CREATING A MAGAZINE FOR THE
HARLEM RENAISSANCE


Your job is to create a magazine covering aspects of culture, politics, arts, music, lifestyles and the like from the Harlem Renaissance. You will create this magazine in a group of four, each person working to create a product that is reflective of the time period. Your magazine will be published in the classroom and should be reflective of the Harlem Renaissance as much as possible. In the course of your project, you will mimic a magazine's content and style, making a Harlem Renaissance edition that is reflective of that magazine's format.

Magazine Requirements
Grading Standards and Due Dates
Magazine Analysis

#1 View at least two of the general sites below for an overview of the events and personalities of the era:
TIMELINE OF THE ERA: This is a good overview of major events of the era

Major political events with famous people, fads and fashions. Good choice for wide range of subjects

A REAL MAGAZINE FROM THE TWENTIES St. Nicolas Magazine will give you an idea of the drawings and subject matter of a popular magazine from the era.

#2. Below are some more narrowly-focused sites for special topics
ANTIQUES AND OBJECTS FROM THE JAZZ AGE Creating an ad? Look here for articles from the era.

JAZZ MUSIC A popular jazz site: songs, performers, etc.

Flapper culture and fashions - famous women of the era

#3. After viewing the sites, taking notes, etc., you might want to further research by trying the mega-search engine Ask.Com - Try typing in a particular area like THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

The following links may also help you locate information to complete the assignment.

Africana-describes the beginning, the characteristics, the end and influence of the Harlem Renaissance, variously known as the New Negro movement or the New Negro Renaissance  
   
BlackPressUSA-an essay on how black magazines defined the Harlem Renaissance  
Eras in Black History-the Encyclopedia Britannica guide to EB online and related internet links  
Harlem:Mecca of the New Negro-a hypermedia edition of the March 1925 Survey Graphic magazine  
Harlem Renaissance-links to information about poets and painters as well as other sites featuring the Harlem Renaissance  
Harlem Renaissance-links with background inforamation on poetry, politics, women, jazz and theater  
Harlem Renaissance-a thinkquest put together by high school students in West Virginia  
Harlem Renaissance-a site created at Father Ryan High School by students who felt the HR was a cultural movement that allowed African-Americans to show their creative abilities to the world  
Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture-an exhibition and timeline of Harlem from 1900-1940  
Social Contributions of the Harlem Renaissance-a section from a unit taught at Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute  


ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES:

Thursday/Friday, December 6/7: Magazine Analysis + Group Selection – Hand in analysis of magazine and make choice of magazine format your group will work in. Hand in by the end of class.

Wednesday/Thursday, December 12/13: Hand in selection of assignments for your magazine. Must have chosen a topic for each news article and a selection for each secondary piece.

Tuesday/Wednesday, December 18/19: All completed articles and supplements due in class. Editor will check that all components are complete. She will type a table of contents and assemble the magazine before it’s due. Fill out all grade sheets with titles of articles/supplements.

Thursday/Friday, December 20/21: Assembled magazine due at the beginning of SS class. Any editor who is assembling during class will forfeit points off each group grade.

Magazine Requirements:
1. You will choose a magazine format from which you will style your group's edition. After analyzing the format and describing the relevant style and content of the magazine's creators + the typical reader, you will create a magazine that mimics that format.
2. You will create a magazine with the following components according to the format of the one you selected:
_____ Cover Page (Lead story, picture, title of magazine, editors/contributors, & date)
_____ Table of Contents (this has to be created last)
_____ Four feature or news articles. Articles must be written as if they could be in your model magazine during the 1920's (e.g. in a 1920's issue of Time). Each group member is responsible for 1. They can be about any significant event, trend or development during the 1920's.
_____ Articles should be typed in column format, like a newspaper or magazine
_____ Keep margins of 1 inch all around
_____ Each article should be between 700 and 900 words (1.5-2 pages)
_____ Your articles must correspond to the date of your magazine and have some perspective of time. For instance, if your magazine is written in 1923, you cannot write about events of 1928; you may write retrospectives about artists’/writers’ work.
_____ BIBLIOGRAPHY: Include a properly formatted bibliography at the end of your article. For each article, you must use at least two sources of information – one print and one internet each. Go to the Interactive Works Cited Form for help in completing this task.
_____ Four supplementary pieces to the magazine. Each group member is responsible for one of the following. You may not have more than two of each type in the magazine (These items should be original creations – not a print out from a CD-rom or a copy of an advertisement you have seen in your research. They should combine your historical knowledge with your imagination. Each should be tailored to your magazine's audience).
_____ A graphic (map, chart, etc. with contextual explanation of at least 150 words)
_____ 2 Advertisement (by private organizations or the government) You may copy images but you must create the text yourself. The ads must suit the audience of the magazine and be a popular product of the era.
_____ Letter to the Editor - on a current controversial issue
_____ Political Cartoon (must be created, not copied)
3. Turn in a "Grading Guideline" for each student which has both the student author's name and the title of his articles on it.

