Rationale
These films were selected to complement literature from or about Africa, India, and Iran. During a semester-long World Literature course, we will begin with three novel units and conclude with this film unit. Students will read Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Satrapi's illustrated memoir of a young Iranian girl will function as a natural transition from our examination of textual narratives to our examination of visual narratives.
Although women represent over half of the species, female protagonists seem to be featured much less often within the general English curriculum. This represents a potential gap in our understanding of human experience. I have also found that male students are more reticent to read fiction about women, whereas female students are more willing to read about men. This unit's focus on the experience of women portrayed in film is a way to bridge that intellectual gap, and move towards gender equity.
The study of world cinema advances the goal of a truly multicultural curriculum. Not only does it allow students to become more invested in our "global village," but it also affirms the cultural diversity of American society. Many students are unaware of their own ethnocentrism by which they judge other cultures. In "Coping with Multicultural Illiteracy," Gloria Ladson-Billings suggests a three-step approach to combating this. The first step involves self-examination where students consider why they lack the knowledge they do and investigate the benefits of multiple perspectives. The second step involves acquisition of knowledge through reading, observation, and discussion. The final step is activism, where students speak out against issues such as inequality and oppression.2 While this unit will primarily focus on the first two steps, it is essential that students take learning outside the classroom into the "real" world to maximize their learning. At our school, we try to address this need by requiring students to complete community services projects.
This five-week unit is designed for a mixed-level World Literature class at a small alternative high school in the city of Richmond, Virginia. This unit supports the larger mission of Open High School to create students who are self-directed, independent learners. Open is a community-based, alternative, public high school, which supports a student body of no more than 200. Students—throughout the city of Richmond—apply and go through an interview process in order to be accepted. Our criteria, however, are not just academic, and a wide range of skill levels are represented. Classes are fifty minutes each, four days per week.
The student population is approximately 75% African American and 25% white. Twenty seven percent of students qualified for free or reduced lunch in the 2004-2005 school year. In the four years that they have been required to pass state standardized tests, our students have performed well, and the school is fully accredited by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Over 90% of students attend college.
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