TEACHER CENTER OF CHEEKTOWAGA
MINERVA CLASSES
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN AMERICAN,
AMERICAN CULTURAL LITERACY SERIES
ALL CLASSES ARE ON WEDNESDAY – 4:15-7:15 PM
PLEASE REPORT TO THE TEACHER CENTER OF CHEEKTOWAGA – ROOM 271
1050 MARYVALE DRIVE, R. BINNER EDUCATION CENTER, CHEEKTOWAGA, NY 14225
Overview: This series studies American pluralism and culture from a historical and contemporary
lens using literature, film, television, music, art, architecture, and other disciplines in the humanities.
The series models several elements of the common core learning standards and is thus
highly cross-disciplinary, using texts from each subject. All grades and content areas—from technology to
music—will find this series applicable. Participants can take one or all courses in the series. Please be specific
as to which session you are signing up for when registering. You may take one or all of them.
Course 1: The Origins of Our Ideas – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29 – 3 hrs.
How do contemporary ideas reflect our past and future? We explore texts written by John Crevecouer and Ishmael
Reed, the short story Endicott and the Red Cross, John Stuart’s expose on immigration laws, art images from the
revolutionary period, John Locke’s Right of Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, Frederick Douglass’
speech What To a Slave is the Fourth of July?, the Occupy Wall Street movement, Federalist #10, and the Tea
Party movement.
Course 2: Emerging and Disappearing Identities – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 – 3 hrs.
Can a nation be built without losing essential parts that define it? We study this question through literature including
The Last of the Mohicans, Hope Leslie, documentary on the Trail of Tears, Native American removal documents
including letters by Andrew Jackson, missionaries, Chief John Ross, other Cherokee writings, Jackson’s 2 nd State
of the Union address, and Chief John Ridge’s account of the Civilizing Project.
Course 3: Lenses of Liberty – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18 – 3 hrs.
How does American identity interact with multiple and conflicting definitions of liberty? We explore Eric Foner’s
scholarly accounts on the time period, documentary on Andrew Jackson, the South Carolina Exposition by
Calhoun, Thoreau’s essay on Civil Disobedience, Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Hentz’s The Planter’s Northern
Bride, Lincoln’s speech in Peoria, Frederick Douglass’ speech What a Black Man Wants, Brady’s photos of the
War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address.
Course 4: New Voices, Old Faces - WEDNESDAY, MAY 2 – 3 hrs.
How does the U.S. shape its identity in face of changes? We study cartoons by Thomas Nast and the Crebs
Lithograph Company, documentary on African American views on Reconstruction, documentary on Mark Twain,
Huckleberry Finn, Louis Sullivan’s urban architecture, documentary on the transcontinental railway, Ragged Dick,
Sunshine in the Shadow of New York, Life in the Iron Mills, documentary on Jacob Riis and Bandits Roost, Gangs
of New York film, Whistler’s painting Princess from the Land of Porcelain, and Vaudeville entertainment.
Course 5: Upheaval and Collapse of the Old Order – WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 – 3 hrs.
What are various definitions of the American Dream? We study a documentary on the influenza epidemic during
WWI, The Great Gatsby, documentary on Fitzgerald, documentary on stock market crash of ’29, the film Gold
Rush, documentary on Prohibition, Laurel and Hardy short The Music Box, and the Jazz age and music.
Course 6: Histories of the 1950s – WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 – 3 hrs.
What influences us to remember a time period in a particular way? We explore the film Family Dinner Date, Ozzy
and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, interviews with Barbara Billingsley, I Love Lucy, music of Elvis, Catch-22, interview
with Joseph Heller, documentary on the Beat Generation, the poem Howl, the legal document on the decision of
Brown vs. Board of Education, and the film Raisin in the Sun.
Course 7: The Thirty-Year Decade – WEDNESDAY, June 6 – 3 hrs.
Why do we sometimes define historical eras into periods of 10 years? We explore Bob Daly’s essay on the 1950s,
1960s, 1970s, the poem Annus Mirabilis by Philip Larkin, music of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Star Trek, The Brady
Bunch, The Addams Family, The Munsters, Vietnam War images, and Happy Days.
Upon taking any of the Minerva classes, participants will see the following elements of the common core learning
standards modeled:
 Respond to literature by employing knowledge of literary language, textual features, and forms to read and
comprehend, reflect upon, and interpret literary texts from a variety of genres and a wide spectrum of
American and world cultures
 Recognize and describe how an author’s background and culture affect his or her perspective
 Recognize and make connections in narratives, poetry, and drama to other texts, ideas, cultural
perspectives, personal events, and situations
 Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds
 Analyze full-length novels, short stories, poems, and other genres by authors who represent diverse world
cultures
 Interpret, analyze, and evaluate narratives, poetry, and drama, artistically and ethically by making
connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events, and situations
 Interpret, analyze, and evaluate narratives, poetry, and drama, aesthetically and ethically by making
connections to: other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events and situations.
a. Self-select text to respond and develop innovative perspectives.
b. Establish and use criteria to classify, select, and evaluate texts to make informed judgments about the
quality of the pieces.
 Read, annotate, and analyze informational texts on topics related to diverse and non-traditional
cultures and viewpoints
 Develop personal, cultural, textual, and thematic connections within and across genres as they respond to
texts through written, digital, and oral presentations, employing a variety of media and genres
Teacher Center of Cheektowaga Registration Form
Registration begins NOW and ENDS ONE WEEK PRIOR TO when the course begins/or when course is filled.
Name_________________________________________________________________________________________
Home Address _________________________________________________________________________________
School District _____________________________ School Building _______________________________________
Home Phone ___________________ School Phone ______________________ Cell Phone ___________________
E-Mail Address _________________________________________________________________________________
Course Title ____________________________________________________________________________________
Course Date(s) ______________________________________________ __________________________________
Classes must be taken in entirety—no substitutions/transfers are allowed. Submit a separate registration form for each course
you wish to take. Either hand deliver, mail or send your registration through your school courier to: Teacher Center of
Cheektowaga, Maryvale School District, Robert Binner Education Center - Room 271, 1050 Maryvale Drive, Cheektowaga, NY
14225. Participants who cancel or do not attend a class after registering will jeopardize their enrollment in future classes.
PLEASE BE SURE TO OBTAIN DISTRICT APPROVAL BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR A CLASS!