CRITICAL READING Faculty-Written Texts

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CRITICAL READINGFaculty-Written Texts
What, Why, and How?
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NON-FICTION What Happened to the African-
American Middle Class by Nathan Jones

Nathan has been teaching at Skyline since 2010
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Nathan A. Jones has a BA in Sociology (California
State University, East Bay), an MA in Ethnic
Studies, (San Francisco State University), a
TESOL Certification from Oxford House College
(Barcelona, Spain), an MFA in Creative Writing
and English (Mills College), and a Certificate
for the Teaching of Post Secondary Reading (San
Francisco State University). He is a poet,
essayist, spoken word artist, book publisher,
musician, and the author of Revolutionary Erotica
(2003), Black Man In Europe (2005, 2008), and
Excerpts From My Soul Read Without Prejudice
(2010). He has published numerous articles,
poems, and essays for online publications and is
featured in a variety of poetry anthologies. He
has taught at Skyline College since 2010.
(1) Discuss your experiences during the most
recent recession. Did it feel like a
recession or a depression? (2) What do you
already know about the African-American
experience in the U.S. from slavery to the
present day? How has this shaped the economic
realities for African-Americans?
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(1) What is the authors attitude towards the
American Dream? Why does he feel this way?
Does this dream still exist for everyone? (2)
What is some of the evidence that Jones uses to
support his thesis that African Americans are
suffering a depression rather than a recession?
Which evidence do you think is most compelling
and why?
(1) If the trend described in the essay persists,
what will happen if the African American
middle class disappears? How would this change
the African-American community? What would
be the larger ramifications for our society as a
whole? (2) The Langston Hughes quote of the
dream deferred is referenced twice in the essay.
This quote comes from the poem by the same
name by Hughes. Read the poem and analyze
how you feel it connects to the arguments made in
the essay and the larger African- American
experience What happens to a dream
deferred? Does it dry up like a
raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore--
And then run? Does it stink like
rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Or does it
explode? --Langston Hughes
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that concludes
What Happened to the African-American Middle
Class by Nathan
Jones
CRITICAL READINGFaculty-Written Texts
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