"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you

in your private heart, is true for all men, --that is genius" (Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”)

The title “wise” is, for the most part, falsely applied. How can one be a wise man, if he does not know any better how to live than other men?" (Thoreau’s “Life Without Principle”)

Civil war, national bankruptcy, or revolution, [are] more rich in the central tones than languid years of prosperity“ (Emerson’s “The Conduct of Life”)

"If one listens to the faintest but constant suggestions of his genius, which are certainly true, he sees to not what extremes, or even insanity it may lead him; and yet that way, as he grows more resolute and faithful, his road lies" (Thoreau’s “Walden”)

Journal Write:Pick one quote and respond

TRANSCENDENTALISM

a literary movement (part of Romanticism) that flourished from

1836 – 1860

Ralph Waldo Emerson – prominent Unitarian

minister, left the church to seek a more meaningful religious experience.

Following the anonymous publication of “Nature,” he delivered the famous “American Scholar” in 1837. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. called this speech “America’s Intellectual Declaration of Independence.” (Reverend John Pierce called it "an apparently incoherent and unintelligible address.”)

How it began…1830’s

He argued that anyone could discover truth

and God within themselves without belonging to a church (rebellion against traditionally held beliefs by the English Church that God superseded the individual).

Emerson wrote, “I have only one doctrine: the infinitude of the private man.”

Emerson, cont.

Followers of Emerson’s ideas came together to

form the Transcendental club. They believed that truth transcends (goes

beyond) what you are able to observe in the physical world alone.

You must focus on your inner self!

Transcendental Club

“We will walk on our own feet; we will work

with our own hands; we will speak our own minds…A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Simply put, every person is divine and you must rely on yourself to find God and transcend the confines of the physical world. Through your own intuition, you can come to know higher truths.

Tenets of Transcendentalism

This the idea of an “oversoul.” There is a divine energy in all living things. This a universal spirit gives all life meaning

and purpose. God is present in every form of nature,

regardless of race, religion, or social status.

#1 Universal Spirit

You should seek God by looking inward Individuals should rely on their own heart and

moral compass to guide their lives “Trust your Intuition” – follow your “gut”

#2 Self-Reliance and Intuition

Transcendentalists held an optimistic view that all

men and women possessed a natural capacity to do good (as opposed to Puritan belief that people were innately sinful)

Believed that social activism was a direct result of an increased relationship with God and self – or “social reform through self reform”

Conformity is not necessary – it’s not necessarily even desirable

#3 Self and Society

Man has removed himself too far from nature

Only in nature can you truly commune with God

You must leave behind modern conveniences and to learn higher truths about humanity

#4 Direct Relationship with Nature

Thoreau joined Emerson’s club built a hut on Walden Pond. Here he

spent time meditating, living off the land, and writing about nature.

believed that reform began with the individual

protested against slavery by not paying his taxes

Henry David Thoreau

Was arrested for tax evasion After a night in jail, he wrote “Civil

Disobedience,” which states that it is not enough to protest against something. Rather one must act in order to be a conscious individual.

Thoreau continued…

In your first paragraph, summarize the Riff article “The “Foul

Reign of Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” Use academic voice Summarize Anastas’ assertions objectively Discern his most significant points Do NOT interpret, evaluate, or inject your own opinion

In the second paragraph, respond: Use first-person “I” because I am asking for your opinion. How do you interpret the article? Do you find it to be effective or ineffective? In what way? With which points do you agree or disagree?

Two paragraphSummary & Response

Using this time to:

Pick a quote from your readings – make sure the quote is substantial in its content and relevant to your work

Refer to the rubric and the “Effective Quote Integration” sheet to introduce, explain, and apply your quote.

Be SPECIFIC in your application – find an area where you can consider the implications. These can be positive or negative, or both.

Ask questions – of me or your classmates – to better your paper.

What you are doing right now…

1. Share your quote with your partner. 2. Ask your partner to perform “Step #2” of

quotation integration: Explain the quote/What do they think this quote is saying?

3. Write down their interpretation of the quote next to your explanation.

4. Discuss whether or not the two of you agree on what the quote is saying. Be careful to avoid discussing how you’ll use it; stick to step #2: explaining the quote.

