Category: henry david thoreau

+

+ african american literature, american literature, anne bradstreet, catharine maria sedgwick, early american literature, henry david thoreau, king philip, Literature, lydia maria child, mary rowlandson, native american literature, ralph waldo emerson, samson occom, sarah kemble knight, southern literature, sydney smith, walt whitman, william apess

Chronicling the Rise of A Distinctly American Literature in the Survey Course

by

Every semester, I discuss how American authors sought to carve out their space in a early-nineteenth century world that countered European cultural and artistic influence. As we read throughout the semester, we encounter numerous authors who either explicitly or indirectly address the question, “How do we construct a distinctly American literature?” For me, this topic arises from the outset of the semester due to … Read More Chronicling the Rise of A Distinctly American Literature in the Survey Course

+ american literature, andrew jackson, captivity narrative, early american literature, henry david thoreau, mary rowlandson, native american literature, ralph waldo emerson, samson occom, transcendentalism, tumblr, Uncategorized, william apess

Tumblr Projects in the Literature Classroom

by

Last month, I published “Tumblr, Blogger, and Wikis in the Literature Classroom.” Today, I want to briefly discuss that post then share with you some of the products that students created in my literature survey courses. For the assignment, I gave each group (two students each) a term or historical event. Each group had to have three aspects to their presentation/Tumblr post.

+

+ american literature, bartleby the srivener, civil disobedience, early american literature, henry david thoreau, herman melville, ralph waldo emerson, transcendentalism, Uncategorized

Herman Melville’s Bartleby and Civil Disobedience?

by

When I asked students what they thought of Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener, most expressed frustration with Bartleby because they did not know his motivations. Truthfully, we never really know for sure what drives Bartleby to continue to tell his employer, “I would prefer not to.” However, I would argue, as some have done, that we should read Melville’s story, as we do Rebecca … Read More Herman Melville’s Bartleby and Civil Disobedience?

+

+ american literature, bits of gossip, early american literature, henry david thoreau, herman melville, life in the iron mills, nature, rebecca harding davis, Uncategorized

Rebecca Harding Davis And Emerson’s Transcednentalism

by

In Bits of Gossip (1904), Rebecca Harding Davis tells about a dinner she had with Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott, and others. Of the dinner conversation, she writes, “You heard much sound philosophy and many sublime guesses at the eternal verities; in fact, never were the eternal verities so discussed and pawed over and turned inside out as they were about that time, in Boston, by … Read More Rebecca Harding Davis And Emerson’s Transcednentalism

+ american literature, civil disobedience, early american literature, henry david thoreau, ralph waldo emerson, the unknown citizen, transcendentalism, Uncategorized

Are We Just a Number? Henry David Thoreau and W.H. Auden

by

Ralph Waldo Emerson concludes his essay “Self-Reliance” (1841) with the following words: “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles” (660).About seven years later, Henry David Thoreau delivered his lecture “Resistant to Civil Govermnet,” which would eventually be renamed “Civil Disobedience” after his death. Thoreau’s lecture, essentially, elaborates on the closing lines of Emerson’s essay, … Read More Are We Just a Number? Henry David Thoreau and W.H. Auden

Archive
Follow me on Twitter

Blog at WordPress.com.