The focus of the course is diversity, and students are exposed to women s relationships, conflicts and contributions from a variety of cultural perspectives throughout American history. Letters from Abigail Adams represent some of the earliest works covered. Students must complete 12 lessons and two exams. Each lesson covers multiple readings. Some of the assignments require students to record journal entries, while others will have students pen original essays and poems.
Students also perform textual analysis of some of the works and write responsive essays.
This provides an understanding of the role each text played in the social context of the author s time period. The course, however, goes well beyond historical anecdotes with its emphasis on critical thinking and the application of literary analysis. McCallum also is the instructor for Creative Writing, 11th and 12th Grade English and an Advanced Placement English course that currently is being developed. She has worked for the Center for six years.