Rough Draft In pairs

Consider your “world” application of the quote. On the rough draft, respond:

1) Write one sentence relating what you’ve witnessed to the Transcendentalist tenet you’re describing.

2) Write one sentence relating how your personal application related to the quote you’re describing.

Rough DraftSelf-edit

Write your individual goal. Questions?

Per the rubric, remember to include the rough draft and the rubric with your essay.

Rough Draft End

Get into groups of four. In small group, share quote responses. Quote Share as a class.

Debrief: 1) How did you introduce the quote? 2) Were the responses interpretative? 3) Were they applicative?

Read Emerson’s excerpt from “Self-Reliance” What reading strategies will you use?

Answer questions as a group (everyone does their own worksheet).

Listen to Clinton read “Concord Hymn” (text for poem is on blog)

Our transcendent agenda

Battle of Lexington & Concord

Within reason, orient your desk however you’d like it to be. Headphones are okay.

o Please bring out your…1) “Carry-a-Quote”/Quote Shares 2) Walden worksheets (purple)

o Please work on the back side of your Walden writes.o I will mark off Quote Shares & pass back “Self-Reliance.”o Shhhhhhh……we have about 15-20 minutes to write; I will

collect afterward. Enjoy the silence and the “voices which we hear in solitude” (Emerson 2) – that’s your voice.

Welcome to Wednesday

In groups of three or four, you will summarize

your assigned paragraph. Part of this summary should include highlighting and explaining a quote that is germane to Thoreau’s message (see: “step two” of the Effective Quotation Integration).

Please write your talking points on the whiteboard.

Be prepared to share.

“Civil Disobedience"

One-to-two pages; single spacing is okay. Formal writing, but the use of “I” is expected. Pick a quote from our reading and apply it to your own life. This paper should illustrate an understanding of

Transcendentalism and its potential applications, as well as the ability to employ meaningful quotes

This is NOT a five-paragraph essay; it does not require an introduction, conclusion, etc. It is short in length (long in thought and reflection) -- you will want to get in and start writing.

 

Transcendental Writing: Incorporating your work with Transcendentalism and quotation integration, you will introduce, interpret, and apply a transcendental tenet.

…of taking walks--who had a genius, so to speak, for

SAUNTERING, which word is beautifully derived "from idle people who roved about the country, in the Middle Ages…They who never go to the Holy Land in their walks, as they pretend, are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds; but they who do go there are saunterers in the good sense, such as I mean…Some, however, would derive the word from sans terre without land or a home, which, therefore, in the good sense, will mean, having no particular home, but equally at home everywhere. For this is the secret of successful sauntering. He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all; but the saunterer, in the good sense, is no more vagrant than the meandering river, which is all the while sedulously seeking the shortest course to the sea.

From “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau“I have met but one or two persons in the course

of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, …

Transcendentalist Writing AssignmentRough Draft Due Friday 12.14; Final Draft Due Monday, 12.17.2012 Assignment: If you had to apply a tenet of Transcendentalism into YOUR life, how would this look?  One page, single-spacing is okay. Be specific. Use specific quotes and specific examples from the writing and

from your own life. Formal writing in terms of syntax, but the use of “I” is expected. Scope: You might pick one Transcendentalist writing and one area of your

life, or you might take a broader approach, where you consider how/where the multiple writings overlap and how these universal tenets may apply to your life in a broader sense (note: do not confuse broad with generalities). Either way, specific use of quotes and application is expected.

This paper should illustrate an understanding of Transcendentalism and its potential applications, as well as the ability to employ meaningful quotes

This is NOT a five-paragraph essay; it does not require an introduction, conclusion, etc. It is short in length (long in thought and reflection) -- you will want to get in and start writing.

 

Transcendental Writing, 50 summative points

Rubric (50 summative points) Displays a clear and distinct understanding of (a) fundamental Transcendentalist characteristic(s) _____/10 Uses academic/formal/grammatically correct writing, with the caveat that “I” is expected _____/10 Meaningfully employs an appropriate quote (or quotes) with analysis as it relates to application _____/10 Uses specifics/avoids generalities as it applies to the Transcendental reading AND life application _____/10 Displays evidence of time, care, thought (“x” factor”) _____/10  

Rubric, Transcendental Writing