Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" - Tanya Boucicaut episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 4, 2026 · 6 MIN

Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" - Tanya Boucicaut

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” which follows Janie Crawford in her search for love and agency.--Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to flee their ruined communities. But for Janie Crawford, it inspired an unexpected homecoming. So begins Zora Neale Hurston’s acclaimed novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” about a Black woman’s quest for love and agency. Tanya Boucicaut dives into this classic of the Harlem Renaissance.Lesson by Tanya Boucicaut, directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-love-and-independence-coexist-tanya-boucicautDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-love-and-independence-coexist-tanya-boucicaut#digdeeperAnimator's website: http://www.tomatico.net ----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Sebastiaan Vleugels, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Brad Sullivan, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, Karen Ho, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Fahad Nasser Chowdhury, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn and Anna-Pitschna Kunz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” which follows Janie Crawford in her search for love and agency.--Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to flee their ruined communities. But for Janie Crawford, it inspired an unexpected homecoming. So begins Zora Neale Hurston’s acclaimed novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” about a Black woman’s quest for love and agency. Tanya Boucicaut dives into this classic of the Harlem Renaissance.Lesson by Tanya Boucicaut, directed by Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-love-and-independence-coexist-tanya-boucicautDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-love-and-independence-coexist-tanya-boucicaut#digdeeperAnimator's website: http://www.tomatico.net ----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Sebastiaan Vleugels, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Brad Sullivan, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, Karen Ho, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Fahad Nasser Chowdhury, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Michael Braun-Boghos, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn and Anna-Pitschna Kunz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" - Tanya Boucicaut

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This episode was published on June 4, 2026.

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Dig into Zora Neale Hurston’s classic novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” which follows Janie Crawford in her search for love and agency.--Baritone thunder. Snarling winds. Consuming downpours. Okeechobee, the hurricane of 1928, forced many to...

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