- How have LGBTQ lives and civil rights changed since the 1950s?
- Why did Sontag and other public figures remain in the closet? What risks did they face?
- How might coming out have jeopardized a person’s life or career in the mid-20th century?
- Why does understanding the personal lives of historical LGBTQ figures matter?
- What injustices do queer Americans of all backgrounds face today?
- How can students support LGBTQ rights in their own communities?
- How can writers express identity?
- Reflect on Sontag’s public role as a writer and her decision to keep her personal life private
- Identify social and cultural barriers to coming out as queer
- Explore the differences between historical and contemporary queer experience
- Relate Sontag’s personal reflections on love and identity to students’ own experiences
- Consider contemporary social and political activities that support LGBTQ rights
- Use writing to creatively express complex issues
1-3 Class Periods
VIDEOS:
Queer Identity and the Closet Video and Transcript
HANDOUTS:
Unit Background
Unit Research
Handout 1
Handout 2
WORKSHEETS:
Essay/Speech Worksheet
Creative Writing Worksheet
TEACHING PLANS:
Teach Handout 1
Teach Handout 2
Essay/Speech Activity
Creative Writing Activity
- Art and Culture
Subject Matter > Art History
- History and Social Studies
People > African American
People > Latinx
People > LGBTQ
People > Native American
People > Other
People > Women
Themes > Civil Rights
Themes > Culture
Themes > Modern World
Themes > Politics and Citizenship
- Literature and Language Arts
Genre > Biography
Genre > Essay
Place > The Americas
Place > Modern World
- Analysis
- Compare and contrast
- Creative writing
- Critical thinking
- Cultural analysis
- Discussion
- Evaluating arguments
- Expository writing
- Gathering, classifying and interpreting written and visual information
- Historical analysis
- Internet skills
- Interpretation
- Journal writing
- Literary analysis
- Logical reasoning
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions
- Media analysis
- Online research
- Oral presentation skills
- Persuasive writing and speaking
- Report writing
- Representing ideas and information orally and in writing
- Research
- Summarizing
- Synthesis
- Textual analysis
- Using primary sources
- Using secondary sources
- Writing skills
- ELA Reading: 1-3, 6-7, 10
- ELA Writing: 1, 3-10
- ELA Speaking & Listening: 1-2, 4-6
- HSS Reading: 1-3, 6-10
- HSS Writing: 2, 4-10
This lesson focuses on Susan Sontag’s romantic life and her personal and public relationship to queer identity, exploring her decision to remain in the closet during her lifetime and the decision to publish her diaries and notebooks, which describe her same-sex relationships in great detail, after her death. Students are encouraged to think about Sontag’s struggles with identity and relationships as a young woman in the 1950s, reflecting on their own lives and the contemporary realities for many LGBTQ individuals, and to consider the risks public figures in the past may have faced if they had been open about their sexuality.
LESSON 1 HANDOUTS
LESSON 1 STUDENT ACTIVITY OPTIONS
- Watch Regarding Susan Sontag and reflect on its relevance to your students and subject area. For extracurricular organizations, community groups, and book clubs, consult our guide on adapting the curriculum.
- Select the handout(s) and student activity you will use with this lesson.
- Begin the lesson by watching and discussing the lesson video module with Handout 1
- Continue the lesson with Handouts 2-4 to deepen learning (optional)
- Complete the lesson with a student activity: options include writing, presentation, and creative assignments as well as class projects or debates
- Download or print all related resources for this lesson at our resource center (video module, handouts, worksheets, teaching plans), and prepare for classroom use. Preview the video module, familiarizing yourself with the content and any potential areas of sensitivity for your students (see viewing and discussing sensitive materials).
- Screen Regarding Susan Sontag and discuss with our Educational Screening Guide before beginning this lesson.
- Assign full texts or articles in place of handout excerpts.
- Assign supplementary texts or facilitate independent research with our Identity Unit Research handout, which includes:
- Online resources related to queer and feminist studies
- Reference texts on identity (unit citations and recommendations)
- Allow additional time for discussion, group work, peer-review, editing, revision, or student evaluations and critiques of finished work.
- Coordinate presentations of student activities outside the classroom, such as a class blog, podcast or online gallery posts, school newspaper or literary/art journal publications, student radio or video broadcasts, or all-school exhibits, panel discussions, and screenings.
- Teach this lesson with additional content from the curriculum guide. See our Interdisciplinary Diagram for help choosing related units and lessons.