ENGLISH 11: AMERICAN LITERATURE

2014-2015
Sheryl Chard sheryl.chard@bosqueschool.org

IF ONE READS ENOUGH BOOKS, ONE HAS A FIGHTING CHANCE.
OR BETTER, ONES CHANCES OF SURVIVAL INCREASE WITH EACH BOOK ONE READS.
SHERMAN ALEXIE

COURSE OVERVIEW
Welcome to American Literature! We are embarking on a year of exploring a wide range of novels,
stories, essays, and poems by American writers. Our reading list consists of a rich diversity of American
voices and includes both well-known classics and more contemporary texts. Everything we read offers
a lens for exploring who we are and how we live in the United States. Throughout the year, we will ask
and try to answer such essential questions as:

What are our individual American stories, and is there a shared American story?
How can reading critically and writing carefully help us clarify and articulate our understanding
of ourselves and the world?
Why does it matter that we delve deeply into our cultures literary tradition? How does that
give us essential skills and enlarge our humanity?
What is the power of the written word for shaping who we are and how we live in the world?

Major texts for this course include works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lorraine Hansberry, Jimmy Santiago
Baca, Ana Castillo, N. Scott Momaday, Ursula K. Le Guin, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Ralph Ellison. Well
supplement these with shorter works by writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sherman Alexie, Maya
Angelou, Maxine Hong Kingston, and a variety of other American poets, essayists, and writers of short
fiction. We will also lean on a classroom text, They Say/I Say by Gerald Graff et. al., to develop skill in
using other peoples words and ideas.

Honing writing and close reading skills will be a major focus of the year. Well use short creative writing
projects to practice editing and proofreading skills, in-class essays to sharpen analysis, and extended
out-of-class essays to develop voice, organization, and revision skills.


QUARTER ONE
NOT I, NOR ANYONE ELSE CAN TRAVEL THAT ROAD FOR YOU.
YOU MUST TRAVEL IT BY YOURSELF. IT IS NOT FAR. IT IS WITHIN REACH.
PERHAPS YOU HAVE BEEN ON IT SINCE YOU WERE BORN, AND DID NOT KNOW.
PERHAPS IT IS EVERYWHERE - ON WATER AND LAND.
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Major Texts:
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Jimmy Santiago Baca, Martn & Meditations on the South Valley

Additional Readings may include selections from T.S. Eliot, Wendell Berry, Henry David Thoreau, Ta-
Nehisi Coates, Bill Bryson, Sherman Alexie, Stephen King, Walt Whitman, and others



QUARTER TWO
HERE, ON THE PULSE OF THIS NEW DAY/ YOU MAY HAVE THE GRACE TO LOOK UP AND OUT/
AND INTO YOUR SISTERS EYES, AND INTO/ YOUR BROTHERS FACE, YOUR COUNTRY
AND SAY SIMPLY/ VERY SIMPLY/ WITH HOPE / GOOD MORNING.
Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of Morning
Major Texts:
Ana Castillo, So Far From God
N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain
Selected American poets, including Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and others

Additional Readings may include selections from Gloria Anzalda, Elizabeth Perkins Gilman, Mark
Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Joy Harjo, Robert Frost, and Hakim Bellamy


QUARTER THREE
THE SENSATION OF WRITING A BOOK IS THE SENSATION OF SPINNING, BLINDED BY LOVE AND DARING. IT IS THE SENSATION OF A STUNT
PILOT'S TURNING BARREL ROLLS, OR AN INCHWORM'S BLIND REARING FROM A STEM IN SEARCH OF A ROUTE. AT ITS WORST, IT FEELS
LIKE ALLIGATOR WRESTLING, AT THE LEVEL OF THE SENTENCE.
Annie Dillard
Major Texts:
Ursula LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies

Additional Readings may include selections from Alberto Alvaro Rios, Washington Irving, Henry David
Thoreau, and Annie Dillard


QUARTER FOUR
YOU THINK YOUR PAIN AND YOUR HEARTBREAK ARE UNPRECEDENTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, BUT THEN YOU READ. IT WAS
BOOKS THAT TAUGHT ME THAT THE THINGS THAT TORMENTED ME MOST WERE THE VERY THINGS
THAT CONNECTED ME WITH ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ALIVE, OR WHO HAD EVER BEEN ALIVE.
James Baldwin
Major Text:
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Additional Readings may include selections from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Booker T. Washington, James
Baldwin, Flannery OConnor, Chang-Rae Lee, and Joan Didion


HOPES, EXPECTATIONS, AND COMMITMENTS
I care deeply about words, both written and spoken. The Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Czeslaw
Milosz once asked, What is poetry that does not save nations or people? I love considering this
question when thinking about any powerful piece of written or spoken word. What are our words for
if not to love, care for, inspire, challenge, and make change? We are the only species on earth to have
language as we know it; its an extraordinary gift that merits great regard and tenderness. Its easy to
forget how gorgeous and magical language is; I hope that our work together this year will help all of us
remember.

