Important texts to include

Some possible texts to explore (list to be updated regularly):

Asian-American
The Joy Luck Club and/or The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee
Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Typical American by Gish Jen

Native American
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Moccasin Thunder by Lori Marie Carlson (ed)

Hispanic American
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez

African American Literature
Beloved by Toni Morrison
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Literature
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane Bauer
The Flip Side by Andrew Matthew
Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

I have started thinking about a sequence for the class, particularly in terms time-lines and specific units. Additionally, I am starting to pull together specific texts that I would want to cover in each unit. Some of the major units I would want to cover include:

I. Defining Multiculturalism in America
II. Multicultural Short Stories Unit
III. Native American Literature
IV. African American Literature
V. Asian American Literature (Including Indian and Pacific Islander)
VI. Hispanic American Literature
VII. Gay/Lesbian/Transgendered Literature
VIII. Other Minority Literature

Questions: Is this too ambitious to cover in a one year time frame? Should I also be incorporating traditional American literature in the course as well?

Articles

Over the past few weeks, I have been gathering a variety of articles pertaining to multicultural literature. Some that are of particular interest include:

Monica Chiu. (2006). The Cultural Production of Asian American Young Adults in the Novels of Marie G. Lee, An Na, and Doris Jones Yang. The Lion and the Unicorn, 30(2), 168-184.

Campano, G. (2007, October). Honoring Student Stories. Educational Leadership, 65(2), 48-54.

Amanda Haertling Thein, Richard Beach, Daryl Parks. (2007). Perspective-Taking as Transformative Practice in Teaching Multicultural Literature to White Students. English Journal, 97(2), 54-60.

Kelly Sassi, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Lisa Storm Fink. (2008). Walking the Talk: Examining Privilege and Race in a Ninth-Grade Classroom. English Journal, 97(6), 25-31.

Louie, Belinda. (2006). Guiding Principles for Teaching Multicultural Literature. International Reading Association, 438-448.

Landt, Susan. (2008) Multicultural Literature and Young Adolescents: A Kaleidoscope of Opportunity. International Reading Association, 880-887.

Course Description

Here is my first draft for the course description. Justification and purpose to follow:

Multicultural literature offers the student an opportunity to gain an understanding and an awareness of cultural diversity in America. This course will provide an introduction to the literatures (in English or in translation) of a variety of cultural groups, defined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and/or physical condition; such as Native-Americans, Hispanic- Americans, Asian-Americans, African-Americans, women, persons who are LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning), and/or persons with disabilities. The course will include readings by contemporary writers focusing on the experiences of various cultural groups through their essays, poetry, fiction, and drama. In this literature course, we will listen to some of the diverse voices often excluded in the curriculum of schools in America and explore what it means to be a multicultural society.

Initial stages in creating a multicultural literature class at the secondary level

I will be using this online blog to document my weekly progress as I create the curriculum for a multicultural literature class at the secondary level. I have spent the first few weeks attempting to compile a list of resources that will help me develop the theoretical framework for the class. Additionally, I am beginning to find anthologies and compilations of multicultural literature to utilize in the class. Some books that I have found and hope to use include:

Eating on the Street: Teaching Literacy in a Multicultural Society by David Schaafsma
Coming of Age in America: A Multicultural Anthology
Multicultural American Literature: Comparative Black, Native, Latino/a, and Asian American Fictions by A. Robert Lee
Hear My Voice: A Multicultural Anthology of Literature from the United States by Laurie King
The Gay Teen: Educational Practice and Theory for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents

I have been drafting a course description and purpose for the class and will post both of those this week. I am also beginning to outline the format and time lines for the course.

Questions: What should my final project look like? Should it be in the form of a syllabus? A website? A paper?