Mr. Heffernan
Honors American Studies
INDEPENDENT READING
The final independent reading assignment will take a different form from previous assignment. The class will
be divided groups. Each group will select a group of books. Your group will teach the class about the books including,
but not limited to, what you learned, what the significance of the books is, what the authors say about the American
experience (by theme), how your books relate to the topic of the American experience and what it means to be an
American. As part of your presentation, you will be expected to synthesize the entire scope of Americanism as we have
covered it this year.
You will teach how these books present, represent, analyze, relate to a unique perspective on America (the
American experience, the American ideal, the American dream, the American reality, etc.)—not plot summary, not
literary value. Do not lecture only. Instead, engage your classmates using video, music, visual aids, handouts and
(most especially) dialogue with the members of the class. Be creative. Your presentation and discussion should be no
longer than 20 minutes and no longer than one full period. Grading will be based on your ability to engage the class
in meaningful discussion so that they reach an understanding of your thesis.
In addition, your group will write one (1) paper (minimum four pages, maximum infinity) discussing your
thesis as it applies to the works read. This essay is essentially an overview of your presentation rendered in scholarly
form. The paper is for the use of the teacher only; it will not be distributed to your classmates and must be submitted
to turnitin.com.
Due date: May 18. All essays must be turned in that day and everyone must be prepared to present to the
class. The order of presentation will be determined by random drawing or volunteer. The in-class portion of the
project will count as two (2) test grades; the paper will count as one (1) test grade.
Option A: Religion and Faith in American Life
Boyle, T. C.—The Road to Wellville
Hedges, Chris—Losing Moses on the Freeway: The 10
Commandments in America
Jacoby, Susan – Freethinkers
Johnson, Paul E & Sean Wilentz – The Kingdom of Mathias:
A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th Century America
Krakauer, Jon—Under the Banner of Heaven
Sharlet, Jeff – The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the
Heart of American Power
Whitman, Walt—Leaves of Grass and Other Writings
Option B: Runaway American Dream: In Search of
America
Bryson, Bill—A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on
the Appalachian Trail
Bryson, Bill – The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town
America
Guthrie, Woody – Bound for Glory
Kerouac, Jack – On the Road
Krakauer, Jon –Into the Wild
Strayed, Cheryl – Wild: Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
Thompson, Hunter S. – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A
Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Option C: Coming of Age in America
Adams, Henry—The Education of Henry Adams
Bryson, Bill –The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A
Memoir
Chbosky, Stephen – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Diaz, Junot – The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Eggers, Dave –You Shall Know Our Velocity
Green, John – Fault in Our Stars
McCullers, Carson – The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Percy, Walker -The Moviegoer
Option D: Strangers in a Strange Land
Bryson, Bill—I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to
America After 20 Years Away
Eugenides, Jeffrey –The Virgin Suicides
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence –A Coney Island of the Mind
Miller, Henry—The Air-Conditioned Nightmare
Toole, John Kennedy—A Confederacy of Dunces
Vonnegut, Kurt—A Man Without a Country
West, Nathaniel – Miss Lonelyhearts
Option E: Women, Body and Identity.
Brumberg, Joan Jacobs—The Body Project: An Intimate History
of American Girls
Chopin, Kate –The Awakening
Gay, Roxane – Bad Feminist
Hawthorne, Nathaniel – Scarlet Letter
O’Neill, Eugene—Mourning Becomes Electra
Plath, Sylvia – The Bell Jar
Salinger, J.D—Franny and Zooey
Walker, Alice – The Color Purple
Option F: Class and America
Eggers, Dave – A Hologram for the King
Ehrenreich, Barbara—Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By
in America
Judt, Tony –Ill Fares the Land
Kozol, Jonathan –The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of
Apartheid Schooling in America
Packer, George – The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New
America
Updike, John—Rabbit, Run
Vonnegut, Kurt—Breakfast of Champions
Vonnegut, Kurt – God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater
Option G: Popular Culture in America
Sports:
Bissinger, Buzz – Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a
Dream
Harbach, Chad – The Art of Fielding
Hillenbrand, Laura – Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Kahn, Roger – The Boys of Summer
Kinsella, WP -Shoeless Joe
Lewis, Michael – Moneyball.
Music/Arts:
Bianculli, David – Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of
the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Biskind, Peter – Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugsand-Rock ‘n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Chabon, Michael – Telegraph Avenue
Chabon, Michael – The Amazing Adventures of Kaviler and
Clay
Dylan, Bob – Chronicles, Vol. 1
Egan, Jennifer – A Visit from the Goon Squad
Kaplan, James – Frank: The Voice
Marcus, Greil – The History of Rock n Roll in Ten Songs
Smith, Patti – Just Kids
West, Nathaniel - The Day of the Locust
Amusement/Technlogy/Mass Culture
Eggers, Dave – The Circle
Kasson, John F. Amusing the Million: Coney Island at the Turn
of the Century
Larson, Erik Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and
Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Masur, Louis – Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Springsteen’s
American Vision
Schlosser, Eric –Fast Food Nation
Shteyngart, Gary - Super Sad True Love Story
Option H: War and the American Experience
Filkins, Dexter – The Forever War
Finkel, David - The Good Soldiers
Herr, Michael – Dispatches
Jones, James –From Here to Eternity
Jones, James - Thin Red Line
Junger, Sebastian – War
Mailer, Norman – The Naked and the Dead
O’Brien, Tim – In the Lake of the Woods
Trumbo, Dalton – Johnny Got His Gun
Vonnegut, Kurt – Mother Night
Vonnegut, Kurt – Slaughterhouse Five
Option I : Individualism v. Communalism
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence - Americus (Poetry)
Melville, Herman – The Confidence Man
Miller, Henry – Stand Still Like the Hummingbird
Sinclair, Upton –The Jungle
Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, John Cannery Row
Thoreau, Henry David—Walden
Wharton, Edith House of Mirth