American History

“American History”

• Genre: Fiction; historical short story
• Originally Published: 1993
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Approx. 9 pages; approx. 18 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Fourteen-year-old Elena finds it challenging to feel sadness for President John F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination; she opts to follow through with plans to study with Eugene, a boy in her history class.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racism and discrimination

Judith Ortiz Cofer, Author

• Bio: 1952-2016; born in Puerto Rico; emigrated to the United States at a young age; became a bilingual teacher after college; published first poetry collection in the 1980s; taught English and creative writing at the University of Georgia; author of full-length fiction and nonfiction as well as short fiction and poetry
• Other Works: The Latin Deli (short story and prose collection; 1993); Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming a Writer (2000); The Meaning of Consuelo (2003); Call Me Maria (2004)
• Awards: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (for The Latin Deli, in which this short story appears; 1994)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• ·Migration and Displacement
• Changing Demographics in Northern Communities
• Racism and Ethnic Discrimination

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the social, racial, and historical contexts of immigration and Changing Demographics in Northern Communities at the heart of the conflict in “American History.”
• Study paired texts, including poetry by the author, to make connections via the text’s theme of Migration and Displacement.
• Analyze and evaluate the author’s craft in developing characters and setting to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding the themes of Migration and Displacement, Changing Demographics in Northern Communities, and Racism and Ethnic Discrimination.