The goal of this project is to choose an existing literature / English language arts / or other course in your discipline and describe how that course might evolve based on the principles, texts, ideas, and insights from our study of Afro- Indigenous, and/or Chicano/Latin@ futurism. You can use a course you currently teach or one you would like to teach. Choose an academic level and discipline appropriate to your interests.

Begin by descriping the existing course. What is the title and level of the course? Is there a catalog description of the course? Is there an already existing syllabus or required book list for the course? How is it currently or typically taught? Are multiculutral perspectives present in the course? How are they represented? How does the course treat the past, the present, and the future? What roles does the course create for student creativity and activism?

What innovations would you make with this course?  What new materials would the course include?  What activities and assignments would you include?

How do the futurism approaches we have been learning about impact your curriculum and instruction? How will the course center different cultural perspectives? How will the course draw on and experiment with new genres and new voices?  How will the course help student imagine the future, rethink the past, and become active in the present?

How will the revised course connect to the lives of students and issues in the world today?

How will you involve local/multicultural communities in your instruction?

How will you situate yourself as the teacher?

How will the evolving course meet existing standards, goals, or expectations for the course?  How will the course evolve those standards, goals, or expectations?

The evolved course should cover a significant block of time, at least 8 weeks or, better, a full semester.

Projects will be published on line -- location to be determined. Address an audience of teachers who may want to use your ideas.  The page you create should be visually appealing as well as intellectually rich. You can incorporate images, video, and certainly links to relevant resources.

The Final Project is due at the time of the final exam. In place of an exam you will present your project to the class.

If relevant, you could reference relevant NCTE/IRA and Common Core Standards.

Send me an email with a self-evaluation of your curriculum project and propose a grade.

Teachers borrow other teachers work. However, as a graduate student completing a course assignment, it goes without saying that you need to be careful about citation and plagiarism. Obviously, I expect to see your own work and thinking consistent with what we are learning in this class.  If you do borrow, modify, or use any ideas, bits, or pieces from others cite your sources; in an online document your citiation should include a link to the sources, if possible.

Created by: allen.webb@wmich.edu
Revised Date: 9/19