This socratic dialogue is intended to help students think about the social construction of identity. This lesson would be a good introduction to any work about identity, gender, race, or social justice and equality.
The original intention of this lesson plan was to introduce a major thesis in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - that he was a “man” even though he was not “white,” and therefore he was fighting to change the “definition” of “man” (rather than arguing that he “counts”