Ethnic American Literature
Course Qualification
The addition of an elective English course in Ethnic American Literature would enrich
the current English curriculum by expanding on the study of cultural diversity begun in
World Literature. With an ever increasing multicultural population in our public schools,
students would benefit from an in-depth study of multiple ethnicities. This course will
offer a springboard into the variety of cultures students will encounter in their college
and/or work experience.
Course Outline
Using fiction, autobiography, drama, and even some poetry and song, this course will
explore the connections between ethnic identity, literature, and culture in the United
States. Rather than focus on one tradition, we will read works by writers with divergent
racial and ethnic histories: African American, American Jewish, Asian American, Latino,
and American Indian. These texts will provide a foundation for examining the
combinations of identification and alienation that make up an "ethnic" identity. Other
topics include the notion of "America" as a multi-culture, race and ideology, immigrant
experiences and class, and cultural encounters with "others."
Our focus will be the telling of life stories and cultural experiences by writers from
selected and differing ethnic communities and pasts. Many of the texts we will study will
be of a more or less autobiographical nature; some are autobiographies, some are deeply
rooted in the author's life experiences, and others are fictionalized histories and personal
narrative. We will also experiment with the creation of our own autobiographies.
NCSCOS Goals
1.02 – Making connections between the learner’s life and the text, reflect on how cultural
or historical perspectives may have influenced these responses.
2.04 – Identifying and analyzing personal, social, historical or cultural influences,
contexts, or biases.
4.02 – Developing critiques that give an audience an understanding of how authors’
assumptions, cultural backgrounds, and social values affect texts.
The goals for the course will be adapted according to the new Common Core Standards
upon adoption in fall 2012.
Proposed List of Major Authors
African-American Literature – Toni Morrison, Toni Cade Bambara, James Baldwin
Asian-American – Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, Jhumpa Lahiri
Jewish-American – Bernard Malamud, Jonathan Safran Foer
Native-American – Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louise Erdrich
Latino – Julia Alvarez, Isabel Allende, Juno Diaz