Outschool
Open currency, time zone, and language settings
Log In

America Uncensored: High School U.S. Literature Part 1 of 2

In Part 1, student will read American literature from the Indigenous nations through Reconstruction while analyzing letters, essays, novels, poetry, and more through decolonial, anti-racist, feminist, queer, and historical lenses.
Beth Foster | Humanities Educator
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(349)
Star Educator
Popular
Class

What's included

32 live meetings
24 in-class hours
Homework
2-4 hours per week. Each class meeting will end with a reading and journal assignment to be completed before the next class. At the end of each week, students will have a one-page essay to complete offering an analysis of the past week's topic based on a prompt. An estimated two to four hours will be needed each week to complete the reading and writing assignments.
Assessment
Journals and essays will be reviewed throughout the semester. For students who need a final grade/letter of completion, this is how the final grade will be calculated: Class Participation (Attendance and Discussion): 25 Percent Journal: 25 Percent Essays: 50 Percent Students receiving a final grade of C (70 percent) or greater will be issued a letter of completion reflecting the final grade.
Letter Grade
Students who complete the course with a C (70 percent or greater) will receive a letter of completion with their letter grade within a month of the course's last meeting.
Certificate of Completion
Students who complete the course with a C (70 percent or greater) will receive a certificate of completion within a month of the course's last meeting.

Class Experience

US Grade 9 - 12
𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: 

❶ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 If the class fee is a barrier to your learner's enrollment, message me for more information about payment plan options and scholarship opportunities. 

❷ 𝗘𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀/𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 Learners registering for both the America Uncensored: High School U.S. History Part 1 and America Uncensored: High School American Literature Part 1 course in the same school year, or enrolling in one of the courses in the immediate consecutive school year following completion of the other course (for example, taking history in 2024-25 and literature in 2025-26), will be refunded $100 of their course fees ($50 for Part 1 and $50 for Part 2). The refund will be made in the week before class meetings begin, at the time Google Drive links are being distributed to students. For learners on the payment plan, the $50 refund will be applied to the second payment. 

❸ 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 The course will meet twice per week, 45 minutes per meeting, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The spring semester begins on August 13 and ends on December 19. There are no classes the week of September 2 because of the Labor Day holiday, the week of October 28 because of fall break, and the week of November 25 because of the Thanksgiving holiday. 

❹ 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 Students will receive a Google Drive link before the course begins. The Google Drive will include the student's journal, essay templates, MLA style guide, and grading/feedback document. 

❺ 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 No refunds of course fees are given after the Google Drive links are distributed. 

❻ 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 Learners enrolled in any of my semester courses are invited to attend study hall, held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons during the semester, at no additional cost. This is a time when students can get extra help with assignments, ask questions, work with classmates on group projects, or just log in and work on homework with other learners. 

❼ 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 Homework is assigned following each class meeting. Students are welcome to attend the course and complete as much or as little homework as they and their adult wish. In order to receive a letter of completion, however, students must complete homework in order to earn at least a 70 percent of better on their final grade. 

········································································

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗗: 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘

In "America Uncensored: High School U.S. Literature," students will read oral literature, diary entries, essays, poetry, letters, autobiography, novels, and more while analyzing works through decolonial, anti-racist, feminist, queer, and historical lenses. We'll read some from within the traditional American literary canon and question why these works are included and if they should be included. We'll also reach outside the canon to bring in the diverse experiences of Americans of other races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, classes, and national origins. We'll interrogate the reading selections of the course and ask which Americans are over-represented and which Americans are underrepresented. We'll look for ways as a cohort of learners to bring those underrepresented Americans' voices into our course. 

Part 1 of "American Uncensored: High School U.S. Literature" covers the Indigenous nations through Reconstruction and is offered in the fall semester (August through December). Part 2 begins with Reconstruction and continues to the present and is offered in the spring semester (January through May). Each part is 16 weeks with 45-minute twice weekly meetings. The course includes lecture, discussion, slides, video clips, and audio clips. Learners should complete assigned reading and journal entries before class to be prepared for the discussion. 

Homework includes reading assignments, twice-weekly journal entries, and twelve essays throughout the semester. 

The following is a schedule of texts assigned during Part 1. Lectures, discussion and writing assignments for the week will center on the assigned texts. 

