Session 4: The Writer as Historian and Social Critic

During this session participants will examine primary sources on Jesus Colon available at El Centro Archives and Library to understand the historical contexts in which Jesus Colon’s writings emerged.

Play Ossie Davis read aloud of Jesus Colon’s sketch, “Easy Job, Low Wages” from El Centro’s CD-Rom on100 years of Puerto Rican History, Vol. 1.

Listening Comprehension
What new insights do you acquire about the historical context in which Jesus Colon lived from this selection?

How does the author choose to bring this context to life?

In what ways does this selection support or refute the statement:
    “Writers help us to understand the world and to change the world.”

Timeline
We know that Langston Hughes was a contemporary of Jesus Colon.

Present timelines on the Progressive Era/Langston Hughes from American Writers' site.

Prepare a timeline to demonstrate parallels between Jesus Colon and Langston Hughes’ life. Incorporate other writers who used the power of the written word to focus attention on injustices, e.g., Walt Whitman, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Web-Based Assignment
Review one of these 3 websites to learn more about the writer as social critic. Jot down 3 BIG IDEAS that you learned about Jesus Colon, Langston Hughes, and Walt Whitman as social critics and historians of New York City. How do these websites model effective use of multimedia technologies?

1. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
Artistic Justice: The Artist as Historian and Social Critic, by Medria J. Blue

2. Facing History and Ourselves: Little things are big, by Jesus Colon

3. Whitman and the City

Assignment
Prepare a storyboard for an author’s study on Jesus Colon for either as a power point presentation or web page on this writer. Use Inspiration to prepare the flowchart.