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Reading and Remembering Langston Hughes

ENGL 495: Directed Study: Langston Hughes (1 hr)
AAAS 690 Investigation and Conference: Langston Hughes (1 hr)

Instructor: Maryemma Graham, Professor, KU Department of English
785-864-2557; email address: mgraham@ku.edu

Course description
An introduction to the life and work of Langton Hughes. The course will examine the uniqueness of Hughes's poetry, fiction, autobiography and character sketches as literary expression and as a means of understanding African American life and culture.

Required Texts
Langston Hughes, Not without Laughter New York: Scribner, 1995.

Arnold Rampersad and David Rossel, eds. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.

Langston Hughes, The Big Sea: An Autobiography. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.

Langston Hughes, The Best of Simple. New York: Hill and Wang, 2000.

Recommended Readings
Armitage, Katie, "Langston Hughes' Lawrence" http://www.ci.lawrence.ks.us/langston/index.html

Graham, Maryemma, "The Practice of a Social Art," in Henry Louis Gates and K.A. Appiah, eds., Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad, 1993.

"Langston Hughes in Lawrence: 1902-1915" www.ci.lawrence.ks.us/local_history/lh_index.shtml

Miller, R. Baxter. The Art and Imagination of Langston Hughes. Lexington, KY.: UP of Kentucky, 1978.

Schultz, Elizabeth, "Dreams Deferred: Growing Up Black and Blue in Langston Hughes' Lawrence," in Dennis Domer and Barbara Watkins, eds., Embattled Lawrence: Conflict and Community (Lawrence, Kans.: University of Kansas Continuing Education, 2001. www.kuce.org/hughes/resources.html

Scott, Mark. "Langston Hughes of Kansas," Kansas History 3 (spring 1980):3-25. www.kuce.org/hughes/resources.html

Sheridan, Richard B. "Charles Henry Langston and the African American Struggle in Kansas," Kansas History 22 (winter 1999/2000): 268-83. www.kuce.org/hughes/resources.html

Trotman, C. James, ed. Langston Hughes: The Man, His Art, and His Continuing Influence. New York: Garland, 1995.

Writing Assignment
For each reading assignment, a written response paper will be required. You may write on any topic that you find important, interesting, or challenging. It may be helpful to formulate your topic as a question that you will answer in your paper. Some sample questions are below. You are not restricted to these topics. If you are unsure about a topic, please contact your instructor.
Recommended assignment length: Undergraduates, 2-3 page each; Graduates 4-6 pages each. Please submit your papers at the end of each reading assignment. You may use regular mail or email to submit your assignment. Be sure to keep a copy of each paper.

Sample topics:

1. How does Hughes use his own experience in his writing?
2. What literary techniques is Hughes most attracted to?
3. How does Hughes change the form of the short story/ poetry/ autobiography, etc.?
4. How does the blues appear in Hughes’ fiction?
5. How does Hughes use a poetic voice in his prose?
6. What does Hughes seem to want to accomplish with the autobiography?