Topics for Further Study
- Investigate the history and traditions of African-American folk medicine and hoodoo. Write a paper that contrasts these with Western medicine, using the characters Mama Day and Dr. Smithfield as case studies.
- Delve into your own family history and create a family tree similar to the one at the beginning of Mama Day. Then, compose a paper discussing how your family's heritage continues to impact you and other relatives.
- Examine both historical and fictional narratives that detail the interactions between slave women and their masters in early America, such as the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Write first-person accounts from the perspectives of Sapphira and Bascombe Wade, allowing them to converse in a manner similar to George and Cocoa in Mama Day.
- Compare Zora Neale Hurston's techniques, methods, and findings in her book Mules and Men (1935) with the efforts of the student, Reema's boy, who returns to Willow Springs at the start of Mama Day. Consider expanding your research to include a historical overview of how anthropologists have studied and interpreted Southern black folk culture.
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