Humanities Homework Help

Biographical Wiki Assignment Instructions

Overview

In this assignment, you will highlight African American literary figures who have influenced African American life and culture. You will also assess reliable reference sources, foster critical thinking skills as you review one another’s work, and interact among peers as you review and edit one another’s work.

Instructions 

You will choose a person from the list provided, use reliable reference sources to compile a short biographical sketch (2 paragraphs) for that person, and post your work to the Biographical Wiki. You need to address the background of the author, his/her contributions to the field of literature and his/her influence on African American culture.

Step 1: Choose a person from the list below and create a page in the Biographical Wiki. Check to make sure the person you selected has not already been posted to the wiki by another student.

List of historical figures for Step 1: Women in Western Civilization 

  

1. James Baldwin
2. Toni Morrison
3. Claude McKay
4. Zora Neale      Hurston
5. Maya Angelou
6. W. E. B.      DuBois
7. Ralph Ellison
8. Alex Haley
9. Langston      Hughes
10. Richard      Wright
11. Alice Walker
12. August Wilson
13. James Weldon      Johnson
14. Jessie Redmon      Fauset
15. Joseph Seamon      Cotter
16. Countee      Cullen
17. Alain Locke
18. Octavia      Butler
19. Lorraine      Hansberry
20. Gwendolyn      Brooks
21. Henry Louis      Gates Jr.
22. Colson Whitehead
23. Dorothy West
24. Paul Beatty
25. Paul Dunbar
26. Amiri Baraka
27. Alice      Childress
28. Phillis      Wheatley
29. Rita Dove
30. Nikki      Giovanni
31. Terry      McMillan
32. Robert Hayden

Step 2: Research the person using reliable reference sources. (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.) and works of historical scholarship (peer-reviewed journal articles, essay collections, historical monographs). Do not use an open web search, popular magazines, or works targeting children. Do not use the course text as a source for this assignment.

Use at least 3 different reference works and provide source citations for each source used.

Reference sources for Step 2:

The best reference sources are available in Liberty’s library. The following are recommended for this assignment.

Britannica Academic Edition—essentially an encyclopedia, but with links to dictionaries and websites. Be sure to correctly identify and cite the specific source used.

Gale Virtual Reference Library—a database collection of reference works. Look for titles that include the word encyclopedia or dictionary. If you use this database, remember to cite the specific reference work (ebook) used.

Oxford Reference Online Premium—an extensive database collection of reference works. Look for titles that include the word encyclopedia or dictionary. If you use this database, remember to cite the specific reference work (ebook) used.

Step 3: Synthesize the information you have gathered into a single, concise biographical sketch. Give a short summary of the person’s life and most significant achievements and situate the person in the historical context as it relates to this course. Write two paragraphs using complete sentences.