World Literature

Opening the global window

David Nurenberg
Concord-Carlisle High School
2007
WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO?
 WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO?

A portfolio is a collection of lesson plans, assignments, readings,

sample student work, etc. that constitute a teacher's practice in a
certain course, unit, or department. It is a living document,
continually referred to and modified throughout a teacher's career.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PORTFOLIO ?
 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PORTFOLIO ?

-Helps a teacher stay organized and reflective

 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PORTFOLIO ?

-Helps a teacher stay organized and reflective

-Can be shared with colleagues who are looking for ideas, can create
consistency across a course taught by different teachers
 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A PORTFOLIO ?

-Helps a teacher stay organized and reflective

-Can be shared with colleagues who are looking for ideas, can create
consistency across a course taught by different teachers

-Provides evidence for certification, professional development, state

standards, etc
Sample Portfolio:

World Literature
at
Concord Carlisle
High School
Concord Carlisle High School
Concord Carlisle High School

- “Successful” school: > 90% college attendance, top echelon

of MCAS (state testing scores), robust course offerings
Concord Carlisle High School

- “Successful” school: > 90% college attendance, top echelon

of MCAS (state testing scores), robust course offerings

BUT…little to no Non-Western curricular focus!

Creation of World Literature – exploring “other cultures”
through stories.
Literature is a window into the human experience, and by
reading the literature of other world cultures, we can not only
understand their experiences and worldviews better, but
perhaps understand ourselves better as well.
FIVE YEAR PROCESS
FIVE YEAR PROCESS

TAUGHT SINCE 2005

FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
• Course divided into five “units”:
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
• Course divided into five “units”:

Africa
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
• Course divided into five “units”:
Middle East/West Asia

Africa
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
• Course divided into five “units”:
Middle East/West Asia

Africa

China
 FEATURES OF WORLD LITERATURE
•Semester-long 11th/12th grade elective
•Heterogeneous class (non-tracked)
• Course divided into five “units”:
Middle East/West Asia

Africa

China
 COURSE GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES

 Students will gain familiarity with major authors, texts, themes and
literary traditions, both modern and classical, and relevant historical
background of several non-Western cultures.
 COURSE GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES

 Students will gain familiarity with major authors, texts, themes and
literary traditions, both modern and classical, and relevant historical
background of several non-Western cultures.

 Students will be able to draw stylistic and thematic parallels, and

note differences, between literary works of the West (both canonical and
non-canonical) and literary works of various nonwestern cultures.
 COURSE GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES

 Students will gain familiarity with major authors, texts, themes and
literary traditions, both modern and classical, and relevant historical
background of several non-Western cultures.

 Students will be able to draw stylistic and thematic parallels, and

note differences, between literary works of the West (both canonical and
non-canonical) and literary works of various nonwestern cultures.

 Students will be able to understand concepts that arise in the

literature we read, both as concepts themselves and in the context of
each culture.
THEMES WE EXPLORE:
 THEMES WE EXPLORE:

• multicultural (versus ethnocentric) mindset

• colonialism and literary responses
• narrative theory
• non-linear (including cyclic) narratives
• the hero’s journey
Some of our texts include:

Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

Master Harold and the Boys (Athol Fugard)
Nervous Conditions (Tsitsi Dangaremba)
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)
Kitchen (Banana Yoshimoto)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (Dai Sijie)
Various poems and short stories by Israelis and Palestinians

We watch several films including:

Amandla (South Africa)

Promises (Israel/Palestine)
A Veiled Revolution (Egypt)
To Live (China)
Princess Mononoke (Japan).
The World Literature portfolio consists of readings and assignments.

At the beginning of each unit or new book I deliver a lecture and

PowerPoint outlining some key historical and social issues…
The World Literature portfolio consists of readings and assignments.

At the beginning of each unit or new book I deliver a lecture and

PowerPoint outlining some key historical and social issues…

…and then as the students read and do the nightly

assignments, we engage in discussions in class,
either teacher-guided discussions or small-group
Socratic circles where the students discuss on their
own.
SAMPLE PORTFOLIO ITEM #1:
The Nacirema

Students read fake “anthropological”

article, discover it’s about America.
They then construct a “Nacirema” piece
about their own lives.

 Idea of ethnocentrism vs.

multiculturalism
SAMPLE PORTFOLIO ITEM #2:
Narrative Theory

Students compare different tellings of the

same “historical” events, realize how
history & identity is dependent on
framing.
They then write two divergent histories
of their own lives.
 SAMPLE PORTFOLIO ITEM #3:
Independent Project

Students pick a region or culture not included in

our main curriculum from which to read a book,
watch a film, listen to music, eat a traditional
meal, and do some additional research tasks.
Assessments take the form of reading quizzes, end-of-unit
essays, and a project fair where they present their independent
project and the journals they kept while doing it.
We are always looking for new ideas as
to how to help our kids broaden their
horizons in a more global mindset…

I am eager to hear what strategies and

lessons others use!

David Nurenberg
dnurenberg@colonial.net
978-318-1400 x7259