So what does this look like in our class? My hope is that each of you will be moved by something that
you read this year, ideally by many things! My hope is that something we read will change you and
contribute to your evolution as a fine, wise, compassionate human on the planet. I want you to
become stronger, clearer writers. I want you to know exactly how to tackle a tough piece of writing
and get it.

My expectation is that you come to class having done the reading with attention and care. I do not
expect you to love everything we read (although I sure hope you love a lot of it!), but I do expect you to
be open to each reading experience and to do the reading on time. This is the one non-negotiable
expectation I have. Its just no fun for the group when only some have done the reading. I also ask
you to listen generously to others ideas, questions, insights, and struggles. In short, I ask you to be
kind. I want our class to be vibrant, honest, and interesting; this can only happen if everyone feels
seen and honored.

My commitment to you is that I will work hard to come up with interesting ways to invite you into the
literature we are reading. You can count on me to choose works that represent many different
American voices. You can count on me to read your work with care and to assess your work fairly. I
will work with you when you are struggling. I will also work with you when youre not struggling but
simply want feedback or a thought partner. I will see you as a whole person with a full life beyond
English class and, if you get in a tough spot and fall behind, I will offer support and patience as you get
back on track. I will always listen.


LOGISTICS AND SUPPLIES
You will need three things for our class:

Lots of loose leaf paper. I will collect short writing assignments from you almost every time we
meet. If these are written at home, you are welcome to type them and bring a hard copy. If we
write them in class, you will need lined paper without the spiral edges.

Two sections in a binder one for handouts and one for notes.

A Bosque email address for use with Google Drive and to access an online class folder.

Finding me during the day or after school:

The best way to reach me outside of class is to come to my office in the Sofia Center; in person is
always the best conversation anyway.
The second best way is email, which I check regularly and often.
The third best way is my cell phone. Please know that I am not a person who carries her phone
everywhere she goes; it is often in my bag with all ringers and other alerts off. In a pinch, call or text
me, but just know I wont necessarily get your message immediately. Cell is 363-0864.


THE CLASSROOM SPACE AND VIBE
We live in a world of constant input from all kinds of media, available 24 hours a day. Any desired
piece of information is at our fingertips, as is instant contact with everyone we know. Add this
constant connection to our already full lives and its a little overwhelming. Id like us to make our
classroom a place that feels different than some of the more crazed spaces in our lives. Id like it to be
a place where you can exhale, and Id like it to be a place where we do our best to focus on one thing
at a time. Below is what I ask of you in order to create such a space.

Getting Started:
Arrive on time.
Choose a seat, get settled in it, put your phone and all of your electronic devices away
(into your backpack), and stash your backpack behind your desk.
Please take it upon yourself to choose a seat from which you can focus. If you cant
resist talking with your close friend, please find a different spot. I much prefer that you
sort this out yourselves instead of my having to ask (no fun for anyone).
Take out your book, something to write with, your homework, and the binder with your
English work in it.
Breathe a little or catch up with friends while you wait for class to get started.
During Class:
Sit up and make eye contact with the person speaking.
Engage in whatever activity were doing, whether it is writing, reading, or discussing.
Stay in class throughout the whole period. If you need to leave to use the restroom, by
all means do so, but leaving class should be something that happens rarely, not every
day.
Keep your phone put away throughout the entire class. Rushing to check your phone
every time we have a few seconds of downtime pulls your focus outside of the
classroom.
Treat everyone in the room with respect and kindness. Well all be able to relax more if
we know people are going to treat us gently.
As Class Ends:
Wait. Patiently. Dont start putting your things away before class is over. Ill do my best
to leave you a few minutes to get your thoughts and your things organized before you
head to your next class.
Check your space before you leave. Make sure you have your books, your jacket, your
water bottle, etc. This last step will help you carry your calm spirit into the rest of the
day.