“Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise": Maya Angelou’s "Names" in the English classroom

• Main Author: Mendes, Ana Cristina
• Publication Date: 2002
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/30043
• topic: English language teaching; English didactics; North-American literature; Postcolonial studies; Postcolonial literature; African-American literature; Short story in English; Angelou, Maya, 1928-

In raising the issues of power and otherness, Maya Angelou’s short story “Names” has perceptive things to say about American society, its values, and its history. The main character of the short story has to deal with the problems that came with being black, female, and in the South individually, as well as collectively. Its provocative meaning (if we have open enough minds and hearts to let it in) serves the formative dimension of the English secondary curriculum. With the purpose of motivating students for extensive reading and to deepen their understanding of the way literature and visual art help keep cultural memories and overlooked histories alive, three lesson plans were devised around this short story. In the end, the most interesting question about students’ critical response to the work is: has the story made them think about or influenced their views on the power of the individual to survive and shape his/her future despite adversity?