The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature

This activity is designed to provide an opportunity to interpret two poems using the four pedagogical approaches covered in this workshop series: reader response, inquiry, cultural studies, and critical pedagogy.

To begin, choose one of the poems below. After reading it, answer the questions that follow.

The questions are prompts to begin understanding any work of multicultural literature through the lens of each pedagogical approach. You may use them to guide personal reflection as you read, to launch a lesson with students, or to begin a dialogue with colleagues. Join an online discussion that uses these questions to explore two poems by Marilyn Chin and Luci Tapahonso.



1. What line "jumped out" at you? Why? 2. How does a second reading change your initial understanding?		1. What questions do you have about the author? 2. What other questions would you like to research online?



1. What cultural and/or historical references are unfamiliar to you? 2. What books, articles, films, visual artworks, or music might you explore to help you better understand this work?		1. How would you characterize the author's politics? 2. How might you respond to the work's "call to action?"


Photo by Niki Berg

	How I Got That Name By Marilyn Chin

Hong Kong-born poet Marilyn Chin is the author of Rhapsody in Plain Yellow and The Phoenix Gone, The Terrace Empty. She is the recipient of the PEN Josephine Miles Award, a Stegner Fellowship, and four Pushcart Prizes. Her work negotiates the complex experience of cultural assimilation.

Discuss:
Critical Pedagogy
Cultural Studies
Inquiry
Reader Response


Photo by Monty Roessel

	Shisói By Luci Tapahonso

One of the most influential Navajo poets of her generation, Luci Tapahonso is the author of several award-winning books of poetry, including Blue Horses Rush In and Sáanii Dahataal/The Women Are Singing. Tapahonso is Professor of American Indian Literature at the University of Arizona.

Discuss:
Critical Pedagogy
Cultural Studies
Inquiry
Reader Response

The Expanding Canon: Teaching Multicultural Literature