English 1010 Research Paper Sources
Johnston, Ingrid. "Reading and Resisting Silent Spaces of Whiteness in School Literature." Counterpoints, vol. 193, 2003, pp. 227-238. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42978068
A journal article written by a former teacher in a segregated school in South Africa's apartheid, it discusses ways in which we combat an increasing problem of silent spaces of whiteness, including speaking out and choosing materials for students that makes them think of people different than themselves
Bennett, Barbara. "On Harper Lee: Essays and Reflections." The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 60, no. 2, 2007, p. 429+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A189552768/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=9fa3586d. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
Bennet suggests that Lee's use of the mockingbird might have been ironic--that in fact, mockingbirds are aggressive, known as the "bullies among birds." Instead of seeing the mockingbird as a symbol of tolerance for those peaceful pariahs such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, Tavernier-Courbin suggests the belligerent bird might be a symbol of hypocrisy--"pretending to be what it is not"--therefore aligning the symbol more closely with the "intolerance and racism" in the novel
Best, Rebecca H. "Panopticism and the use of 'the other' in to Kill a Mockingbird." The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 62, no. 3-4, 2009, p. 541+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A228435984/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=2302161d. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
Best's essay on To Kill a Mockingbird discusses the general themes of self identity and relationships/encounters throughout the novel. The work discusses the relationship between these two things by saying, "As a result of these encounters, we break the cultural and psychological barriers that imprison us and come to embrace a larger world"
Chura, Patrick. "Prolepsis and Anachronism: Emmet Till and the Historicity of To Kill a Mockingbird." The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 32, no. 2, 2000, p. 1. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A63188055/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=0c9eab1b. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
Chura argues that racial events and ideology of the 1950s--the period concurrent with the novel's production--leach into the depiction of Lee's 1930s history, orienting large sections the text not to the Depression era but to social conditions of the civil rights era. The mid 1950s/early civil rights era is therefore the context from which the novel is best understood as the intersection of cultural and literary ideology.
Charron, Katherine Mellen, and David P. Cline. "'I train the people to do their own talking': Septima Clark and Women in the Civil Rights Movement." Southern Cultures, vol. 16, no. 2, 2010, p. 31+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A227457964/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=00c49b37. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
Description of the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically talking about women and white women's role in the movement. This provides context for the novel because clearly the author is a white woman and the novel was published during the civil rights movement
Scardilli, Frank J. "How just is our justice system?" ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, vol. 70, no. 2, 2013, p. 130+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A347004728/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=df3be9c0. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
In this source, a high level American judge, discusses the idea that our legal system is an all-too-human, fallible enterprise, created and operated by humans for humans; that any false expectation of otherworldly perfection is a fatuous notion. This source can be used in order to create an argument surrounding this bias within the novel itself, as well as bias from the white female author who has likely never dealt with the bias of the court system against her.
Murray, Jennifer. "More Than One Way to (Mis)Read a Mockingbird." The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 43, no. 1, 2010, p. 75+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A249139454/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=8d7343bc. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
Murray discusses several, "unchallenged assumptions and dominant mythologies" throughout the text. Arguably, the most useful and relevant to the argument of this essay would be her argument surrounding Calpurnia. In the novel, Calpurnia is considered to be apart of the family, nearly a mother to the children in the absence of their own. Murray argues that this glorifies history and doesn't account for historical context. She suggests that the author doesn't understand that in this time period, no African American would have been regarded as family for white people, the South was too divided at the time.
Richards, Gary. "Harper Lee and the Destabilization of Heterosexuality." Children's Literature Review, edited by Jelena Krstovic, vol. 169, Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420106700/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=3e9401df. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019. Originally published in Lovers and Beloveds: Sexual Otherness in Southern Fiction, 1936-1961, Louisiana State University Press, 2005, pp. 117-153.
Richards discusses several main characters and minor characters, including scout, and how their stories end without any further exploration of their gender or sexuality, which suggests Lee is as interested in gender transitivity when it is not indicative of same sex desire as when it is, and she seems concerned at broadest with how rarely normative gender is ever performed.
