For Tuesday (Day 2): From the documents listed below, read three of the reviews of Between the World and Me.
"Loaded Dice" (London Review of Books)
"Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me" (New York Times Book Review)
"Ta-Nehisis Coates and a Generation Waking Up" (The New Yorker)
"Letter of Despair" (The Economist)
"Why Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me is Not the Masterpiece We Hoped For (The New York Observer)"
"A Caricature of Black Reality (The American Prospect)"
The following articles are not required, but essential in their own ways.
First, if you're ambitious, you'll want to read this review essay of several memoirs by black writers, including Between the World and Me.
And finally, here's a profile of Coates that gives more information about his background and also explores the book's argument.
For Wednesday (Day 3) and Thursday (Day 4): Read at least three of the readings below on the issue of Confederate monuments; you must read either the piece from The American Conservative or The National Review. (You may read both of them; note that the National Review piece is a response to the Atlantic essay on Lee.) The first four pieces were written before the march and protests in Charlottesville; the last two were written in response to them.
The Stubborn Persistence of Confederate Monuments (The Atlantic)
A Monumental History (The American Conservative)
The Myth of the Kindly General Lee (The Atlantic)
A Myopic View of Robert E. Lee (The National Review; this is a response to the prior article on Lee)
Confederate Statues Are the Easy Part (The New York Times)
In Monument Debate, Calls for an Overdue Reckoning on Race and Southern Identity (The New York Times)
Please note that possible topics for the writing piece on Between the World and Me are posted to the right. That assignment is due on Wednesday, Oct. 11 (Day 1) or Thursday, Oct. 12 (Day 2).
