I think if I were one of the people who teach Eng. 1A I might use something like this for one of the novels and do a semester on social responsibility.
Sun Jan 11 2004 16:15:
I picked up a Charlotte Bronte novel I had never read before--had barely heard of. Shirley. In the first few pages, Bronte warns us not to expect a love story, and we don't get one--it's about workers in woolen mills, the villages, the mill owners, and the Industrial Revolution. I wonder why it's not more widely taught?