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Tune In and Turn On: Learning to Listen in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God

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Part of the book series: Teaching the New English ((TENEEN))

Abstract

This chapter will focus on the teaching of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God to a group of second year single honours English students at the University of Northumbria. It reflects upon the use of student oral presentations as a form of assessment, arguing that the process of listening is as important as the expression of ideas for the development of critical thinking. Hurston’s text, so vocal about a rich African American oral tradition, serves to remind readers of the importance not only of speaking but also of staying “tuned in,” of listening attentively to the voices of others.

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© 2010 Victoria Bazin

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Bazin, V. (2010). Tune In and Turn On: Learning to Listen in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. In: Wisker, G. (eds) Teaching African American Women’s Writing. Teaching the New English. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137086471_3

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