Course Overview

In her seminal treatise on American freedom, Toni Morrison suggests that “definitions belong to the definers, not the defined” (Beloved). Throughout this course, we'll explore what it means to be an American. Specifically, we'll explore the following question: "Who gets to define what it means to be an American?" Sources for this course include a variety of American primary sources (such as founding documents, letters, and journals) as well as a host of other secondary sources and literary texts.

Essential Questions:

• What/who is an American?

• Whose American lives matter?

• What is Rhetoric, and how do we navigate it?

• What is critical literacy?