Examining Transcendentalism through Popular Culture
Author
Sharon Webster
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Grade Band
9-12
Estimated Lesson Time
Eight 50-minute sessions
Overview
Using excerpts from the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, comics, and songs
from different musical genres, students examine the characteristics of transcendentalism. In the course of
their exploration, students use multiple genres to interpret social commentaries, to make connections
among works they've studied in class, and to develop their own views on the subjects of individualism,
nature, and passive resistance. The success of this lesson lies in the students’ recognition that
transcendentalism is not an archaic philosophy, but one that can be found in the various texts they see,
hear, and read every day.
From Theory to Practice
In the article that inspired this lesson plan, Colleen A. Ruggieri explains, “As we English educators spend
our days in the classroom, we want all of our students to come to love language as much as we do, even
if they don't have a natural aptitude for the subject. We also want all of our students to be able to
understand the material covered in class, as well as to see its relevance in the real world” (68). Ruggieri’s
technique of using comics and music to catch the interest of students work well to urge students to think
more openly about the language and creative choices that an artist makes—whether a writer, a musician,
or a comic strip author. Students are more willing to embrace the world of comic strips and the speaker
of lyrics, especially when the songs and comics are left to students’ own choice. Once they've identified
concepts like transcendentalism in popular culture resources such as these, the relevance of texts by
writers such as Emerson and Thoreau becomes simpler to establish.
Further Reading
Ruggieri, Colleen A. “Multigenre, Multiple Intelligences, and Transcendentalism.” English Journal 92.2
(November 2002): 60-68.
Note: Because of the importance of this article to the lesson plan, the entire article has been made
available. The article is protected by copyright and all rights are reserved.
Student Objectives
Students will
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identify elements of transcendentalism such as the connection between people and nature, an
individual's ability to think freely, and the importance of spiritual self-reliance to the individual
found in the works of Emerson and Thoreau.
identify the elements of transcendentalism as represented in present-day genres (comic strips,
lyrics, and music).
investigate the representation of transcendentalist thought in social commentaries
develop their own views on the subjects of individualism, nature, and passive resistance.
Resources
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Final Project Rubric
Final Project Assignment
Comic Creator (optional)
Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or Handout
CD Players and headphones
Comic strips demonstrating transcendentalism (see Booklist and Web Resources)
Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”
Emerson’s “Nature”
Songs and lyrics demonstrating transcendentalism
Thoreau’s Walden
Instructional Plan
Resources
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Excerpts from Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and “Nature”
Excerpt from Thoreau’s Walden
Comic strips demonstrating transcendental thought (see Booklist and Web Resources)
Songs (and ideally copies of lyrics) demonstrating transcendental thought
Final Project Assignment
Final Project Rubric
Four to five CD players and/or MP3 players
Headphones for students (optional)
Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or Handout
Comic Creator Student Interactive
Preparation
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Choose the excerpts from Emerson’s and Thoreau’s essays that you'll share with your class. You
might rely on excerpts from your class anthology or make selections from the works yourself.
Copies of the works are available online. Adjust the discussion prompts during the class sessions
to match the readings that you select.
Familiarize yourself with the basic characteristics of transcendentalism using the resources
available from The Web of American Transcendentalism.
Select comic strips and songs appropriate for the lesson and your classroom:
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Example comic strips and a table of songs are available in the essay “Multigenre, Multiple
Intelligences, and Transcendentalism.”
Links to comic strips are available below in the Web Resources as well. Comic strips such
as Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, and Shoe are good choices.
Check your library for collections of comics that will work for the lesson. The lesson works
especially well if you students can explore a collection in small groups; however, the
lesson can be completed by looking at several particular comics if desired.
Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” works well for this assignment as do the songs “Wide Open
Spaces” by the Dixie Chicks, “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, and “You Gotta Be” by
Desiree.
Invite students to bring their own songs to class to share.
Make arrangements for students to view comic strips, listen to the songs, and, if possible, read
the lyrics to the songs. You may want to make photocopies or overhead transparencies of some
of the resources.
Make copies of the handouts for all students.
Since students will use the same chart graphic organizer several times, you will need to make 3
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to 4 copies of the chart handout for each student if you are using photocopies (e.g., one copy for
analyzing the Emerson essays, one copy for Thoreau, one copy for the comic strips, and one copy
for the songs). If students are working online, they can print their observations for each section.
Naturally you can mix the resources students use as well—students might work online at some
points and with handouts at others.
Test the Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive (online chart tool) and Comic Creator on
your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in
installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.
Instruction and Activities
Session One
1. Introduce the basic characteristics and historical background of the transcendentalist movement.
The following explanation can be used as a starting place:
From 1840-1855, literature in America experienced a rebirth called the New England Renaissance.
