APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH.HOLLY E. BURGESS’S POEM “WITH BATED BREATH (IN MEMORY OF GREG)” ON DISPLAY APRIL 16-30TH, 2026 AT
LAKE GENEVA PUBLIC LIBRARY (918 W Main St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147)
ENGL 2011:
Books that MatterAfrican American Youth Culture and Literature
“I’m not saying I’m gonna rule the world or change the world, but I guarantee
that I will spark the brain that will change the world.”
From the Concrete to the Cosmos
ENGL 2011: Books that Matter: African American Youth Culture and Literature is based on Holly E. Burgess’s dissertation. Explore more about her dissertation on her dissertation page.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The ENGL 2011: Books that Matter: African American Youth Culture and Literature course studies poetry, novels, and music by 20th- and 21st-century African American writers. Students explore how African American youth culture and activism influence literature and music. Finally, this course discusses how hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur and his musical contemporaries influence the current generation of Black activists and artists in the Black Lives Matter Movement. Students study how African American authors utilize young adult literature and science fiction to examine race, gender, sexuality, trauma, grief, and violence. As students read, they consider: how literature and music reflect reality, how Black writers use literature to teach Black history and cultural memory, and how authors utilize their writing as an act of social protest.
This course engages in the current scholarly discussions on police brutality, book banning, and making space for joy when trauma is ever-present. ENGL 2011 helps students become engaged, compassionate readers who use their literary and poetic voices to critically engage with the course’s texts and participate in lively classroom discussions.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students are able to:
Study and critically analyze major works of twentieth and twenty-first-century African American literature
Demonstrate an understanding of the cultural, historical, and political contexts in which various African American literary works are produced
Explore the relationship between African American youth culture and African American literature
Understand that reading challenging and complex literature is a valuable and important activity.
Studying a variety of reading practices and identifying which practices make reading a meaningful experience
Discover the relationship between African American literature and related topics like race, gender, sexuality, trauma, grief, violence, activism, and music
Write academically and creatively in multiple forms and media modes.
ENGL 2011 Primary Texts
The Rose That Grew from Concrete
by Tupac Amaru Shakur
(ISBN:9780063070875)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
(ISBN: 9780671028459)
The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
(ISBN: 9780062872340)
ENGL 2011 GRADING
In ENGL 2011, coursework is worth a total of 500 points:
Participation
Reading Journals
D2L Discussion Posts
Ending Remix Assignment
Creative Poem Assignment
Final Creative Project Assignment
50 Points (10%)
100 Points (20%)
100 Points (20%)
100 Points (20%)
50 Points (10%)
100 Points (20%)
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
rEADING JOURNALS (100 POINTS)
Reading Journals are short writing assignments (250 words) to gauge students’ understanding of the course texts. Reading Journals are a place for students to reflect on their reading and discuss their thoughts and feelings about a powerful or insightful moment in each text. In addition, students explain how or why that passage or selection caused their reaction. Each response is worth 10 points and is graded based on students’ engagement with the text. A complete credit response reflects thoughtfully on the book and the students’ reading process. There are 12 reading journals throughout the semester. Students are required to submit one journal per week.
D2L Discussion Posts (100 Points)
This course utilizes the D2L discussion forums frequently. The D2L discussion forums are used to discuss course readings or to continue class discussions after class. Each forum will explicitly state when a forum post is due.
Ending Remix (100 Points)
The Ending Remix assignment asks students to write a new ending for one text
(The Hate U Give or The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer).
A successful ending remix is 600 words and will:
Rewrite or “remix” the ending
Describe how the novel would change if the events of the ending were altered
Discuss your new ending and briefly summarize your thought process while writing the new ending
Creative Poem (50 Points)
For the creative poem assignment, students write a poem about their chosen topic. The poem must be at least 10 lines. In the style of Tupac Shakur, students’ creative poems will be printed and handwritten, and students may illustrate pictures/drawings in their poetry, though that is not required. Finally, students present the finished poem in class.
Final Creative Project Assignment (100 Points)
For the final exam, students choose one course text and create a creative project based on it. Students’ creative projects answer one of the assigned prompt questions (see assignment sheet instructions). In addition, students’ creative projects must:
Discuss specific literary features of the novel (characters, narrative, structure, form, etc.)
Showcase their thoughts/feelings about the book. To be clear, this is not an essay. Instead, students are encouraged to be creative in the form they use (e.g., a fake interview with a character; a set of journal entries written in a character’s voice; a short story set in one of the novels; a series of blog posts written by a character or about a book/character, etc.).
Note: whichever creative method students choose, they should have the skills and tools needed to complete the project. For example, if they create a blog, the student should know how to write .html and create a webpage.
Tupac Shakur’s The Code of Thug Life
vs. The Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Program
The Code of Thug Life by Tupac Shakur (1992)
The Black Panther Party 10 Point Program by Dr. Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale (1966)
One ENGL 2011: Books that Matter assignment asks students to read Tupac Shakur’s The Code of Thug Life in relation to the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Program to examine how deeply Tupac Shakur is influenced by his Panther parents and family members. By comparing the two manifestos, students gain a deeper understanding of how each generation of Black activists informs and inspires the next generations. In doing so, students are able to trace the issues the Black community faced in 1966, 1992, and the present-day Black Lives Matter movement.
Banner of Tupac Shakur, Bobby Seale, and Dr. Huey P. Newton designed by Holly E. Burgess
The Code of Thug Life vs. 10 Point Black Panther Party Platform
Assignment Instructions:
Instructions: In groups of three, briefly discuss the following texts:
Tupac Shakur's The Rose That Grew from Concrete (pages 68-101)
Then, answer the following questions as a group and designate one group member as
The note-taker posts the group’s answers to this discussion board.
The Code of Thug Life vs. 10 Point Program
Discussion Questions:
Tupac Shakur explains the meaning behind The Rose that Grew from Concrete
“The Rose that Grew Concrete: Autobiographical” by Tupac Shakur
Compare/Contrast: The Code of Thug Life and The Black Panther Party Ten Point Program:
What are three similarities between manifestos?
What are three differences between the two texts?
In what ways was Tupac Shakur influenced by the Black Panthers? (Give 2-3 examples).
Choose one poem from The Rose That Grew from Concrete (68-101)
What is the poem's title and page number?
How many lines are in the poem? What is the poem's message/subject matter?
What line stands out to you? Why?
What does the poem make you feel?
How does Tupac Shakur's poetry differ from other poetry you've read?
What is unique or interesting about his poetic technique?
engl 2011: syllabus
Teaching Portfolio & Artifacts
A comprehensive look at my curriculum design, student feedback, and public scholarship.