My development of a new course has been one of the tougher challenges I have faced as an educator. Not because I don’t enjoy the work. Rather, because it is forcing me out of my comfort zone that is American Literature.
I am working on creating a year-long, double-block class titled Voices of the Oppressed. My goal is to teach the class in conjunction with a history teacher while bringing in outside speakers, including the Religion Department and possibly a Holocaust survivor among other experts.
While I am well versed in literature of the oppressed in America, this class has forced me to expand my horizons and to continue to improve my networking skills as I have sought help in selecting texts for the course from the rest of the world outside the United States. Luckily, I have a sister that is working on her dissertation with a focus on Haitian Literature dealing with United States philanthropic outreach after the earthy quake and she has introduced me to other PHD students for recommendations on many of the units I’m currently developing.
Even though it has been a challenge to find texts from countries I am not as familiar with, my enthusiasm and passion for literature of the oppressed makes it a rich and rewarding experience (granted, my reading list continues to grow and grow). I have always been drawn to literature of the oppressed. Whether it’s due to my childhood and the minor oppression I endured, or growing up in the melting pot of San Francisco, I have always been interested in the stories of the “other” despite my white skin and a system put in place to ensure I am at the top of said system.
However, with Charlottesville and racial tensions in this country coming to the forefront once again, I can’t envision any work more important then developing this course. My goal is to emphasize the importance of instilling true humanity in order to begin to heal our fractured country and world. The first step is promoting the necessity of treating one another with respect and dignity while developing empathy for people of all races, creeds, religions, gender or sexual orientation.
I also recognize the importance of incorporating more then the written word as a text in all of my classes. Whether short films, TV shows, Disney shorts, music, or movies, I will continue to seek out rich texts for students to engage with.
What follows is a brief outline of the course, including units and texts I have begun to compile. I would appreciate any suggestions for short stories, plays, novels, or film/television to continue to add to the list of texts. Please talk to me in person or send me an email with any texts.
Course Title: Voices of the Oppressed
Class Structure: Double-Block class taught in conjunction with History teacher; guest speakers including the Religion Department, outside experts (possibly Holocaust Survivor). Yearlong course, possibly a hybrid course.
Class Objectives: This class will explore the role of power in society and the effects on the oppressed as well as the oppressors. Steve Biko’s statement that “the most powerful weapon in the hands of the oppressors is the minds of the oppressed” will be the guiding lens for the course. Through looking at the oppressors and the others, students will critically examine how the role of environment in conjunction with class systems creates systematic oppression across many avenues in society, thus ensuring their continuation over generations. This exploration also necessitates a close look at imperialism and colonialism, especially in the practice of raiding third world countries for resources.
Culminating Assessment: Research paper exploring role of oppression in powerful nation that used colonialism/imperialism to oppress a third world country directly. Required to implement four or more texts from class in conjunction with outside research.
Major Assignments & Projects:
Each unit will culminate with a Socratic Seminar. Students will then either complete an argumentative essay individually or work in groups to present a specific motif from the unit.
Minor Assignments:
Students will be asked to watch supplemental documentaries & films at home. Students will also engage in discussions on Schoology in preparation for small-group and whole-class discussions. Students will also be asked to i
Units
First Semester
1) North Africa/Sub-Saharan (7 weeks)
a. Steve Biko; Nelsen Mandela;
b. “Hotel Rwanda”/”Cry Freedom”/”Last King of Scotland”/”Blood Diamond”/
c. “Lost Boys” of Sudan 60 Minutes videoe
d. Things Fall Apart, Achebe
e. Homecoming, Yaa Gyasi
f. Radiance of Tomorrow, Ismael Beah
2) The Caribbean (6 weeks)
a. Frankentienne – Ready to Burst
b. Bob Marley/Peter Tosh
c. Junto Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Dominican Republic)
d. Adam Johnson: The Orphan Master’s Son
e. Edwige Danticat (Haitian-American writer). Her writing is VERY accessible and rich. Novels/short stories?
f. Jamaica Kincaid (Caribbean)
g. The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace (Trinidad)
3) United States (8 weeks)
a. Claudia Rankine – Citizen: An American Lyric
b. Marcus Gardley? – “Black Odyssey”, “..:And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi”
c. O’Connor – “Everything that Rises Must Converge”
d. “Long Black Song”; “Going to Meet the Man”
e. August Wilson play – Fences, Jitney, Joe Turners Come and Gone, Gem of the Ocean; A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
f. MLK – “I Have a Dream”
g. Malcolm X/Slave Narratives – excerpts
h. “Yellow Wallpaper” – Perkins-Gilman
i. Sylvia Plath/Emily Dickinson poetry
j. Alice Walker/Toni Morrison/Maya Angelou/Zora Neale Hurston
k. Harlem Renaissance – poetry – Langston Hughes/
l. Dr. Joy DeGuy – Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome
m. “13th” Documentary/Michael Che “Black Lives Matter”; “Mississippi Burning”; “I am not your Negro” James Baldwin documentary; Black Panthers
n. LGBT???? – “Master of None” Thanksgiving episode
o. Nikki Giovanni
p. Sandra Cisneros
q. Role of Black Music – influence from Slave Spirituals>Blues>Jazz>R&B>Rap>
r. Sherman Alexie; Native American oral tradition?
s.Hillbilly Elegy; Southie – excerpts
t. Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson
u. Autobiography of Dick Gregory excerpts
v. Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions
w. John Henry Disney short film
Second Semester
4) Central/South America (4 weeks)
a. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5) Europe (8 weeks)
a. Ireland – Yeats; Dubliners, James Joyce;
b. Scotland – “Braveheart”
c. England – Virginia Woolf; Shakespeare play – Othello;
d. Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, France – Night, Weisel; Maus l/II; The Pianist; Schlindlers List; The Book Thief,Zuzak; The Boy in Stripped Pajamas; The Dairy of Ann Frank
e. Spain –
f. Italy, Malta –
6) Australia (4 weeks)
a. My Place, Sally Morgan
b. Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)
c. David Unaipon; Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
d. Rabbit-Proof Fence (film)
7) Asia (5 weeks)
a. Japan
b. Chinese revolution
c. Vietnam/Cambodia – American & French involvement
8) Middle East (6 weeks)
a. Kite Runner/Thousand Splendid Sons
b. God of Small Things, A. Roy
c. Azar Nafisi: Reading of Lolita in Tehran
d. Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Infidel