1. Extended Interpretations
Transcendentalism
Extended Interpretations

2. Free writing: Answer one or all of the questions (you have 10 minutes to write a page or more)
What does it mean to be an individual? How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?
How do you define spirituality? What is meant by an individual's spiritual side? How to you define it?
What is the role of nature in your life? How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of nature? Is there a connection between the individual's spirit and nature? If so, what is that connection?
What does it mean to know something intuitively? For example, has a parent or a sibling ever known something was wrong with you without having talked with or seen you? What do we mean when we say "I just know it"? Have you ever changed your behavior or actins because you sensed you needed to?

3. Ten Tenets of Transcendentalism
Individualism should be celebrated because every group is made up of thinking and acting individuals who will impact the world around them.
There are no limits to human potential if each individual works to make him or herself be the best he or she can be.
One’s future is not predetermined by God, but is determined by individual character.
Life on Earth and the experience of it is more important than the afterlife.
It is impossible to have absolute knowledge, but it is possible to have heightened awareness.
Intuition is more important than reason. It is through intuition and sensory experience that humans can discover higher truths.

4. Nature is our guide to successful living.
Laws of nature are applications of moral laws.
Nature symbolizes perseverance or the ability to get through struggles and to become better as a result of them.
Within everything there is and opposite (“Alternation”) and contradictions exist within every human.
“Every Evil hath its good” (Polarity)- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I exist. I am full of contradictions.” –Walt Whitman
“Foolish Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
“For everything gained, something is lost.” –Henry David Thoreau

5. 9. The material world is an inferior copy of the spiritual world.
10. Being civilized doesn’t always mean one needs to conform to the attitudes and actions of society. Sometimes it is necessary to go against the grain to have a clear conscience.

7. Transcendentalism Today
Homework:
Go home and find examples that you think embody transcendentalism modern music, art, poetry, film and stories.
Copy lyrics, dialogue, clip art or paraphrase stories.

8. What if…
… Emerson had specifically addressed the institution of slavery in this essay. What do you think he would have said about it?

9. Self reliance Reading Quiz
Directions: You can use your annotation and Skillbuilder sheet to answer the questions below. Your answers should be thoughtful and well-developed (Three sentences at the very least).
What is the purpose of this essay? How do you know? Use the details of the essay itself to prove your position.
What are two important things Emerson advocates in this essay? What does he want the readers to do? Put it into your own words.
Who do you believe the intended audience of this essay is? Why? Defend your ideas with evidence.
What if Emerson had specifically addressed the institution of slavery in this essay. What do you think he would have said about it? Do his ideas apply to people who live outside of the dominant culture? Why or why not?
Bonus Questions: what does Emerson mean when he says (A) “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” and (B) “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members?”

10. Emerson Today
If Emerson were alive today… What kind of car do you think he would drive and why? What would his bumper sticker say? Why would this bumper sticker be appropriate for him?
On front: Bumper sticker On Back: Car and explanation of
its connection to the essay

11. Critic’s Corner
The noted writer Henry James said that Emerson” had no great sense of wrong… no sense of the dark, foul, the base.” How do you think Emerson might have defended his views against this charge?

12. From “Memoirs” by Margaret Fuller
In the chamber of death, I prayed In the very early years, “Give me truth; cheat me by no illusion.” O, the granting of this prayer is sometimes terrible to me! I walk over the burning ploughshares, and the sear My feet. Yet nothing but The truth will do.
How do Margaret Fuller’s ideas in this poem compare to “Self-Reliance?”

13. Partner Journal: In a Journal entry to your partner, explore your beliefs, feelings and Reactions to “Self-reliance”
What struck you as important in “Self-reliance?” What major lessons and ideas stood out to you? What critiques or concerns do you have about it?
How is “Self-Reliance” relevant today? How do his ideas about the importance of the individual apply to our modern world?
Consider in your answer:
His idea that all people should be nonconformists
His disregard for consistency of thought and deed
Peer pressure to conform to certain standards.