Grading Standards and Due Dates
General Guidelines – I expect the following:
Content:
1. Accuracy in reporting.
2. Accounts that are rich in detail, factual evidence, and that are interesting to read.
3. Each group member fulfills her responsibility
Style:
1. Imagination and creativity, both in writing and presentation
2. Well-written articles including proper grammar and spelling. Use rich details in a logical order.
3. A neat, professional, aesthetically pleasing magazine that is consistent with the model magazine you have chosen. If I were from the target audience would I pick it off the shelf in the 1920's?
Half your grade for your news/ feature article: Graded on quality of research, writing and analysis. Must be appropriate to time period and interesting to read. Article must fit the style of the magazine type chosen (Time, People etc.)
Quarter of your grade for your supplementary piece: Quality of artwork or writing essential. Appropriate analysis of 1920's should be evident in piece. Must fit the style of the magazine type chosen.
Quarter of your grade for overall group/magazine grade: How well do the articles fit together? Does the magazine feel like an issue of Vogue or Time? Does the cover and table of contents give a good sense of the magazine? The editor and cover page artist will earn 5 points each for their efforts.


Name___________________________
Feature Article Title___________________________
Supplementary Piece Title___________________________
Grading Guideline – Harlem Renaissance Magazine Project


General Guidelines – I expect the following:
Content:
1. Accuracy in reporting.
2. Accounts that are rich in detail, factual evidence, and that are interesting to read.
3. Each group member fulfills her responsibility
Style:
1. Imagination and creativity, both in writing and presentation
2. Well-written articles including proper grammar and spelling. Should have rich details in a logical order.
3. A neat, professional, aesthetically pleasing magazine that is consistent with the model magazine you have chosen. If I were from the target audience would I pick it off the shelf in 1920's Harlem?
News/Feature Article: (3 for highest mark)
Research quality and analysis of historical data; 1 2 3
Quality of writing – appropriate style + grammar/spelling 1 2 3
Does the magazine fit the type chosen (Time, etc.)? 1 2 3
Bibliography?
Supplementary Piece (graphic, ad, letter to editor or political cartoon)
Research quality and analysis of historical data; 1 2 3
Quality of writing – appropriate style + grammar/spelling 1 2 3
Does the magazine fit the type chosen (Time, etc.)? 1 2 3
Bibliography?
Group Grade: Overall quality of writing, research, presentation and organization. ______
Total Grade: _________

Magazine Analysis
Magazines usually have a target audience. Of course, they would like to sell to as many people as possible, but since no magazine can be all things to all people, they will usually target a group large enough to make a profit, but specific enough to be distinctive. (No one wants another LIFE magazine; that niche is already filled.)

Your first task is to choose a magazine that interests you, then try to figure out what their target audience is. You will do this by looking at the type of ads, departments, articles, and, if available, the reader responses in such things as "Letters to the Editor."

In this analysis or the audience, consider such factors as:
-the education level required to read the articles
-the hobbies or interests of the audience
- the political slant (conservative or liberal)
-the economic class of the reader
You can get hints to these by analyzing:
-the products advertised (Tide or Godiva Chocolates?)
-the depth of the articles (superficial, in-depth)
-the level of vocabulary
-the tone (lighthearted, serious)
- what is emphasized in the coverage of a particular newsworthy event (politics, business, fashion, behavior)
It is often helpful to compare two magazines in the same field (Vogue vs. Cosmopolitan, Time vs. Newsweek, Rolling Stone vs Vanity Fair) to fine-tune your answers.

NAME OF MAGAZINE_______________ Group Members__________ ________ __________ ________
Describe the general category of magazine (what are the majority of the articles about?)

Socio-economic status of the typical reader __________________
Reason: Educational level of the typical reader ________________
Reason Age and gender of reader_____________________
Reason: Lifestyle and Occupation of reader___________________
Reason: Emphasis of articles (What is concentrated upon in a given news event):
Reason: Conservative or liberal reader?
Reason: In one sentence (complex!) describe the profile of the targeted reader, including all of the above information

At this point, you should have:
..........1. Analyzed the contemporary magazine whose style you will imitate.
..........2. Decided what its target audience is by examining its table of contents, letters to the editor, ads, and articles
Your next task is to research the era to decide what articles and supplementary pieces you will create for your magazine that will adequately reflect the era and your magazine's style.

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