I askedthemifwewerenotto be eatenbythosewhitemen, withhorriblelooks, redfaces, and longhair” OLAUDAH EQUIANO

19. Adoption of Christianity • Africanreligions and Christianity: hoodoo, woodoo • THE TALKING BOOK: identified by Henry Louis Gates in several Afro-American autobiographical works (JohnMarrant, OlaudahEquiano, OttobahCugoano) • An encounter between the non-white person, or in most cases the slave, and the liturgical texts and practices of Christianity. • The young slave witnesses the captain reading to his crew from the Bible, but later he is sorely disappointed as he puts his ears on the same pages, but the Book “does not talk” to him. Although he attributes his failure of being understood or accepted by the Book to his blackness, the actual reason for his inability to decode the text is his lack of literacy. RELIGION AS AN ESCAPE

20. TALKING BOOK

21. “I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me.” • “the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner.” • “The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.” • ”O, yenominalChristians! mightnot an Africanaskyou—LearnedyouthisfromyourGod, whosaysuntoyou, Dountoallmenasyouwouldmenshoulddountoyou?” „ OLAUDAH EQUIANO

22. JAMES ALBERT GRONNIOSAW

23. ”THIS Account of the Life and spiritual Experience of JAMES ALBERT was taken from his own Mouth and committed to Paper by the elegant Pen of a young LADY” • Offspringof a royal family from the West African region of Bournou.“houses with wings to them walk upon the water” • Slaveryas an escapefromdeath: • ”I ran to him, and put my arms round him, and said, ‘father save me’ […] And though he did not understand my language, yet it pleased the ALMIGHTY to influence him in my behalf.” JAMES ALBERT GRONNIOSAW

24. ”What does he know of the half-starved wretches toiling from dawn till dark on the plantations? of mothers shrieking for their children, torn from their arms by slave traders? of young girls dragged down into moral filth? of pools of blood around the whipping post? of hounds trained to tear human flesh? of men screwed into cotton gins to die?” HARRIET WILSON

25. THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERIC DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE (1845) THE NARRATIVE

26. It is the wish of masters to keep their slaves ignorant • Not able to tell his birthday • Mother: Harriet Bailey: darker complexion • Father: white man, miscegenation • Refuting the Hamian curse • Description of the whipping of Aunt Hester CHAPTER ONE

27. ”I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest- time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not allowed to make any enquiries of my master concerning it. He deemed all such enquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit.”

28. ”Every year brings with it multitudes of this class of slaves. It was doubtless in consequence of a knowledge of this fact, that one great statesman of the south predicted the downfall of slavery by the inevitable laws of population. Whether this prophecy is ever fulfilled or not, it is nevertheless plain that a very different- looking class of people are springing up at the south, and are now held in slavery, from those originally brought to this country from Africa; and if their increase will do no other good, it will do away the force of the argument that God cursed Ham, and therefore American slavery is right. If the lineal descendants of Ham are alone to be scripturally enslaved, it is certain that slavery at the south must soon become unscrip- tural ; for thousands are ushered into the world, annually, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fathers, and those fathers most frequently their own masters.”

29. After crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to i^he Hook. She now stood fair for his infernal purpose. Her arms were stretched up at their full length, so that she stood upon the ends of her toes. He then said to her, Ci Now, you d d b h, I'll learn you how to disobey my orders !" and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over. • ”After crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose. He made her get upon the stool, and tied her hands to theHook. She now stood fair for his infernal purpose. Her arms were stretched up at their full length, so that she stood upon the ends of her toes. He then said to her, • ’I'll learn you how to disobey my orders !’ and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor. I was so terrified and horror-stricken at the sight, that I hid myself in a closet, and dared not venture out till long after the bloody transaction was over.”

31. The dehumanizingimpact of slavery • ”The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and gradually commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, eventually became red with rage; that voice made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon. Thus is slavery the enemy of both the slave and the slaveholder.” CHAPTER 6

32. ”Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs, Auld, she very kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read. To use his own words, further, he said, " If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.Now/' said he, " if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave, He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy."

33. ”I LIVED in Master Hugh's family about seven years. During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems. I had no regular teacher. My mistress, who had kindly commenced to instruct me, had, in compliance with the advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct, but had set her face against my being instructed by any one else. It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that she did not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She at first lacked the depravity indispensible to shutting me up in mental darkness.” CHAPTER SEVEN

34. ”In the same book, (The ColumbianOrator) I met with one of Sheridan's mighty speeches on and in behalf of Catholic emancipation. These were choice documents to me. I read them over and over again with unabated interest. They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance. The moral of AMERICAN SLAVERY, which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder. What I got from Sheridan was a bold denunciation of slavery, and a powerful vindication of human rights.”

35. Symbolicdeath: ”I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wished myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed.” • The desiretolearn: ”During this time my copy-book was the board fence, brick wall, and pavement; my pen and ink was a lump of chalk. With these, I learned mainly how to write. I then commenced and continued copying the italics in Webster's Spelling Book, until I could make them all without looking on the book.”

