Dream Team Course

Sandra Hollin Flowers (flowers_s@MERCER.EDU)
Sun, 19 Oct 1997 19:37:22 -0400

Thanks to all for the suggestions on the curriculum for my course. I had to
turn in my book order (which I've reserved the right to expand) on Friday
and am just now, on Sunday, seeing the responses sent to SIXTIES-L.

Malcolm X is obviously on most people's lists, as he is on the book order I
turned in. I'm using _Malcolm X Speaks_, though, instead of the
autobiography, because of the way it encapsulates the issues that become
the heart of the nationalist agenda later in the decade. For those who are
interested, here are the other texts I've settled on and my rationale:

_Eyes on the Prize_ (the book, which I'm happy to say, is being released
again this year) because it encompasses so many voices, places, and years
in "the New South" that it strikes me as an excellent vehicle for exploring
the relationship between the Civil Rights era and the '60s. (Barely won out
over Carson Clayborne's _In Struggle_.)

Ted Morgan's _The Sixties: Hard Lessons about Modern America," because of
its approach and contextual premises.

Stanley Karnov's _Vietnam: A History_, because I like the combination of
its attention to Vietnam's pre-American past, America's involvement,
personalities in various camps, and the decision-making processes and power
plays in American and Vietnamese administrations.

Karlin et al's _The Other Side of Heaven: Postwar Fiction by Vietnamese and
American Writers_, because I want to expose my students to voices other
than the ones they're used to hearing.

As you can see, the reading list is pretty narrow for a course on "the
sixties." No women writers, for instance (except in the Karlin work), and
little besides African American and Vietnam readings. I'd like some titles
by women, some on subjects other than the war and the African American
experience, and some additional literary works. (And I think you're right,
Ted, that an argument could be made for _The Feminine Mystique_.) Any more
suggestions from anyone?

Sandra Flowers

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Sandra Hollin Flowers Voice: (912) 752-2813
Associate Professor of English Fax: (912) 757-4956
Mercer University
Macon, GA 31207
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