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1. THE MAN BEHIND THE WRATH— Who was John Steinbeck? What motivated his art? In particular, what social injustices and experiences drove him to write The Grapes of Wrath. Written by Jen Mahon, with assistance from consultant Susan Shillinglaw, director of the Steinbeck Research Center at San Jose State University. [LITERATURE]

2. STEINBECK IN FOCUS, THE ART OF SEEING— In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck helps us to be better observers of life, to see beyond stereotypes, and to be empathetic. In this chapter we examine some of the ways Steinbeck uses language and structure to help us to see more broadly and deeply. Written by Jesse Bryant Wilder, editor of NEXUS, with assistance from consultant Robert DeMott, a member of the Steinbeck Quarterly's advisory board, former director of the Steinbeck Research Center at San Jose State University, editor of Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, and Professor of Literature at Ohio University. Mr. DeMott was awarded a Burkhardt Prize for his contributions to Steinbeck studies. [LITERATURE]

3. WHEN THE LAND BLEW AWAY, THE DUST BOWL CRISIS— The causes, the effects and the politics of the Dust Bowl, with links to The Grapes of Wrath, Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl songs, and Pare Lorentz’s great government documentary film , The Plow that Broke the Plain. Written by Anne Loftis, author of Witnesses to the Struggle, Imaging the 1930s California Labor Movement (1998). Ms. Loftis has also written many articles on California and the Dust Bowl crisis. [HISTORY, LITERATURE & FILM]

4. HARVESTING STEINBECK'S SYMBOLS-- Examining the symbolic role of Casy and the turtle in chapter 3, and exploring Steinbeck's belief in spiritual evolution. Written by Jesse Bryant Wilder, editor of NEXUS, with assistance from consultants Robert DeMott and Susan Shillinglaw. [LITERATURE]

5. FDR & THE GREAT DEPRESSION, THE ABC's OF THE NEW DEAL— We examine the goals of the New Deal and New Deal programs, and we look at FDR’s confrontation with the Supreme Court and with various anti-New Deal groups. Written by Jesse Bryant Wilder, editor of NEXUS. [HISTORY]

6. UNCLE SAM IN THE LIMELIGHT— We explore the Federal Theater Project and some of its greatest and most influential productions (Swing Mikado and Orson Wells's Voodoo Macbeth). We also examine one of the first “Living Newspapers” produced by FTP—Triple-A Plowed Under—and link it to both the Dust Bowl and The Grapes of Wrath. Living Newspapers were dramatizations of current events; they exployed many actors, perhaps fifty per Living Newspaper, and explored hot-button issues of the day. Written by Lorraine Brown, director of the Research Center for the Federal Theater Project at George Mason University and author of Free, Adult, Uncensored, the Living History of the Federal Theater Project (New Republic Books). [THEATER & LITERATURE]

7. THE DEPRESSION’S UPBEAT: SWING— What is swing, who played it and who listened to it? What characterizes swing and what is it's musical structure? This section also looks at the use of theme and variation in the music of Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count Bassie and Woody Herman. Written by Paul Ferguson, former trombonist of the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras, writer for Jazz Player, Director of the Ohio Jazz Orchestra for Youth, and head of the Jazz Division at Case Western Reserve University. [MUSIC]

8. STEINBECK, THE GROUP THEATRE & PEOPLE'S THEATERS— Exploration of socially conscience drama by Clifford Odets and others, and the movement that reshaped American theater [with links to the Actors Studio]. Written by Robert Hethmon, editor of Strasberg at the Studio and former Professor of Theater at UCLA. Mr. Hethmon is currently writing books on Harold Clurman and the Group Theatre. [THEATER, LITERATURE & POLITICS]

9. THE SCIENCE OF SEEING— Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez explores marine biology in the Gulf of California, a.k.a. the Sea of Cortez. The book contains many examples of Steinbeck’s superb observation skills and his manner of deriving hypotheses from careful observations. We examine Steinbeck's scientific method and link it to high school biology studies and the role of observation in science. Written by Tricia Yakovich, a high school biology teacher. [BIOLOGY & LITERATURE]

10. NEW DEAL ART— We explore and interpret some of the best Treasury Department Post Office murals. Written by Jesse Bryant Wilder, editor of NEXUS, with the assistance from consultants Marlene Park, co-author of Democratic Vistas: Post Offices & Public Art in the New Deal, and Francis V. O'Connor, editor of Art for the Millions, Essays from the 1930s by Artists and Administrators of the WPA Federal Art Project. [ART, HISTORY & POLITICS]

11. MAN IN THE MACHINE AGE--CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S MODERN TIMES— In his classic film made in 1936 Chaplin explores many of the issues Steinbeck deals with in The Grapes of Wrath — mechanization, dehumanization, depression poverty, unions, strikes—but with a humorous approach that appeals to most students and at the same time reinforces ideas from the novel. Written by William Park, Professor of literature and film at Sarah Lawrence College. Mr. Park specializes in Depression-era cinema and is the author of The Idea of Rococo. [FILM, HISTORY & LITERATURE]

12. WORD PORTRAITS— Students learn to write their own character portraits in the manner of Steinbeck (and other novelists). They learn to observe the world around them and to use precise adjectives and descriptive verbs that reveal the moods behind actions. At the same time students learn to appreciate chararacter sketches in The Grapes of Wrath & fiction in general. Written by Jesse Bryant Wilder, editor of NEXUS. [LITERATURE]

13. AMERICA TRANSFORMED, THE WPA & THE ARTS— The author examines the role and effects of the WPA, particularly in the arts. Written by Kenneth Bindas, Professor of History at Kent State University and author of All of this Music Belongs to the Nation: The WPA’s Federal Music Project and American Society, 1935-1939. [HISTORY & THE ARTS]

14. THE HISTORY OF ART IN THE NEW DEAL ERA-- Art and activism, regionalism and the influence of modern art movements on American artists in the 1930s. Written by Francis V. O'Connor, editor of Art for the Millions, Essays from the 1930s by Artists and Administrators of the WPA Federal Art Project and The New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (Smithsonian Institution Press). [ART]

15. REPETITION IN MUSIC AND LITERATURE-- We explore the musical manner in which Steinbeck uses repetition in the global or general chapters of The Grapes of Wrath. We also look at the use of repetition in the Book of Ecclesiastes and in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Written by Paul Ferguson, former trombonist of the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras, writer for Jazz Player, Director of the Ohio Jazz Orchestra for Youth, and head of the Jazz Division at Case Western Reserve University. [LITERATURE & MUSIC]