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Crash Course
Toni Morrison: Crash Course Black American History #48
Today, Clint Smith will teach you about the legendary writer Toni Morrison. Morrison is best known for her novels which chronicle the experiences of Black Americans throughout history. She was the first Black American Woman to win a...
Crash Course
Like Pale Gold - The Great Gatsby Part I: Crash Course English Literature
In which John Green explores F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby. John introduces you to Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and the other characters in the novel, and tries to look beyond the...
Curated Video
Materialism and the American Dream in The Great Gatsby
The green light and the looming eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleberg are two of the most iconic images in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby." The green light is a multifaceted symbol representing Gatsby's love for Daisy, the elusive...
Curated Video
Reception and Legacy of The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby" captured the optimism of the 1920s and foreshadowed the personal and societal doom that would follow with the market crash and the author's decline. Despite the novel's initial failure,...
Curated Video
Mark Twain
Known as the Father of American Literature, Mark Twain used satire and a sharp wit to explore and reveal the realities of US society in the 19th century. In doing so he developed an all-new “American style” of writing.
The March of Time
1951: HARVARD UNIVERSITY: LIBRARY: WS People walking down steps w/ columns BG, MS Male student handing paper to woman at desk, walking book aisle, WS Shelf end signs American Literature books by date, student using card catalog, filling out request.
MOT 1951: HARVARD UNIVERSITY: LIBRARY: WS People walking down steps w/ columns BG, MS Male student handing paper to woman at desk, walking book aisle, WS Shelf end signs American Literature books by date, student using card catalog,...
Crash Course
Langston Hughes & the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Literature 215
In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was a poet and playwright in the first half of the 20th century, and he was involved in the Harlem Renaissance, which was a cultural movement among...
Crash Course
Pride and Prejudice, Part 1: Crash Course Literature 411
In which a series about literature, which is wanting of an episode on Jane Austen, gets the first of two episodes. It's Pride and Prejudice, everybody! John Green talks about Pride and Prejudice as a product of Regency England, gives you...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most "dangerous" men in American history | Keenan Norris
In 1830, David Walker sewed a pamphlet into the lining of a coat. The volume was thin enough to be hidden, but its content was far from insubstantial. At the time, many members of the US government considered this pamphlet to be one of...
Curated Video
Style and Interpretations of Herman Melville's Moby Dick
Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" is celebrated for its archaic writing style and poetic intensity, transforming the narrative of a 19th-century whaling crew into a captivating drama that delves into the folly of mankind. The novel's...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why should you read "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? - Francisco Diez-Buzo
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" brought Latin American literature to the forefront of the global imagination and earned Garcia Marquez the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature. What makes the novel so...
Crash Course
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Part 1: Crash Course Literature
In which John Green teaches you about Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This week, we'll talk a little bit about Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who wrote under the name Mark Twain, and how he mined his early life for decades to...
Curated Video
The Great Gatsby: Characters, Plot, and Setting
"The Great Gatsby" is narrated by Nick Carraway, and observer to the story of Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire chasing the American Dream in the hopes of reclaiming his lost love, Daisy Buchanan, despite the societal divide and her...
Curated Video
Who Was F. Scott Fitzgerald?
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born in 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota, emerged from modest beginnings to become a defining literary figure of the 20th century. Despite facing financial struggles and societal prejudice due to his Irish-American...
Curated Video
Time, Geography, and Morality in The Great Gatsby
Jay Gatsby's quest to reclaim his past relationship with Daisy Buchanan is an ever-present theme in The Great Gatsby. The many mentions of time throughout the novel emphasize Gatsby's desire to reset the clock on their relationship....
Curated Video
Introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is, at it's core, a novel about the American Dream. It takes place during the 1920s, a period that epitomized America's pursuit of freedom and prosperity but also revealed the fragility of that dream. This video...
Brainwaves Video Anthology
Floyd Cheung - The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration
Floyd Cheung, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and a professor of English and American Studies at Smith College, has edited several volumes highlighting forgotten and lesser-known Asian American writers, focusing on...
Curated Video
Mark Twain: The First Truly American Writer
Samuel Langhorne Clements was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri. By the time of his death in 1910, he was known around the world as Mark Twain, “the first truly American writer” and the country’s greatest humorist. In his lifetime,...
Curated Video
Book of Mormon as Literature | Family Tree & Potential Sources
Book of Mormon as Literature | Family Tree & Potential Sources
Brainwaves Video Anthology
Ravi Shankar - Nothing Has Made Me Feel More American Than Going To Jail
Pushcart prize winning poet, translator and professor Ravi Shankar has published, edited or has forthcoming over 15 books, including the Muse India award-winning translations of 9th century Tamil poet/saint, Andal, 'The Autobiography of...
Wonderscape
Phyllis Wheatley: The First Published Black American Poet
This video tells the story of Phyllis Wheatley, a young girl from Gambia who became the first Black American to publish a book of poetry. Learn about her journey from enslavement to literary fame, her notable works, and her impact on...
Crash Course
Zora Neale Hurston: Crash Course Black American History
The Harlem Renaissance produced many remarkable artists, writers, and thinkers. Today we'll talk about one of the most interesting minds of the time, Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston was an anthropologist by training, and spent much of her...
Crash Course
Race, Class, and Gender in To Kill a Mockingbird: Crash Course Literature 211
In which John Green teaches you MORE about To Kill a Mockingbird. In this installment, John teaches you about race, class, and gender in the American south, as seen through the eyes of Scout and Harper Lee. John will talk about how Scout...
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