When teaching American novels and plays, examine the wider political context. For example, explore how the 'American Dream' of the 1950s developed as in opposition to Cold War ideology.
This highlights the importance of teaching social, cultural and historical context of works in understanding literature. You can discover more about bringing context into the classroom at our CPD Subject Day: Approaching modern drama.
Graham Pidgeon, Head of English at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, suggested this teaching idea after hearing Dr Edward Sugden of King’s College London and Dr James Peacock speak on American literature at our New Teacher Subject Days course in 2016.
Schools Programme members can download the resources from the event in the PTI Staffroom.
Want to discover more inspiring subject knowledge? See our upcoming events and courses for 2016/17, including our New Teacher Subject Days for English and CPD Subject Day: 19th-century novels for 21st-century students.
Find more knowledge nuggets here.
Image by AnaïsFernandes (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons