English 112
PowerPoint Presentation
“The Glass Roses”- a New Historical/Cultural point of view.
So far, we have examined this story through the lenses of New Criticism and through a
Feminist lens. Now, we are looking at it from a New Historical/Cultural point of view. When we
do this, we ask ourselves these questions about the text:
 How does the story function as a historical/cultural text of the time? (post WW2).What
does it add to our understanding of human experience of that time and place?
 How does the story support or undermine the prevailing powe structures of the time
and place in which it was written?
 What does the form of the text say about the topic? (the ending is bleak…so might be
the future of Stephen and Leka in this society…)
 What does the story suggest about the experience of groups of people who have been
ignored or under/misrepresented by traditional history?
Today, you will be researching this, and getting a good start in the lab. The project will
be due Monday, October 5th. Today is the only class day we have to work on it.
Some topic ideas- feel free to think of others!
 The lumbering camps of New Brunswick in the 1960s- students could research
journals/songs/newspaper/magazine articles and other historical records of the time
 Poland in and after WW2, especially the German occupation.
 The cities of Tarnopol, Cracow, and Wiesbaden.
 Popular culture’s conception of the lumberman in the 1960s (and into today); one group
could focus on Monty Python’s “The Lumberjack Song” and how it plays on (and into)
gender stereotyping.
 The immigrant experience (particularly the European immigrant experience in New
Brunswick after WWII.).
Students will be asked to present their findings in a 20-30 minute presentation for their
classmates. They will be required to include a visual component, a point form handout, and
an interactive element for their presentation.
Evaluation:
PowerPoint: (interesting slides/at least 5 per group member/works cited)
20 points
Point Form Handout
10 points
Interactive Element (questions for us/discussion)
10 points
Total: 40 points.