ap English project

Syllabus Proposal: “Multiculturalism and the

Promise of Happiness” Ms. F.’s exemplar

Sara Ahmed: Author Background ● Sara Ahmed is a scholar whose writings engage with feminist,

queer and race studies

● She worked at the University of London until 2016 before resigning in protest over the University’s handling of sexual harassment cases

● Her writings include The Cultural Politics of Emotion, The Promise of Happiness, and, most recently, Complaint! which is about how harassment is handled on university campuses.

● Ahmed runs the successful blog feminist killjoy and continues to pursue independent research projects

Text Arguments

● Tropes like the happy housewife serve to “justify gendered products of labor not as products of nature, law, or duty, but as an expression of collective wish and desire” (121)

● Unhappiness is often used as a need to return to the past and oppressive ideas (122)

● Happiness is directed towards certain “objects” that “promise” happiness (124-125)

Reasons to Add Text to Syllabus

1. This text will encourage students to think critically about what happiness is and how ideas of happiness are shaped by social norms.

2. Students can place Ahmed’s theory about happiness in conversation with Coates’ argument on the American Dream.

3. Ahmed’s theories provide an intersectional lens and offers a different perspective on similar ideas from Between the World and Me.

Counterclaim & Rebuttal

Counterclaim: The reading is too dense and inaccessible for high school students.

Rebuttal: The reading is challenging, but with the appropriate scaffolding, students can successfully grasp the main arguments of the text. As they read, students will complete a reading guide that has questions that check for understanding. Students will also only be assigned a portion of the text to read (121-125) since this section introduces the main concepts needed for the discussion questions.

Discussion Questions 1. How do you define happiness? How does Ahmed define happiness? How do

your definitions compare? 2. How have definitions of happiness and unhappiness been used historically as

a way to oppress people? 3. Watch “Disney Adaptations: What does “happily ever after look like?” How

does media shape what society values as “happy objects?” 4. How does Ahmed’s theory about happiness engage with and/or expand on

and/or disrupt Coates’ arguments about the American Dream in Between the World and Me?

Sources

Multiculturalism and the Promise of Happiness (PDF)

Disney Adaptations: What does “happily ever after look like?

Sara Ahmed Bio

Sara Ahmed wiki