African Folklore and American Entertainment

At this point, I'm sure many of my classmates have already made abundantly clear the importance of starting early and doing so would be something of a cliche. But, allow me a cliche'd moment because it can't be stressed enough.

Whatever you choose to write about, START EARLY!

Another important piece of advice is to choose a topic of interest, otherwise writing this I-search paper will be a gigantic chore. That being said, I chose to write about the influence of African folklore on American entertainment today because I tap dance. My teacher would read excerpts from a book on tap history and that's where I started my research. The most useful books I found are the following:

Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing by Mark Knowles

Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll by David P. Szatmary

The Healing Drum by Yaya Diallo and Mitchell Hall

Waltzing in the Dark by Brenda Dixon Gottschild

African Folkore: An Encyclopedia (available at the Kennedy Library in the reference section)

My research question was: "In what ways have African folklore traditions persisted in American entertainment?” The resources listed above along with observations of modern American entertainment helped answer my research question, but I feel there is still much to be found.

Good luck on your papers! And start soon/now!