Through their poetry, short stories, novels, and other works, writers during this period
established a clear American voice. No longer did they see their work as less influential than that
of European authors. Transcendentalism was a part of this “flowering” of American literature.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were important voices in this philosophical
movement that sought to have individuals “transcend” to a higher spiritual level. To achieve this
goal, the individual had to seek spiritual, not material, greatness and the essential truths of life
through intuition. Emerson was the philosopher and teacher. Thoreau was the student and the
practitioner. To learn more about this complex philosophy visit the Web of American
Transcendentalism.
2. Invite students to discuss the concepts of transcendentalism by considering the following
questions. Students can work in small groups.
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How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of
nature?
What is the role of nature in your life?
What is meant by an individual’s spiritual side? How to you define it?
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”?
How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others
or do you follow the crowd?
3. Circulate among groups as they work. Ask students to record their answers on chart paper and
post for the class as they finish their responses to the questions.
4. Ask groups to share their notes with the class as you note similarities among the findings.
5. By the end of the session, you should have established a shared, class definition of
transcendentalism that students can refer to in following sessions.
Session Two
1. Read and discuss the excerpt you've chosen from Emerson’s “Nature” with students, using the
following questions to guide your exploration of the text. Questions a-d establish basic details.
Questions e-f require more abstract thinking.
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What different moods does Emerson note in the excerpt?
How is nature connected to these moods?
What effect does nature have on Emerson? What does he mean when he says “I become
a transparent eyeball”?
In what ways does Emerson connect nature, humankind, and God?
In what way does Nature serve as a teacher?
How is nature portrayed as noble? As a source of comfort?
How are human beings represented as part of nature?
What can human beings learn from nature? How does this learning affect the individual’s
spirituality?
2. Ask students to identify key quotations from the excerpt that reveal Emerson’s thinking about the
relationship between humans and nature and to record their observations in their journals.
Encourage students to explain the relationship between the quotations they've chosen and the
basic characteristics of transcendentalism, as identified in the previous session.
3. After students have all had a chance to identify a quotation, ask share their quotation and ideas
with the class.
Session Three
1. Return to the ideas gathered in the previous sessions and summarize what you've discovered
about transcendentalism to this point.
2. Introduce Emerson's essay “Self-Reliance” as another text that demonstrates transcendental
thought.
3. Read and discuss the excerpt you've chosen from Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” with the students,
using the following questions to guide your exploration of the text.
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b.
What does Emerson mean when he says that “envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide”?
What does he want each individual to recognize about him/herself? What does he say
about “power” and “work”?
c. How is trust a part of being self-reliant?
d. Why does Emerson see society as the enemy of individuality?
e. What is the role of nonconformity? What did that word mean to Emerson?
f. What is a “foolish consistency”? How does it get in the way of genius?
4. Ask students to identify the key elements of self-reliance as defined by Emerson in their readings.
These elements should be generated by the responses to the questions.
5. To summarize the characteristics of transcendental thought covered so far in the lesson, have
students fill in the Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or Handout. If time is short,
this work can be completed as homework.
6. Collect and review the graphic organizer to check students’ understanding to this point.
Session Four
1. Return to students’ observations on the Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or
Handout. Invite students to share their findings and answer any questions about
transcendentalism that they have at this point.
2. Read the excerpts from Thoreau’s Walden.
3. Ask students to identify how Thoreau is practicing the philosophy Emerson writes about in the
excerpts read previously. Students can use the information that they have recorded on the
Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or Handout as a resource at this point.
4. Explain the historical connection between the two writers: Emerson as teacher and Thoreau as
practitioner.
5. If desired, students can complete the Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or copies
of the Handout again, this time recording examples from Thoreau's writings as a class, in small
groups, or individually.
6. Ask students to go back to the questions they answered in Session One, and have them revise
their responses based on what they have learned so far about Transcendentalism.
7. By the end of the session, you should have revised and clarified your class definition of
transcendentalism. Students should have a good working knowledge of the characteristics of
transcendentalism before moving on to the next session.
Session Five
1. Explain that during the next few sessions, you'll look for examples of transcendental thought in
popular culture. In particular, you'll be looking at comic strips and songs, but encourage students
to share examples that they find in other media as well (e.g., sitcoms, television dramas,
children's cartoons, movies, commercials).
2. Divide students into small groups, and provide each group with copies of several comic strips that
reflect the transcendental qualities discussed to this point. Ideally, if you have published
collections of comic strips available, each group can search a book.
3. Ask the students to read the strips paying close attention to both the text and the drawings with
the goal of identifying the literary elements of transcendentalism.
4. Review the characteristics of transcendentalism from previous sessions.
5. Give the groups 15 to 20 minutes to read and enjoy the comics, asking them to find connections
to the concepts you've discussed regarding transcendentalism. In their groups, ask students to
record their findings using the Examples of Transcendental Thought Interactive or copies of the
Handout.
6. After the allotted reading time, each group can share at least two comics that they've identified
that have strong literary connections to the ideas of Emerson and Thoreau. As students share the
comic strips, encourage them to discuss specific lines from the texts that you've studied that can
be connected to the comics.
