ASSIGNMENT: BIOGRAPHY (Paper: 10 points; Poster: 5 points)
Research the life of a writer, artist, musician, or humanitarian from one of the four cultural groups we are studying and write a
two page paper with references on your famous person. Address the following questions: what culture does this person represent? What contributions did this person make to our understanding of culture in general and his/her personal culture? Be sure to include important dates and names of recognized works. Please email me the name of your autobiography no later than Saturday, March 31.

For class on Saturday, April 7, bring a poster presentation of your person. The following must be included on your poster: the name of your biography, important dates in his/her life, a picture (if possible), names and dates of important works, and a list of what you consider to be this person’s important accomplishments and contributions to culture.

Tan, Amy (also An-mei Tan) (1952 -   ): US novelist; wrote novels "The Joy Luck Club" (1989), "The Kitchen God's Wife" (1991), "The Hundred Secret Senses" (1995).

Tecumseh (also Tecumtha, Tecumthe, Tikamthi) (1768-1813):  Shawnee chief; sought to unite Native American tribes to oppose western expansion of whites; killed at battle of the Thames in War of 1812; brother of Tenskwatawa.

Malcolm X (later El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, also Al Hajj Malik al-Shabazz; orig. Malcolm Little) (1925-1965): US black activist and Muslim religious leader; converted to Nation of Islam while in jail; became aide to Elijah Muhammad 1952; broke with Elijah Muhammad 1964; made pilgrimage to Mecca, converted to Sunni Islam, and changed name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz 1964; assassinated, by three members of Nation of Islam, in Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.

Robinson, John Roosevelt (Jackie) (1919-1972): US baseball player; played for Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-1956 (1st black player in major leagues in 20th century); rookie of the year 1947; Spingarn Medal 1956.

Kingston, Maxine (nee Hong; also Ting Ting Kingston) (1940 - ): US author; wrote nonfiction "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts" 1976, "China Men" 1980, novel "Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book" 1988.

Chao, Elaine Lan (1953 - ): US (Taiwanese-born) administrator; chairman of Federal Maritime Commission 1988-1989; deputy secretary of transportation 1989-1991; director of Peace Corps 1991-1992; president of United Way of America 1992-1996; distinguished fellow at Heritage Foundation 1996-2001; Secretary of Labor 2001-- (1st Asian-American woman in US Cabinet); wife of Mitch McConnell 1993.

Mankiller, Wilma (1945 - ): US Cherokee politician; principal chief of Cherokee Nation 1985-1995 (1st female chief of large North American tribe).

Alexie, Sherman (1966 - ): US author; wrote short story collection "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" 1993, novel "Indian Killer" 1996; wrote and produced movie "Smoke Signals" 1998.

Parks, Rosa Louise Lee (nee McCauley) (1913 - ): US seamstress and black civil rights leader; secretary of Montgomery, Alabama, chapter of NAACP 1943-1956; by refusing to sit at back of public bus in accordance with segregationist law 1955, sparked 382-day Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr. 1955-1956, leading to bus desegregation; Spingarn Medal 1979.

Cochise (1812? - 1874): Chiricahua Apache chief from Arizona.

Angelou, Maya (orig. Marguerite Annie Johnson) (1928 - ): US actress, author, and poet; wrote autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" 1970, poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (read at Bill Clinton's inauguration 1993); starred in movie "How to Make an American Quilt" 1995 (as Anna); directed movie "Down in the Delta" 1998; Spingarn Medal 1994.

Fitzgerald, Ella (1917 - 1996): US jazz singer; recorded songs "A-Tisket A-Tasket" 1938, "Flying Home" 1945, "Lady Be Good" 1947, albums "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook" 1956, "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook" 1958, "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook" 1959, "Mack the Knife: The Complete Ella in Berlin" 1960, "Fine and Mellow" 1974.

Chief Joseph (orig. In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat, Hinmaton-Yalaktit) (1840? - 1903): Nez Perce chief; refused to recognize treaty with whites; captured by Nelson Miles while retreating toward Canada 1877.

Cisneros, Sandra (1954 - ): US poet and short story author; wrote poetry collections "Bad Boys" 1980, "My Wicked Wicked Ways" 1987, short story collections "The House on Mango Street" 1983, "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories" 1991.

Allende, Isabel (1942 - ): Chilean (Peruvian-born) author in US; wrote novels "The House of the Spirits" 1982, "Of Love and Shadows" 1984, "Eva Luna" 1987, "The Stories of Eva Luna" 1990, "The Infinite Plan" 1991, "Daughter of Fortune" 1999, reminiscence "Paula" 1995; immigrated to US 1988; niece of Salvador Allende.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel Jose (1928 - ): Colombian author; wrote novels "No One Writes to the Colonel" 1961, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" 1967, "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" 1981, "The General in his Labyrinth" 1989, "Of Love and Other Demons" 1994; Nobel Prize in Literature 1982.

CLASS LIST
 

NAME	BIOGRAPHY
Roberta	Mary Crow Dog
Jennifer	Gloria Estefan
Tina	Sitting Bull
Lora	Toni Morrison
Deanna	I Dream a World (African American Women)
Dena	Maya Angelou
Wendy	Coretta Scott King
Sarah	Ted De Grazia
Susan	Cesar Chavez
Anna	Maya Angelou
Ruth	Frida Kahlo
Joanne	Etta James
Bill	Carl Gorman
Aaron	Langston Hughes