American

1
American Isms ProjectFor Writers and Texts We
Will Not be Studying Through the Novels/Works We
Read This Year

• Advanced English III

2
Basic Idea

• 6 different groups, each teaching a full days
  lesson on a movement of American literature
• There will be texts assigned with each movement
  so the lesson will include the teaching of those
  texts

3
Basic Idea, continued

• You will read your texts before everyone else,
  but we will all be reading all of the texts
• Example If Wednesday is the day we will be
  studying Transcendentalism, Tuesday nights
  homework will be to read the Transcendental texts

4
Time-Frame

• We will be using about week to work on and
  prepare for this
• The presentations themselves will not be until
  after this

5
Choosing a Project

• After discussing all 6, you will get a chance to
  pick your top 3 choices
• You will then be assigned one of those 3
  (hopefully)

6
Tonights Homework

• Tonights homework is to read your groups
  assigned texts, and to be ready to discuss them
  with your group tomorrow

7
Grading

• Since a lot of time will be devoted to this and
  since this is an important assignment there
  will a significant amount of points devoted to
  this project
• This will be a large portion of your 3rd marking
  period grade
• You will be given a group grade AND a personal
  grade
• Rushed projects will not be scored above a C

8
The 6 Isms Revolutionism

• Timeframe from a little before the Revolutionary
  War to a little after
• Writing Style Persuasive
• Focus independence, freedom, human rights, the
  creation of a country
• Texts
• Thomas Paine all from textbook
• Jefferson all from textbook

9
Romanticism

• Began in Europe
• Reaction against aristocracy, Age of Reason,
  science, etc.
• Focus emotion, the individual, human creativity,
  Nature,
• In American, the themes are often dark
• Texts
• Poes Introduction, The Raven (181) and The
  Black Cat (website)
• Whitmans Introduction, Song of Myself, and I
  Hear American Singing

10
Transcendentalism

• Branch of Romanticism
• Also a protest against society, etc.
• A lot of the same foci of the Romantics
• In addition, spiritual or non-material state of
  being is more important than physical states
• Texts
• Emersons Introduction and from Emersons
  Essays
• Thoreaus Introduction and from Walden

11
Regionalism

• Definition In literature, regionalism or local
  color fiction refers to fiction or poetry that
  focuses on specific features - including
  characters, dialects, customs and topography - of
  a particular region. Since the region may be a
  recreation or reflection of the author's own,
  there is often nostalgia and sentimentality in
  the writing.
• Obviously, different regions mean different
  styles of writing
• Texts
• Frosts Introduction and all his poems
• Dickinsons Introduction and all her poems

12
Realism

• Definition a turn of the century idea in art,
  music and literature that showed through these
  different types of work, reflections of the time
  period. Whether it was a cultural portrayal, or a
  scenic view of downtown New York City, these
  images and works of literature, music and
  painting depicted a contemporary view of what was
  happening an attempt at defining what was real.
• Rejects anything superficial, fake, or dramatic
• Texts
• Chopins Introduction and A Story of an Hour
  (both on Website)

13
Naturalism

• The naturalists sought explanations for human
  behavior in natural science, and were skeptical,
  at least, of organized religion and beliefs in
  human free will.
• Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of
  life
• Nature, etc. was usually pitted against Humanity,
  especially individual humans
• Texts
• Londons Introduction and To Build a Fire
• Cranes Introduction and The Open Boat

14

• Revolutionism Paine and Jefferson
• Romanticism Poes Introduction, The Raven
  (181) and The Black Cat (website) and Whitmans
  Introduction, Song of Myself, and I Hear
  American Singing
• Transcendentalism Emersons Introduction and
  from Emersons Essays and Thoreaus
  Introduction and from Walden

15

• Regionalism Frosts Introduction and all his
  poems and Dickinsons Introduction and all her
  poems
• Realism Chopins Introduction and A Story of an
  Hour (both on Website)
• Naturalism Londons Introduction and To Build a
  Fire and Cranes Introduction and The Open
  Boat