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

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 fall semester begins on August 12 and ends on December 18. There are no classes the week of September 1 because of the Labor Day holiday, the week of October 27 because of fall break, and the week of November 24 because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The spring semester begins on January 27, 2026, and ends on May 21, 2026, with a one-week spring break the week of March 9. 

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. 

➑  𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗢𝘄𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 The Foster Woods Folk School publishes a school newsletter during the school year (with the exception of break weeks). Learners enrolled in any Foster Woods Folk School course are invited to contribute writing and artwork for the newsletter with a completed permission form from the learner's adult. 

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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, song lyrics, 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, audio clips, escape rooms, creative writing, and small group activities. 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