Shackelford, Dean. "The female voice in 'To Kill a Mockingbird': narrative strategies in film and novel." The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 1, 1996, p. 101+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A19898481/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=ada193c0. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
Shackelford discusses that in the novel, Scout's voice emphasizes how she is gradually separating from the racist, segregated society into which she was born. This allows Scout to understand the book's "mockingbirds," the marginalized Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
Goldfarb, Stephen. "White folks and the civil rights movement." Alabama Heritage, no. 84, 2007, p. 53+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A206988754/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=96e4fe44. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
Sokol reminds us just how far the South has come in a relatively short time. Before the age of civil rights, what whites thought about blacks can most charitably be called embarrassing. Not only did whites think blacks inferior, but they believed that their black neighbors had no interest in voting, found segregated facilities satisfactory, and were, in general, happy living in a Jim Crow world.
Andrews, William L. "Postmodern southern literature: confessions of Norton anthologist." Studies in the Literary Imagination, vol. 35, no. 1, 2002, p. 105+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A89582032/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=873df62f. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
Southern literature is composed of a diverse constituency of writers and traditions. Although not every southern writer has thought of writing as a literal dialogue with someone else, it is important for the anthology to represent major movements. This source provides a further background on the genre of the novel.
Pendery, David. "A comparative study of two American cultural Renaissances." Fu Jen Studies: Literature & Linguistics, no. 47, 2014, p. 39+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A434224427/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=fa03a475. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
The author examines important elements of two important American cultural renaissances and some of their important leaders--Ralph Waldo Emerson and the "preachers" of the early-mid 19th century first American renaissance; and John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate and the "teachers" of the early-mid 20th century Southern Renaissance. Again, providing important context.
Ellsworth, Loretta. "What Harper Lee taught me about writing and the writing life." The Writer, Sept. 2010, p. 8. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A232395385/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=8cb88f05. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This article discusses the writer herself and after the novel. Lee did not flaunt her success; instead, she preferred to let her writing speak for itself. Now, 50 years later, the famously private writer still holds to that philosophy--she is not expected to take part in her book's anniversary-related events.
Behrman, Edward H. "Teaching about language, power, and text: a review of classroom practices that support critical literacy: " Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 49, no. 6, 2006, p. 490+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A144014429/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=bfce757f. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
This article is an article that discusses critical literacy, how to write it, as well as how to read it. It is incredibly beneficial in that it gives the reader an understanding of how to read critical literacy without becoming biased, as well as how to write criticism from a non biased perspective.
Goyal, Yogita. "African atrocity, American humanity: slavery and its transnational afterlives." Research in African Literatures, vol. 45, no. 3, 2014, p. 48+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A383460473/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=45bfb683. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This essay argues that contemporary American conceptions of African atrocity are haunted by the specter of slavery, which structures the ways in which a relation between the United States and Africa is imagined. This provides important contextual evidence to better understand the south in a post slavery environment.
Sterling, Cheryl. "Race matters: cosmopolitanism, Afropolitanism, and Pan-Africanism via Edward Wilmot Blyden." Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 8, no. 1, 2015, p. 119+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A419150741/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=218678e1. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This paper interrogates the Kwame Anthony Appiah's concept of cosmopolitanism and the new paradigm of Afropolitanism in relation to Pan-Africanism. It argues that cosmopolitanism develops out of racialist discourse of 18th century Enlightenment thinkers, who created codes still operational in the stereotypes attached to blackness today.
Belcher, Philip. "More than Tourists to Their Woe: Southern Poets of Atonement and the Cultural Legacy of Racism." Poetry Criticism, edited by Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 175, Gale, 2016. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420120946/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=fd34b3e6. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019. Originally published in Southern Quarterly, vol. 49, no. 2-3, 2012, pp. 10-36.
This piece is a critical analysis of particularly southern poetry, but is applicable to Southern literature as a whole. It argues that southern literature is littered with racism. It argues that because of this racism, there is inherent bias within southern literature
Martin, Lori Latrice, et al. "Racism, rodeos, and the misery industries of Louisiana." Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 7, no. 6, 2014, p. 60+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A395165728/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=b69a50e4. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source argues that racism is a multilevel and multidimensional system whereby minority groups are oppressed and scapegoated by the dominant group. It refutes claims that America has become a post-racial society notwithstanding, manifestations of racism are all around us, especially in the South.
Donaldson, Susan V. "Southern roots and routes: mobility, migration, and the literary imagination." The Mississippi Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, 2012, p. 5+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A313160233/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=0d6e7798. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source describes the progression of the South in the early 20th century and why/how the South has such a proud history and how that identity has both shaped and transformed the political landscape of the US. Provides context on the time period and geographic location the novel is set in.
