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Section 3: Overview

Civil Disobedience in America and Antigone

We will read a speech by Susan B. Anthony, “Is it a Crime for a United States Citizen to Vote?” to develop our abilities to analyze and evaluate arguments, and to explore the idea of civil disobedience from the perspective of a woman who “broke the law” much like Antigone.

  • Lesson 1:

    We will read an excerpt from Susan B. Anthony’s speech “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” and analyze how she developed her speech using argumentative and rhetorical elements. Then, we will compare it to Antigone’s argument about civil disobedience.

  • Lesson 2:

    We will continue to read Susan B. Anthony’s speech “Is it a Crime for a United States Citizen to Vote?” in order to analyze the components of an argument, which will support our work with the Culminating Task. We will also make connections across texts.

  • Lesson 3:

    We will continue to examine the exchange between Creon and his son Haemon while learning about what makes a tragic hero and how this concept relates to Antigone. We will also analyze the idea of “good” governing as it is presented in Antigone and “Is It a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?”

  • Lesson 4:

    We will explore the idea of Antigone as a tragic hero and examine literary criticism to analyze claims made about the play Antigone and its importance. We will also prepare for the Section Diagnostic with a writing and revision activity that focuses on one connection between Susan B. Anthony’s speech and Antigone.

  • Lesson 5:

    We have read excerpts from a speech by Susan B. Anthony to see how an argument is structured while comparing themes and ideas between Antigone and the speech. We will write a response discussing how Anthony and a character from Antigone would respond to a quotation from Aristotle.

  • Lesson 6:

    We will review feedback on the Section Diagnostic. We will use the feedback to make revisions to our work.

  • Lesson 7:

    We will share the understanding we have gained through our independent reading and continue to read our texts.