Week 1: August 27–31

Welcome to your American Literature course!

For the opening lesson (Mon./Tues.), we start thinking about the concept of the “American Dream.” What does it mean, and how does it shape our culture? We engage with some “thought-provokers” to kick-start our thinking, which include film clips from Spellbound, American Psycho, Friday Night Lights, and Napoleon Dynamite, as well as texts such as The Declaration of Independence and Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred.”

You are assigned Writing Assignment #1: What Is the American Dream? to develop your thinking into an essay. It’s due next class.

For Lesson 2 (Wed./Thurs.), we do a read-around of WA#1, in which every student reads out loud a short section of his or her essay, and we invite further class discussion triggered by your readings.


Posted by Justin Wells : 09/08/2007