Welcome back, AP English
Writing your paper
1. After writing an intro defining Transcendentalism and its major themes, focus your own THESIS on its relevance to contemporary society.
2. Then, remember to discuss the central themes you are focusing on as they are written in the texts we have studied of Emerson, Whitman and Thoreau. Use text-based quotes to support your CLAIMS. Provide EXAMPLES from the texts. Cite MLA style or be sure to mention the documents you are using in the body text.
3. Finally, relate the Transcendentalists to a significant contemporary ISSUE. Are there contemporary writers or articles that make a connection between the Transcendentalists and our own times? What is essentially American and modern about the Transcendentalists?
4. And of course, finish with a conclusion and go back to your intro to revise and edit and strengthen your thesis.
Often the conclusion illuminates other aspects of your thesis that need to be included in the intro!
Transcendentalism and non conformity. I know its a bit of a cop out but I feel like there are a lot of ways to link all the essays we've read with this topic, and there's a lot of room for expansion... is this alright?
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and self reliance, I like the fact that Emerson and other transcendentalist who support individualism.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and the poet as the ideal human. I haven't figured out a connection to the modern age yet, since to me the concept of an "ideal human" appears to be relevant to all of history.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and the impact of isolation. Focusing on those who chose to live the hermit life in the modern world.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and Lady Gaga (non-conformity & individuality)
ReplyDelete*music
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and the preservation of nature
ReplyDeleteMy topic will have to do with the sustainability movement and its relation to Transcendentalism. I will probably be using the work of Thoreau and Emerson.
ReplyDeleteAND HIPSTERS. maybe.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism in relations to Body Art. Specifically tattooing. Im going to mainly use Thoreau and discuss the importance of self confidence and individualism. Also it relates to non-conformity.
ReplyDeleteI think im going to write my essay on the importance of nature, or maybe anti-transcendentalism (although m having trouble tying that to the 21st century) so i'm excited and all that.
ReplyDeletemy topic is the relationship between trascendentalism and unitarian universalism.
ReplyDeleteand how uuism has grown from transcendentalism
DeleteWhat i would like to write about is how Transcendentalism affects teenagers. Especially those of the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteTRANSCENDENTALISM AND PURITY IN THE 21st CENTURY
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism as an unrealizable utopia in the context of the twenty first century. What aspects of the lives of Whitman, Emerson, and Thoreau made it so that they could indulge in this spiritually superfluous life style. Would a person in the modern day be unable to recreate it? I plan to touch on race, cultural ties, and wealth/economics as aspects that allow people who are more privileged to focus on embodying the ideals of transcendentalism, while a less privileged person would view the mantra of transcendentalism as an impossible luxury.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism and the importance of nature/self reliance/civil disobedience it all ties in into something specific but its a secret shhhh
ReplyDeleteI would like to write about the decline in the importance of making connections (person to person, person to nature, within yourself etc.) and the importance of making connections in Transcendentalism using Whitman and Thoreau. Possibly just the importance of connections in Transcendentalism.
ReplyDeletein modern day ****
DeleteTranscendentalism and it's relationship to the Do-It-Yourself (D.I.Y.) movement.
ReplyDeleteMy topic is going to be on technology and it's influence on creativity and imagination and it's connection to transcendentalism.
ReplyDeleteTranscendentalism & Sustainable Living in the 21st Century- Alternative Energy Sources
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between, and the influences of transcendentalism on Fight Club.
ReplyDeleteI think that I'm going to talk about how social networks (mainly Facebook, Tumblr, and Youtube) effect our lives and images of ourselves and how all of that compares with the original ideals of transcendentalism.
ReplyDeletewkejfselkfsheg;wehfw;eougfweg
ReplyDeleteI THINK I'm going to write my essay on transcendentalism and the practicality in modern society
yep
mostly about the internet.
Deletealright
The psychological motivation and origin behind transcendentalist ideas. How the intrinsic human strive for individualism and to be one with nature connect to our psyche.
ReplyDeleteI'm think of writing about how Transcendentalism clashes with modern society and many modern ideals. I don't know; I need to think about it more.
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DeleteI CHANGED MY MIND. The effects of the internet and social networking on modern society through a transcendentalist mindset.
ReplyDeleteHow does transcendentalism appeal to African Americans
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