"The American Scholar" is a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work "Nature" in which he...

This article is a brief history of the Early American novel with citations.

This unit features authors of Antebellum America and how they portray the American identity through their literature. Click on the tabs to explore the various resources available to enhance this unit.

Toni Cade Bambara is featured in this brief biography for her ability to combine and advocate for both feminism and black minorities through her literature. See "Toni Cade Bambara Activities" for related resources.

Accomplished Native American author Leslie Marmon Silko is featured in this resource. Some of her writings include "Ceremony" and "Laguna Woman." Click on the "Leslie Marmon Silko Activities" tab for class activities and a collection of...

Phillis Wheatley, an African-American slave, is featured for her neoclassical poetry of pre-nineteenth century America. Click on "Phillis Wheatley Activities" for more resources.

Relying on many elements, including traditional Native American and European American traditions, this biography features the rich literary contributions of N. Scott Momaday. See "N.Scott Momaday Activities" for more resources.

Learn about African American protest poetry and what was motivating it. This article takes a look at protest poetry during slavery, during the period of segregation and Jim Crow, and after political obstacles to equality were removed....

This unit explores the documented perceptions of Native Americans, religious faiths, physical challenges of new lands and how the combination of immigrants and Native Americans shaped the New World. Click on "Activities" for related...

A learning module with twenty-one links to texts, websites, videos, and quizzes on early American poets including Anne Bradstreet, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allen Poe.

This is a phenomenal resource. It allows the user to create a reading list of quality children's literature based of choices such as reading level, type of book, genre, ethnicity, gender, etc. In addition, one can determine if a book won...

List of "Must read," multicultural literature for the adolescent reader. The books are categorized by the culture that they represent and by reading level. An excellent resource for teachers and students alike.

Very scholarly article that looks at the role literature helps teach us about the diversity of our culture. The author looks at various aspects of literature and then gives teacher resources and a helpful bibliography.

James Baldwin is presented in this biography as a great African American contributor to the literary world during the civil rights movement. See "James Baldwin Activities" for more information.

This lesson focuses on the assignments for the unit on Colonial Literature. It features a list of reading assignments, thought questions, a mini-research project assignment, and links to websites on Native American Culture and Native...

Rudyard Kipling's (1865-1936 CE) caustic impressions of American life are reproduced here by the University of Virginia Library.

This University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill site provides a wonderful explanation of regionalism and local color as it applies to literature. There is a lot of other good information about Southern Literature at this site!

The complete text of the 1952 version of this book by J. Frank Dobie. Chapters are thematic collections of annotated lists of books on different aspects of Southwestern culture and history, e.g., Texas Rangers, mountain men, and the Pony...

This introduction to contemporary drama focuses on the elements or characteristics of drama and the theme of the American Dream. It features the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which is set in the 1950s.

Overview of African Americans and their relationship to Africa. a myth which was embraced by the Harlem Renaissance.

This site focuses on Ann Petry including a short biography, the video [10:12] "Ann Petry and Harlem's History" and links to seven of her literary works.

This is a succinct biography of Claude McKay, infamous Harlem Renaissance poet who expressed the need for the African American community in America to speak out against racism. See "Claude McKay Activities" for related materials.

The project is assembling an electronic archive of volumes of American poetry prior to 1920. The full text of each volume of poetry is being converted into digital form with various forms of access provided through the WWW. This site...

This is the text and video reading of the poem "The Indian Burying Ground" by Philip Morin Freneau, an American poet, nationalist (also known as Federalist), polemicist, sea captain, and newspaper editor sometimes called the "Poet of the...