Sample research proposal african american histo

1. SAMPLE RESEARCH PROPOSAL
African American History
1. Question (State your question in the past tense): How did
Black artists, writers, and musicians use art, music, history and
literature to reshape the representations of black people and
demand social justice?
2. Summary (Explain why you need the answer to your question
in 5 sentences):(1) A lot of African- American history teaches
us how black people were mistreated and viewed. (2) It is
important for us to also understand how African-Americans
wanted to be viewed, and the different ways they tried to
achieve positive representation as well as achieve social justice.
(3) Many of us are aware of the huge impact that Americans of
African have had on the art, music, literature and historical
narrative in the United States. (4) However, we usually don’t
focus on the aspect of it that had political, social and global
implications and impacts in shaping and portraying the African-
American culture. (5) With this knowledge, we can compare and
contrast the ways in which the different media outlets were used
by African-Americans then and how they are used now; how
they impacted us as a culture then, and how they impact us now;
and then we can determine if we are using them today in a way
that positively represents us as a culture or that does the
opposite.
3. Outline: (Show how you will organize the ideas in your
paper)
· Introductory statement to include voices of African-American
cultural historians, literary figures, and musicians (i.e.) to
establish a context for the discussion.
· Introduce historians, literary figures and musicians like Miles
Davis, Sylviane Diouf, Amiri Baraka, Native Deen and Audre

2. Lorde and how they used their art forms to explain, define or
challenge the direction of African-American culture and demand
social justice.
· Compare and contrast each voice above in their efforts to
convey meaning to the subject.
· Provide a thoughtful conclusion
4. Sources (What sources will you use):
Achebe Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Penguin Books, 1993
Angelou, Maya I. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Bantum,
Doubleday. Dell Publishing Group. 1983.
Baraka, Amiri. Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American
Classical Music. University of California Press. 2009.
Diouf, Sylviane. Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved
in America. New York University Press. 2013
Gonzalez. Anson. Merry Go Round, Collected Poems,
Crossroads of Dream (2003), Chela Quest
(2005), In my Own Words, In my Own Journal (2007),
Proseleela (2007), Tabiz