14. Civil Disobedience Warm up
What does it mean to be a good citizen? What are the qualities and actions of a good citizen? Is it possible to be a good citizen and a lawbreaker at the same time? Explain with examples
Write and defend your position with evidence from the essay

15. Civil Disobedience Reading Quiz
According to Henry David Thoreau, what is the best kind of government for the people? What are your thoughts about this idea?
What does Thoreau believe are the downsides of majority rule? Are majorities always right? Is it possible to run a government on conscience alone? What are your critiques of this for today in your life and in American politics?
What does Thoreau mean when he says that governments are mostly “inexpedient?” What is ineffective about them? How does he believe things can be done more efficiently?
What does Thoreau mean when he said, “a cooperation of conscientious men is a cooperation with a conscience?” What are the implications for decision- making if decisions are made based on habits and traditions as opposed to being thoughtful about the outcomes?
Who makes America great, the government or the people? What did Thoreau say about this? What do you think about this? Do American people, today, understand that the government is designed to represent them as opposed to reign over (rule) them?
What are two of the largest points you walk away with from reading “Civil Disobedience?” List and explain them.
Define civil disobedience. What is the difference between civil disobedience and just plain disobedience? Explain
Bonus: Connect the concepts of self-reliance and civil disobedience together.

16. On your definitions page from yesterday, add:
Gandhi Concepts
On your definitions page from yesterday, add:
Satyagraha:
Nonviolent resistance

17. Connect Gandhi to Emerson and Thoreau
What are the concepts of Satyagraha and nonviolent resistance? How did Gandhi’s choices And philosophies connect to Thoreau and Emerson?
Point out specific examples of his reactions to unfairness and compare them to Thoreau and Emerson’s essays and the tenets of Transcendentalism.

18. 3-2-1 (Make A Graphic organizer or Chart)
Explain in detail 3 commonalities between the philosophies and actions of Emerson, Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Use evidence from the text to support your point.
Explain 2 practical applications of their philosophies in modern America. You can either discuss something you see or something you would like to see.
Write 1 thematic statement about individualism, individual rights, or the path to justice or enlightenment.
In your notes, add to, revise, or adjust your definition of Transcendentalism

19. Transcendentalism Review
Define each of the following in your own words and find an example/ quotation from the texts to illustrate and support your definition:
Self-reliance
Civil disobedience
Now that you have defined and illustrated the main concepts for our first two works, define and explain what you believe Transcendentalism is.

20. Unpack the Reading…
According to the Transcendentalists, what is the pathway to enlightenment and to living well? What gets in the way of these things?”
Discuss three things that struck you from last night’s reading and discuss what you think about the ideas from Emerson and Thoreau. You can also include concepts and works from the culture and identity unit. (no more than 10 minutes)

21. 10/3/13 Homework:
Read and transcribe the following poems. Decide how they connect to Emerson and Thoreau and the concept of the “American Spirit”. Glencoe book: p. 401 background on Whitman; p.403 “I hear America Singing;” p. 404 “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer;” Building background p.409

22. Table Group Discussion #1 (everyone take Notes)
Walt Whitman was a member of the Transcendentalist club. What do the details about his life and the words and images in his poem suggest about his values as a person?
Discuss the concepts you have learned from Transcendentalist. How do these poems connect to those concepts?
Discuss the imagery in the poems. What picture do they paint of America and common beliefs about America? Feel free to connect to previous Socratics.

23. Table Group Discussion #2 (everyone Take Notes)
Read aloud and annotate to understand “song of Myself” p. 410
At the end of each section, decide on his purpose or message.
Start in table groups and finish for homework: questions 1-10, 12, 13 page 416

24. Pre-Socratic fRee write
What is transcendentalism? Now that you have studied the Transcendentalists and their work, explain with a succinct definition and logical evidence what you believe American Transcendentalism is.
Be sure to add detail on the following:
Ideas about the roles and responsibilities of an individual to themselves and the world around them
The concept of justice
The concept of freedom
What it means to be enlightened
Spirituality
Nature
2. Now that you have d defined it, discuss what how the concept of Transcendentalism connects to modern thinking. What foundational ideas do you see as connected to how Americans understand themselves? What of their criticisms of society still linger today?

25. What is Transcendentalism to You?
Share your object and discuss:
Ideas about the roles and responsibilities of an individual to themselves and the world around them
The concept of justice
The concept of freedom
What it means to be enlightened
Spirituality
Nature

26. Emerson Said..
“Whatever Transcendentalism was, it was not suited to institutionalizing. It gave birth to no academy; it flourished in no college or seminary. It had two collective expressions during its heyday (the club and the magazine called The Dial) but could only manage one at a time.”