American Transcendentalism “Why should we not enjoy an original relation to the universe?”--Emerson

Look at the following questions… Is man good or evil? Should the individual or society come first? How should we live in relation to nature? This slide is truly a prompt. Each question should be given with time to write a few lines about each one. Then, the responses should be pair-shared in sequence. Personally, I would: 1. Present the question 2. Let them write for 5 min. 3. Have them discuss with partner 4. Have two or three students tell you what their partner said 5. Move to the next question. Or give them time to answer all three questions and discuss (may be better for time).

Are you a Transcendentalist? For each question, write down the number along the continuum that best reflects your opinion. 1 People are sinful 2 3 4 People are innocent 5 1 We should be suspicious and stern 3 We should be trusting and open 5 1 We need laws and institutions 3 We do not need laws and institutions to 5 to govern our behavior control our behavior 1 Nature is a place of danger 3 Nature is where God (the spirit) is found 5 This is a fun activity, as the students interact and gauge their own beliefs.

1 Stability is good 2 3 4 Change is good 5 1 Society is most important 3 The individual is most important 5 1 Government by the educated 3 Government by the many is best 5 few is best 1 We should look to the past for guidance; 3 We should not look to the past for guidance; 5 the old world has much to teach we should create a new world

35-40 Ultra-extreme Transcendentalist 30-34 Liberal, tree-hugging, democratic optimist 25-29 Mildly liberal, tree-hugging, democratic optimist 24 Spineless, Janus-faced, fence-straddler 19-23 Mildly angry, bitter, pessimistic, puritanical, tree- cutting elitist 14-18 Somewhat angry, bitter, pessimistic, puritanical, tree-cutting elitist 8-13 Extremely angry, bitter, pessimistic, puritanical, tree-cutting elitist

So, WHAT is Transcendentalism? “A nineteenth-century movement in the Romantic tradition, which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reason and sensory experience.” --Elements of Literature --Huh? Remember Romanticism, a literary and artistic movement of passion and a love of nature…? Have them write down the definition and explain this art as part of the American River School.

ROMANTIC Revolutionary in spirit and style Ordinary is made Extraordinary Moving, passionate verse Anti-reason/science; emotion and poetry are superior Nature is the key to discovering truth The supernatural is possible Imaginative, idealistic, introspective Common subject matter; they write about the simple William Wordsworth, father of British Romanticism ROMANTIC Emphasize that students must understand Romanticism. You are to have THEM think of the responses for the memonic and THEN reveal them. This gets them thinking and makes them review. I would even read a Romantic poem like Wordsworth’s “Yon Solitary Highland Lass” first.

Other origins of Transcendentalism: Idealism, articulated by Plato in the 4th Century, emphasized ideas over the physical. Americans like Emerson began to read philosophical Indian lit. like the Bhagavad-Gita. One picture with info at a time, starting with Plato, then Kant, then Buddha Emmanuel Kant, German Philosopher, coined the term transcendentalism, referring to going beyond everyday human experience in the physical world to determine the reality of God.

A Transcendentalists View of the World Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul The physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual or ideal world. People can use their intuition to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls. Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and blind conformity to custom and tradition Spontaneous feelings and intuition are superior to deliberate intellectualism and rationality. from Elements of Literature, p. 212 Present one at a time and explain

Why did Transcendentalism happen in America? The nation was divided. Why? Remember, it’s 1840-1860. Several intellectuals in New England wanted to create an original, American voice. One of these men was Emerson: We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe…we will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak with our own minds.” --Ralph Waldo Emerson, from “The American Scholar,” 1837 This is discussion-based. Ask students to recall their knowledge on American History during these tumultuous times. This will give you an opportunity to connect the two courses and will help you gauge their prior knowledge.

At the time, New England was known for its interests in Education, self-improvement, and intellectual inquiry. Emerson lived in Concord, Massachusetts; it was a place packed with ideas and idea-makers: Educator and philosopher Bronson Alcott lived in Concord. He helped to make American Education what it is. His daughter Louisa May wrote Little Women.

Across the street lived Ralph Waldo Emerson, the father of American Transcendentalism I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker, with no Past at my back --Emerson

Was born to a cultured but poor family in Boston (1803). Emerson… Was born to a cultured but poor family in Boston (1803). Watched his father die of Tuberculosis was Emerson was eight. Harvard University in Winter Entered Harvard University when he was just seventeen. Lost his young wife to Tuberculosis while he was training to become a minister.

What happened next… Emerson became disillusioned with religious dogma Linked Nature with God and Man with Nature. Thus, Man=God? Preached that we should deny the importance of the past “Let us unfetter ourselves of our historical associations.”

He claimed that: In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel nothing can befall me in life--no disgrace…I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. He inspired other authors

Learning Goals from this PowerPoint: 1) Define American Transcendentalism and trace its origins. 2) Respond via discussions and writing to ideas of Emerson (and next, Thoreau) 3)Present a case for the relevance of Transcendentalism our lives today. Have them understand WHY you are presenting the lesson and return to this slide at the end