Course Guide

Literature and History of Social Movements

Quarter / Week Focus & Texts Learning Objective (I can…)
Q3 / W1 Introduction to Social Movements define what a social movement is and explain how ideas spread through texts, speeches, and actions.
Q3 / W2 Revolutionary Ideas – Common Sense analyze how persuasive language challenges authority and unites people around shared beliefs.
Q3 / W3 Founding Arguments – The Federalist Papers analyze claims, evidence, and reasoning to explain how writers influence public opinion.
Q3 / W4 Civil Disobedience – Thoreau explain the conflict between individual conscience and government authority using philosophical ideas.
Q3 / W5 Transcendentalism – Emerson & Whitman analyze voice and imagery to explain how literature promotes identity, independence, and democracy.
Q3 / W6 Abolitionism – Uncle Tom’s Cabin explain how storytelling can influence emotions, beliefs, and social change.
Q3 / W7 Native American Resistance – Black Elk Speaks analyze oral history as resistance and explain whose voices are centered or silenced.
Q3 / W8 The Progressive Era – Mark Twain analyze satire and irony as tools for exposing injustice.
Q3 / W9 Muckraking Journalism – The Jungle analyze informational texts to explain how exposing injustice can lead to reform.
Q3 / W10 Labor & Immigration Movements analyze how inequality leads to collective action and compare perspectives within movements.
Q3 / W11 The Lost Generation analyze how historical events influence tone, theme, and identity in literature.