ENG-160 School Stories: Narratives of Power and Class
This course examines a variety of literature and films that highlight the point of view of students (and sometimes teachers) as they negotiate the power dynamics of educational institutions. Through reading and viewing such diverse texts as Gus van Sant's film Good Will Hunting, Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up from Slavery, and J.K. Rowling's classic fantasy Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we will analyze how the politics of race, social class, gender, and colonialism inform classroom practices, structures, and ideologies while also considering how students work to resist oppressive educational systems. This course uses literature as a vehicle to explore and problematize the promise of education to facilitate equality, modernization, or the American Dream.