All high school students will read
Thomas Mullen's Darktown
plus two additional books.
* See bottom of page for a Note from the Faculty about the book.
Please look at the instructions below for the grade or class you will be in next school year.
Books are available through MBS, Little Shop of Stories and other bookstores, the public library and online.
If you prefer listening, the audiobook version is also an option.
9th and 10th grades
Thomas Mullen's Darktown
plus two additional books.
* See bottom of page for a Note from the Faculty about the book.
Please look at the instructions below for the grade or class you will be in next school year.
Books are available through MBS, Little Shop of Stories and other bookstores, the public library and online.
If you prefer listening, the audiobook version is also an option.
9th and 10th grades
Read Darktown plus TWO free choice books
= THREE books read over the summer.
11th and 12th grades
Read Darktown plus ONE required book from the list below plus any other ONE book of your choice = THREE books read over the summer
Required books by teacher and class
John Capute -- "Film and Literature": In addition to reading Darktown, you have to watch four movies this summer: one made in the 1950s, one made in the 1960s, one made in the 1970s, one made in the 1980s or 1990s. One of them has to be non-American and translated into English from its original language of publication.
Clark Cloyd -- "Called to Greatness": Any other two books from this book list.
Joseph Cullen - "United and Divided": A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry.
Gavin Drummond - "Finding Voice": Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
"Modern British Identity": White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Marianne Hines -- "Sinful Literature": Choose one sin and its corresponding novel to read over the summer. Do not choose a novel you have already read for another class. Marianne has created a slideshow with info and descriptions of all the book choices - find it at http://bit.ly/Sinful-Lit
Sloth: Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Gluttony: The Appetite of Girls by Pamela Moses
Pride: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Greed: Serena by Ron Rash
Wrath: Carrie by Stephen King
Lust: Dracula by Brahm Stoker
Envy: The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Tally Johnson -- "The Future is Female": The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.
Jim Veal -- "Coming Across": The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (print copy, not digital)
Sarah Schiff - "Turning the Monsters Loose": Great Short Poems, ed. Paul Negri.
"Yearning to Breathe Free": Kindred by Octavia Butler.
Thrower Starr -- "Male Voice": Choose one from either Catcher in the Rye,
Lord of the Flies, or Of Mice and Men/Old Man and the Sea (both are short).
A Note from the Faculty:
In addition to being an eloquent and exciting crime thriller, Thomas Mullen’s Darktown is an important book that stirs up difficult and disturbing memories about our city’s and nation’s past. A realistic historical study, the novel uses language and imagery that are provocative and, at times, disturbing. As many anti-racist writers do, Mullen represents the harsh and bitter experiences of racism to expose its damaging effects, both in the late 1940s when the novel is set and still today. Historical fiction done well is never solely about the past but also serves as a way for artists to comment about their present moments. The Paideia high school faculty and administration have thought carefully about the pedagogical merits and risks of asking our students and community to read this novel. Our Coordinator of Equity and Inclusion, Oman Frame, as well as other faculty have discussed and will continue to discuss with the students the potential reactions they might have to the book. We hope to foster meaningful discussions about uncomfortable but important topics, to not shy away from controversial issues but rather to address them with sensitivity and respect. We consider Darktown a book appropriate for high school age readers and adults; for younger readers, we encourage parent-discretion.
Elementary parents are encouraged to share with their children any of the many books about segregation and the Civil Rights movement written expressly for children, and save this one for when their children are older.
Please email English teacher Sarah Schiff at schiff.sarah@paideiaschool.org with any questions.