36. Religioussanctionforcruelty: ”In August, 1832, my master attended a Methodist camp-meeting, held in the Bay-side, Talbot county, and there experienced religion. I indulged a faint hope that his conversion would lead him to emancipate his slaves, and that if he did not do this, it would, at any rate, make him more kind and humane, I was disappointed in both these respects. It neither made him to be humane to his slaves, nor to emancipate them. If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways; for I believe him to have been a much worse man after his conversion.” CHAPTER NINE

37. ”I livedwith Mr. Coveyoneyear. Duringthefirstsixmonths of thatyear, scarce a weekpassedwithouthiswhippingme.” • ”Youareloosedfromyourmoorings and are free, I am fastinmychains and am a slave! Youmovemerrilybeforethegentlegale and I sadlybeforethebloodywhip! Youarefreedom’s swiftwingedangels, thatflyroundtheworld, I am confinedinbands of iron!” • ”Youhaveseenhow a man was made a slave; youshallseehowaslavewas made a man.” • ”Thisbattlewith Mr. Coveywastheturning-pointinmycareeras a slave. Itrekindledthefewexpiringembers of freedom, and revivedwithinme a sense of myownmanhood. Mylongcrushedspiritrose, cowardicedeparted, bolddefiancetookitsplace and I now, resolvedthat, howeverlongImightremain a slaveinform, theday had passedforeverwhen I could be a slaveinfact.” CHAPTER TEN

38. Chiasmic statements: verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first with the parts reversed (antithesis) • Individual, personal declaration of independence • Conativity: belief in the power of the written word to change reality, willing a new world into being

39. Eliminatethelegend of thecontented and docileslave • American slaverebellionsaresmallascomparedtothat of Central and South America • 1760: Jamaica, British Colonial Office reports a largescalewar, 1000 slavesrebel • Guayana: Between 10-20,000 slavesrevoltin 1823 SLAVE REBELLIONS

40. Largest: 1811: St. John theBaptistparishinLouisiana • Famousrebellions • Gabriel Prosser, (occupation: blacksmith) • DenmarkVesey (free Negro) • Nat Turner (overseer) • Justification: appealtotheBible • Main result: strikefearinthehearts of slaveholders SLAVE REBELLIONS IN AMERICA

41. Review: • What is thesignificance of theslavenarrative? • Whichslavenarrativescanyou mention? • What is thereasonfortheimportance of theDouglassNarrative? • HowdoesDouglassdescribetheslave’s life? • Whatarethegreatestdifficultiestheslaveencounters? • Mention the most importantslaverebellions SEMINAR FOUR

42. The Negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and, in some sense, the freest people in the world. The children and the aged and infirm work not at all, and yet have all the comforts and necessaries of life provided for them. They enjoy liberty, because they are oppressed neither by care nor labor. The women do little hard work, and are protected from the despotism of their husbands by their masters. The Negro men and stout boys work, on the average, in good weather, not more than nine hours a day....Besides they have their Sabbaths and holidays. The free laborer must work or starve. He is more of a slave than the Negro, because he works longer and harder for less allowance than the slave, and has no holiday, because the cares of life with him begin when its labor end. He has no liberty, and not a single right. • George Fitzhugh, Cannibals All or Slaves Without Masters, 1857 • Whattype of pro-slaveryargumentscanwediscern? Twoviewsonslavery

43. The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning, and, with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night. They do not dare to stop even at dinner time, nor return to the quarters, however late it be, until the order to halt is given by the driver....SolomonNorthrup • Howdoesthisviewdifferfromthepreviousone? Twoviewsonslavery

44. I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, •     When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— • When he beats his bars and he would be free; • It is not a carol of joy or glee, •     But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,    • But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings— • I know why the caged bird sings! • from ”Sympathy” by Paul LawrenceDunbar The cagedbirdsyndrome

45. W. E. B. DuBois: The Souls of Black Folk (1903) //an American Negro, twosouls, twothoughts, twounreconciledstrivings, twowarringidealsinonedark body// • LangstonHughes: The NegroArtist and theRacial Mountain (1926) //WeyoungerNegroartistswhocreatenowintendtoexpressourindividual-darkskinnedselveswithoutfearorshame. Ifwhitepeoplearepleased, weareglad. Ifnot, itdoesnotmatter// Viewsontheblackself

46. I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America. LANGSTON HUGHES: I TOO

47. Influences: Bible, Declaration of Independence, GettysburgAddress • Can be seenaspoetry, sermon, politicalessay • The speech has two major parts: the horror of racialinjustice, theutopisticviewofracialharmony • fervent emotional sermon, forged out of the language and spirit of democracy. King’s mastery of the spoken word, his magnetism, and his sincerity raised familiar platitudes from cliché to commandment.”Stevie Edwards • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE Martin Luther King, I have a dream

48. Clay: educatedblackman • Lula: whitetemptress • The play takesplaceatthe New York subway • A warfoughtwithwords • Lulatauntsclaytobring out therealstereotypicalNegro • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VRoOAmtHsQ • Text: http://faculty.atu.edu/cbrucker/Engl2013/texts/Dutchman.pdf LeroiJones: Dutchman (1964)

49. The Noble Savage • Appears in the following works: • Cadwallader Colden: History of the Five Indian Nations (1727) • The Indians of New York are described as ”poor and barbarous people, under the darkest ignorance, yet a bright and noble genius shines thro these black clouds” STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES OF NATIVE AMERICANS

50. Captivity Narratives written during the 17th and 18th centuries • Mary Rowlandson’s “Narrative:” referring to Indians as “merciless heathens, hellhounds, ravenous beasts,” yet during her captivity she discovers the beauty of living close to nature, develops an appreciation of Indian diet STEREOTYPICAL IMAGES OF NATIVE AMERICANS