1. Their Eyes Were Watching God —an introduction—

2. Zora Neale Hurston

3. Raised in Eatonville, Florida She was the 5th of 8 children
Her father was a Baptist preacher, farmer, and carpenter: he was also half back, half white. Her mother was a teacher.
Her parent’s ethnicity and occupations greatly influenced her literature
She graduated from Columbia University (where she was the only black student) with a B.A. in anthropology in 1928
Published 4 novels and over 50 short stories: best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God (published 1937)
Most of her writing was done during the Harlem Renaissance (1920s & 30s)
A short video about the Harlem Renaissance
FYI: you may want to mention that her mother was 100% African America
Note: TEWWG was published in 1937, but the bulk of it was written in the early 30s
-- The video is 3 minutes --

4. In 2005 Halle Barry stared in a film adaptation of Their Eyes…
After her death many of her works fell into obscurity because readers then objected to her African-American colloquial diction and phonetic spelling
Today, most scholars praise her use of these
Starting in the mid-70’s, Hurston’s works resurfaced as literary masterpieces
Famed authors like Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, & Toni Morrison helped bring her works into today’s literary canon
In 2005 Halle Barry stared in a film adaptation of Their Eyes…
You’ll have an opportunity to watch this for extra credit next month
Let’s watch a short bio. pic. about Hurston
-- the video is 1½ minutes --

5. Reading Deadlines Chapters 1-10: due Friday, December 8th
Remember to work on your RJ questions while you read as well as answering them in full after you finish the work as whole.
Yes you need personal notes as well as answers to the RJ questions.