Week 1: Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," Langston Hughes' "I, Too," and Allison Adelle Hedge Coke's "America, I Sing You Back" 

Week 2:  Selections from Indigenous oral literature, Christopher Columbus, Bartolomé de las Casas, Roger Williams, Willam Bradford, Thomas Morton, and Anne Bradstreet

Week 3: Selections from 𝑨 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒓𝒔. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒏, Annettee Kolodony's 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒓: 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝟭𝟲𝟯𝟬-𝟭𝟴𝟲𝟬, and Lisa Brooks' 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒏: 𝑨 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑'𝒔 𝑾𝒂𝒓, and Louise Erdrich's "Captivity" and Sherman Alexie's "Captivity"

𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

Week 4: Selections from John and Abigail Adams letters, Thomas Paine's 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒉 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒐, 𝑶𝒓 𝑮𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒗𝒖𝒔 𝑽𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏, and Phillis Wheatley, and Tecumseh’s “Speech to the Osage” 

Week 5: "Native Americans: Removal and Resistance," reading selections from 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, Tenth Edition

Week 6: Nathaniel Hawthorne: “The May-Pole of Merry Mount,” “The Minster’s Black Veil,” 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝑳𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓

Week 7: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝑳𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓

Week 8-9: Selections from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Farley, Catherine Maria Sedgwick, Lydia Marie Child, Lydia Howard Huntley Sigourney, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, and Margaret Fuller

Week 10: Selections from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry David Thoreau, and Edgar Allen Poe

𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

Week 11: 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑫𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔

Week 12: 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑫𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔

Week 13: Harriet Jacobs' 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

Week 14: Harriet Jacobs' 𝑰𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍

Week 15: Selections from Walk Whitman and Emily Dickinson

Week 16: Selections from George Moses Horton and Louisa May Alcott
Learning Goals
There are multiple learning goals for this class. The primary goal is that students gain a broader knowledge of American literature, how literature is an ongoing conversation that tells and shapes the country's story, and how to find and amplify the voices of marginalized people in that conversation. A further goal is that students learn more about analyzing literature, particularly through anti-racist, feminist, decolonial, queer, and historical lenses.
learning goal

Syllabus

Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
Standards
Aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
32 Lessons
over 16 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Introductions and Class Agreements
 Introductions and Class Agreements 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
"I Hear America Singing"
 Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," Langston Hughes' "I, Too," and Allison Adelle Hedge Coke's "America, I Sing You Back" 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Pre-Colonial and Early Colonial Literature
 Selections from Indigenous oral literature, Christopher Columbus, Bartolomé de las Casas, Roger Williams, Willam Bradford, Thomas Morton, and Anne Bradstreet 
45 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Pre-Colonial and Early Colonial Literature
 Selections from Indigenous oral literature, Christopher Columbus, Bartolomé de las Casas, Roger Williams, Willam Bradford, Thomas Morton, and Anne Bradstreet 
45 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Parental Guidance
The content covered in this class will include colonization, slavery, genocide, war, disease, violence, death, and oppression. Some literature may include racist and sexist language and attitudes and will be discussed and analyzed through anti-racist, feminist, queer, decolonial, and historical lenses. Some literature may include alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, as well as sex, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation. The historical realities of U.S. history are disturbing to almost all students, but may be especially difficult for some learners. Please consider whether your learner is ready to grapple with this content before enrolling. In addition, this class will address the diversity of the experiences of being an American and how those experiences are reflected in the country's literature. Students will learn about the experiences of people of different religions, races, genders, sexes, and sexual orientations. We will explore the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people. Exploring history and literature always leads to connections with current events. Students will be encouraged to make these connections and this will lead to conversations about current political debates. My objective when this happens is to facilitate a civil, thoughtful, learner-led conversation in which students arrive at connections through their own analysis.
Supply List
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, Tenth Edition

I recommend the digital package, "Both Pre-1865 and Post 1865 Ebooks for 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, Tenth Edition, Full Edition" at this link: https://digital.wwnorton.com/americanlit10 ($63.95 as of March 2024)

We will be using 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 in both Part 1 and Part 2, though it will be necessary to purchase some additional novels for Part 2. In addition to the Pre-1865 and Post-1865 anthologies, students will receive an MLA Citation Booklet, 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, and more helpful resources in the digital package. However, these resources are not required for the course and if your have a paper edition of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, Tenth Edition that will work.
 1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined July, 2020
4.9
349reviews
Star Educator
Popular
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in History from Gettysburg College
Bachelor's Degree in English from Campbellsville University
I have a master of arts degree in American history, and bachelor of arts degrees in political science, English, and communications with a journalism emphasis. I am lead teacher at The Foster Woods Folk School, which focuses on humanities education within an ecosocial justice framework aimed at celebrating and improving our connections as a global community of humans and non-humans living on Planet Earth. In this role, I work with learners of all ages with a primary focus of working with learners in grades three through 12. I was the director of a social justice center for three years during which time I routinely taught about and facilitated conversations about historical and current political events for both teen and adults participants. Before that, I was a newspaper editor and reporter for 15 years. I have been teaching history, social studies, and English Language Arts classes for several years. 

Reviews

Live Group Course
Share

$450

for 32 classes
2x per week, 16 weeks
45 min

Live video meetings
Ages: 14-17
2-15 learners per class

About
Support
SafetyPrivacyCA PrivacyLearner PrivacyManage Data PreferencesTerms
Financial Assistance
Get The App
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
© 2024 Outschool