I have been thinking about how I am going to teach world literature with my 10th graders next year. My idea right now is to have a theme within the books read. The theme would be social justice. I'm trying to think about fiction stories that include this theme. I would welcome any suggestions.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
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13 comments:
ooh.... i like this. the first book that comes to mind is les miserables, a fav., but i will never read again b/c it was so long. i would have hated it in highschool. but '95 version of the movie, you know how great it is. the kite runner, but again don't know about highschool and that one...i'll keep thinking
Great idea, Miss Conner. Although in order for me to contribute a suggestion it would mean that I have actually read something...I am sad to say, I have nothing to offer. I can't wait to see what others suggest though.
That is a wonderful idea! You could use Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Grapes of Wrath, or The Color Purple. If it didn't have to be confined to fiction, you could use No Logo by Naomi Klein, which is about sweatshops. I'll be thinking of some more ideas.
Walk on the Wild Side, Nelsen Algren
I think if you're going to do Steinbeck, you should do Cannery Row. It's actually better, in my opinion, than TGOW, and your students are going to see TGOW again for sure. That's just my opinion. It's thematically similar in some respects. Cannery Row is also more accessible for a high school brain. Cannery Row is part of the fabric of my being. I love that book.
Many Things Faulkner except for The Sound and the Fury which is kind of difficult. If you don't get a tast for Faulkner early, you don't get a taste for Faulkner at all. And this is sad.
You might be able to segue here into some industrial revolution "yellow journalism" which is something you should really have a grip on before you go to college because they ask you stuff about it and stuff. :-)
What about some excerpts from The Wasteland? I think the Wasteland is REALLY hard, but maybe bits and pieces? (well, the whole thing isn't really relevant, probably.)
What about I know why the caged bird sings? Angelou. It's easy an gives an interesting insight into racism and culture.
All these books are kind of "dirty." I must be a perv or something.
Su
Su
1984. But, as Su stated, this is one that will probably rear its dirty head in the future. But I mention it to raise the question as to whether or not we believe social justice as defined by the society, or if we believe it to be defined by justice (stick that in your pipe and smoke it!).
You could always study the Sermon on the Mount (you do teach in a "Christian" school [placing the quotes courtesy of J.Bowden], right?).
Sorry I don't have much to offer in the area, but I can't think as well (after a couple glasses of wine) and probably aren't well read enough to be much help in this area.
Capitalism and Progress. Look it up.
Good idea, Gene.
Su
Tobacco Road, Erskine Caldwell.
Another idea for depression-era fiction.
Su
Hi Ginny,
You may have already heard of International Justice Mission www.imj.org, but they are a group that fights injustice, especially slavery. The website has a lot of resources and ways to be involved in social justice.
Sorry, www.ijm.org
have you thought about letter from a birmingham jail-martin luther king, jr. ?
I don't have any original thoughts at the moment - I'll work on it.
Jeff's idea is my favorite, so far (not to minimize anyone else's thoughts, though).
And Su inspired me - if you can branch into the world of poetry, I'm thinking Langston Hughes, and there's even some old jazz songs that address the theme (I've got some Louis Armstrong on the brain at the moment - I'll toss a few your way, if you want). And speaking of Langston Hughes, A Raisin in the Sun popped into my head, though I don't remember exactly its plot or if it's suitable for your audience.
You mentioned it in an earlier post - Animal Farm could be interesting. And Jack Kerouac comes to mind, but that's probably a stretch. Emerson and Thoreau were pretty vocal on the subject, if I recall.
Have you thought about just doing the Left Behind series???
tomorrow night we're going to see the nathan peek band @ oasis if you wanna come. and saturday is the magic city art festival. i sent out an email, but don't have your address. if you're interested and want to join us or want more info, shoot me an email: caseyalanpatton@gmail.com
word.
How about Dickens? So many of his novels were full of social justice themes.
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