Students today “are already more racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse than at any other

time in our nation’s history” (Garcia and O’Donnell, 2015), and understanding the history that led to such

a diverse America is crucial in fostering not only tolerance, but a desire to learn and embrace different

cultures and ways of life. Creating a unit of American literature that explores this diversity is an important

first step in encouraging this sort of open-minded mentality, and I aim to do so by including many

different works of American literature by a wide array of authors.

The main text of my unit on American Identity is Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark

Twain. This book has often been criticized for its use of slurs and portrayal of black slaves in the

antebellum South, and has been banned in many libraries since its publishing. However, Professor

Jocelyn Chadwick of the Harvard Graduate School of Education defends the teaching of Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn, saying “Race is one of the most complex issues in the country.,,And we can’t talk

about it...Sometimes we need something provocative because it will spark conversation. Literature is a

good way to do that because it keeps the subject at arm’s length” (Powell 2000). Thus this book provides

an excellent pathway towards having difficult and education conversations within the safe space of a

classroom.

Although Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is considered the “great American novel”, I realize

that being written by a white man for white audiences, it doesn’t quite reach the “culturally proactive

teaching” (Garcia and O’Donnell 2015) I am aiming for, thus I have included works by authors of various

backgrounds and ethnicities that better represent the diversity of American history and literature in order

for students to gain a truer understanding of what the American identity is comprised of.

The National Council for Teachers of English “recognize that English teachers and teacher

educators are complicit in the reproduction of racial and socioeconomic inequality in schools and society”

(ncte.org), and it is a crucial point in teaching American history that all America identities are explored,

not just the majority. With this in mind, I also hope to encourage students to understand and develop their

own identity through this unit, asking themselves who they are as Americans, students, and above all else;

people.