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PBS
Literary Icons You NEED to Know From the Harlem Renaissance (feat. Princess Weekes)
Novels like Passing by Nella Larsen, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and the poetry of Langston Hughes were all written during this period and have become important pieces of the American literary canon. Still, when...
PBS
An Ode to the Romance Novel (Feat. Lindsay Ellis)
What actually makes a romance novel? The romance novel has been the subject of intrigue, derision, and shame in literary discourse long before the modern genre as we know it today existed. Romance novels are relegated to your Aunt...
PBS
An Ode to the Romance Novel
Love it or hate it, the romance novel is the highest grossing literary genre. Its history is long and winding (like your favorite romance novel), and romance novels are full of tropes reflected upon its history. It has been the subject...
Hip Hughes History
5 Tips for Writing a Great DBQ Essay
HipHughes takes you through essential advice for writing the notorious Document Based Essay. 5 tips which will make terrible writers mediocre, mediocre writers good and good writers great.
PBS
To Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird?
One of the trademark texts of the American school system is Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. For decades it has been widely read in high schools and middle schools as a key anti-racist text. But how did...
PBS
How Industrialization and Urbanization Changed Werewolf Legends
In the 19th century, the werewolf shifted from a feared monster to a symbol of literary fantasy, fueled by industrialization, urbanization, and the rise of science. Stories about werewolves became popular in Gothic literature, penny...
The Great War
A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
While many can identify Ernest Hemingway's famous works, they may be unaware of his service during World War I and how that affected his literary contributions. An video details Hemingway's service in World War I and explains events and...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: A Literary Survey
A series of 16 instructional videos, each about 30 minutes in length, designed to introduce authors in various genres. Topics include Native Voices, Exploring Borderlands, Utopian Promise, Spirit of Nationalism, Masculine Heroes, gothic...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Art of the Short Story: Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive
Learn about the rise of mass media and the popularity of the short story in this video [4:07] from the American Masters film Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive. Poe wrote more than seventy short stories and created his own set of rules for...
PBS
Pbs: Science Fiction and Fantasy as Serious Literature: Ursula K. Le Guin
Learn how science fiction and fantasy transformed over time from a marginalized genre into prestige literature in this video [1:37] from the American Masters film Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin. Renowned writer Ursula K. Le Guin helped to...