California Literature is intended to be a core course for 12th grade English.  Santa Monica High School, a microcosm of California’s diversity of wealth, language, ideologies, and ethnicities, benefits from a course reflective of those implied polarizations.  This course promotes shared intellectual success, opportunities for community involvement, and varied perspectives within the social, political, and historical fabrics of California.  Not only does this course promote diversity through literature, but it also invites students of all backgrounds and views to participate in a rigorous literary and writing experience that transcends cultural and racial stereotypes as well as fixed expectations concerning sense of place.  Although California Literature is not an AP course, its intent is to provide a rigorous yet accessible experience for all students interested in the class. All students in this course will be given the opportunity to place their fingers on the pulse of California through a set of core texts, through an examination of supplementary readings and sources, through research and discovery of local and statewide issues, through many writing opportunities, and through a “hands-on” experience along the lines of community-based involvement, curriculum-based excursions, and guest speakers.  This unique educational opportunity allows for the study of literature to occur in both a traditional and experiential fashion, validating the argument that literature is more meaningful when it acts as a conduit for greater learning outside of the classroom.