An examination of "classic" documents in American history from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries, including writings by authors such as John Winthrop, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison; Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Abraham Lincoln; Horatio Alger, Jacob Riis and Thorstein Veblen; Franklin D. Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, Bob Dylan, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Music, taped speeches, television programs, motion pictures, and/or other visual materials may also be included. Class meetings consist primarily of discussions and there is one required museum trip.

This course provides a basic history of American social, economic, and political development from the colonial period through the Civil War. It examines the colonial heritages of Spanish and British America; the American Revolution and its impact; the establishment and growth of the new nation; and the Civil War, its background, character, and impact. Readings include writings of the period by J. Winthrop, T. Paine, T. Jefferson, J. Madison, W. H. Garrison, G. Fitzhugh, H. B. Stowe, and A. Lincoln.

This course studies the national literature of the United States since the early 19th century. It considers a range of texts - including, novels, essays, and poetry - and their efforts to define the notion of American identity. Readings usually include works by such authors as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Emily Dickinson, and Toni Morrison.

An 8th grade social studies unit, co-taught with the school librarian, about the impact of American Public PolicyThis lesson plan is meant to serve as one lesson in a wider 8th grade social studies unit on the impact of American public policy.  The lesson focuses on the impact of the public policy of slavery.  The wider unit would also include whole-class study of the impact of Native American Removal and Indian Schools.  At the end of the unit, students would investigate a contemporary issue of American public policy and develop and put into practice a plan to draw attention to that public policy issue.   

This collection uses primary sources to compare and explore the relationships between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Intensive study of a range of texts by a single author or by a limited group of authors whose achievements are mutually illuminating. Some attention to narrative theory, and biographical and cultural backgrounds. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication. Topic: Joyce's Ulysses and Its Legacy. This seminar looks at two bestselling nineteenth-century American authors whose works made the subject of slavery popular among mainstream readers. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain have subsequently become canonized and reviled, embraced and banned by individuals and groups at both ends of the political and cultural spectrum and everywhere in between.