O'Gorman, Farrell. "Languages of mystery: Walker Percy's legacy in contemporary southern fiction." The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, 2002, p. 97+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A90041202/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=4db7509a. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source discusses contemporary southern fiction as a whole. It provides good context for To Kill a Mockingbird and Lee as well. It particularly discusses the role of the "other" in Southern Literature at the time
Kasper, Annie. "GENERAL SEMANTICS IN 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.'" ETC: A Review of General Semantics, vol. 63, no. 3, 2006, pp. 272-274. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42579881.
This source discusses general semantics in the novel. Kasper discusses the idea of word having two meanings, polysemy, and that this idea flows through the novel. She argues that the jury can not see past the color of the defendant's skin because of the words used to describe him.
Garside, Richard. "Making sense of criminal justice failure." Renewal, vol. 14, no. 3, 2006, p. 51+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A156720247/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=d367958b. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source discusses the failings of the criminal justice system. It argues that the system in inherently biased against African Americans and other minorities. This provides context for the novel in which there is clearly a biased judicial system to battle.
Kasper, Annie. "General semantics in To Kill a Mockingbird." ETC.: A Review of General Semantics, vol. 63, no. 3, 2006, p. 272+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A149353018/GLS?u=aupl&sid=GLS&xid=412ac78a. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.
This source discusses the nuances of semantics throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Kasper's main ideas are that in the text, two general ideas of semantics, non-identity and infinity, are represented in the text through several means. In regards to non-identity, the townspeople and the jury are convinced Tom Robinson is guilty of raping a white girl simply because of their prejudiced view of black Americans.
Horn, Patrick E. "Reading 20tht-century southern fiction." Southern Cultures, vol. 22, no. 3, 2016, p. 14+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A471000695/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=fd0f6e3e. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source discusses the nuances of southern fiction. The author discusses several traits of southern fiction such as an insistent sense of place; the strong influences of family, community, and religion; rural and agrarian folkways; an obsession with history and/or the past (read: slavery and its legacies--Civil War, segregation, and racial strife)
Flynt, Wayne. "The enduring legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird: universal values: a half century after its first publication, Harper Lee's only novel continues to shape character and touch lives the world over." Alabama Heritage, no. 97, 2010, p. 6+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A233291611/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=ffa2cb20. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source discusses the significant contributions this novel has made to modern American literature and the public as a whole. This includes messages of hope, peace, as well as of reality.
Greenhill, Pauline, and Alison Marshall. "Racism and denial of racism: Dealing with the academy and the field." Journal of American Folklore, vol. 129, no. 512, 2016, p. 203+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A455185969/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=4190c3ed. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source is a critical analysis of racism in the modern world with historical roots. Greenhill questions scholarly traditions that insist upon objectivist methods and, in the process, side with researchers and research participants who refuse to acknowledge and expose White-identified, privileged social actions.
Dave, R. A. "'To Kill a Mockingbird': Harper Lee's Tragic Vision." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk, vol. 60, Gale, 1990. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1100003628/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=51f0c14c. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019. Originally published in Indian Studies in American Fiction, edited by M. K. Naik, et al., The Macmillan Company of India Limited, 1974, pp. 311-323.
This source is a literary criticism of the novel. The main point brought up is that Lee, while describing and portraying a universal human problem, has framed it around Christian morals, as well as solely the American context, making the argument less powerful.
McDaneld, Jen. "White Suffragist Dis/Entitlement: The Revolution and the Rhetoric of Racism." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers, vol. 30, no. 2, 2013, p. 243+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A353997221/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=9927f537. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source is a piece written on the racism within the white feminist movement. It argues that white women only fought for white women to vote and that African Americans were left behind. It argues that white women shouldn't represent the entire movement because they can't understand the experiences of others.
Fosten, Gerald K. "Perspectives on social inequality, criminal justice, and race in the United States: A critical analysis." Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 9, no. 9, 2016, p. 122+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491136135/LitRC?u=aupl&sid=LitRC&xid=91bc6c60. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
This source is an essay dicussing various inequalities in the US. His main focuses are the criminal justice system in relation to race and the pipeline that connects them. Again, it provides further context in relation to the novel.
Naa Baako Ako-Adjei. "Why It's Time Schools Stopped Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird." Transition, no. 122, 2017, pp. 182-200. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/transition.122.1.24.
Though it continues to be a mainstay on middle and high school reading lists, Naa Baako Ako-Adjei argues that Harper Lee's novel is nothing short of apologia for prolonging white supremacy. She argues that the novel simply perpetuates stereotypes the African American experience instead of ending them. She argues that a white author could never understand the struggle.