7. As a homework assignment, students can locate other examples of comics that would provide
literary links to what you've studied and bring those comics to class along with a paragraph of
explanation. If desired, you could extend the lesson by inviting students to find examples in any
media (e.g., sitcoms, television dramas, commercials) rather than limiting them to finding comic
strips. Any connection to the ideas of transcendentalism is valid evidence of students’
understanding of the concept—no need to limit their exploration to comics!
Session Six
1. Spend the first 15-20 minutes of the session inviting students to share the examples that they
found. Encourage students to connect the examples they've found to the examples from previous
sessions.
2. Explain that during this session you'll begin looking for examples of transcendentalism in songs. If
one of your students has shared an example song for the homework, be sure to point to that
song as an example of the kind of resources you'll be looking for during the next sessions.
3. Play the example song that you've chosen for students. Provide copies of the lyrics if possible.
4. Ask students to listen carefully and follow along with the lyrics while the song is playing. If
students have copies of the lyrics, they can underline or highlight the relevant lyrics. Otherwise,
ask students to write any words they hear that suggest the ideas of transcendentalism in their
journals.
5. After the song has finished playing, ask students to share their observations. Encourage students
to make connections to the readings and the comic strips, as appropriate.
6. For a more structured analysis, you can work as a class to complete the Examples of
Transcendental Thought Interactive using an LCD project or to complete an overhead of the
Handout.
7. Once you've explored the lyrics for an example song, explain the project that students will
complete. Ask students to consider their own favorite songs and to bring a song to class—along
with the lyrics and a brief paragraph of explanation of the connection between their choice and
the ideas you've been exploring. Ideally, you should have some CDs or MP3s available in the
classroom for students to choose from as well. If your library has music resources, be sure to
point students to these collections as well. Be sure to provide enough options that students will be
able to find a song to share regardless of the resources they may own personally.
8. Remind students of the any school guidelines regarding violent or explicit lyrics. Students should
choose songs that are appropriate to share with the class.
9. If your school's guidelines allow, you might invite students to bring personal CD players to the
next class session to facilitate sharing the songs.
Session Seven
1. Play portions of songs expressing transcendental thought between classes and for the first few
minutes of the period. Post chart paper around the room, listing musical genres—oldies/classics,
pop/rock, R&B/rap, new age/classical, country. You may want to adjust the categories based on
the kinds of music students show an interest in. For instance, you might separate R&B and rap if
there are many songs in the two categories that students have brought to share.
2. Invite students to discuss the reasons that the songs fit the characteristics of transcendental
thought while the songs are playing.
3. Take a few minutes for students to share some of the titles that they identified.
4. Divide students into four to five small groups. Each group should have a CD player available so
that students can play the songs that they've brought to class. If your facilities allow, spread
groups out.
5. Allow students the remainder of the class to explore the songs they've found.
6. Taking turns, students from each group can add the artist and title for songs that they've
identified to the chart paper in the room.
Session Eight
1. Again, play portions of songs expressing transcendental thought between classes and for the first
few minutes of the period.
2. Provide time, if necessary, for groups to finish sharing their songs and recording artists and titles
on the chart paper.
3. Gather students together, and review the information on the posted chart paper.
4. Ask students to share observations regarding the songs in the categories. The following questions
can help guide the discussion:
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Which category has the most songs?
What did you expect to see on the charts? Do they match your expectations?
What surprises do you see about the lists?
Are there kinds of songs that aren't well-represented?
What would happen if songs were divided further, into sub-genres (e.g., heavy metal,
alternative rock)?
Are there artists whom you think of as following transcendental ideas? Do their songs
represent those ideas?
How do the songs that are listed represent your (e.g., the students’) individualism?
5. For a more structured analysis of the songs, you can work as a class to complete the Examples of
Transcendental Thought Interactive using an LCD project or to complete an overhead of the
Handout.
6. Return to the class definition of transcendentalism. Ask students to consider how the class
exploration of comic strips and music affect the definition. Revise the definition to fit students'
observations.
7. Assign the final project for the unit, which will be used to assess students’ understanding of the
characteristics of transcendentalism. Provide students with another copy of the Chart of
Transcendental Thought Handout and the rubric for the activity.
8. Make a point of explaining whether students can return to songs and comics for their final project,
depending upon your goals. If you prefer that students use new genres for this final activity, you
may adjust the rubric.
9. As a class, brainstorm examples of resources that students can consult as they complete their
charts. Encourage students to consider print and nonprint resources from a variety of genres and
sources as they build their list of potential resources.
10. Answer any questions about the assignment and explain when the project will be due.
Extensions
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Use the Comic Creator to write your own transcendental comics.
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Block out time for a free reading unit that allows students to explore additional genres and
transcendentalism. See “Multigenre, Multiple Intelligences, and Transcendentalism” for more
details and a booklist.
Web Resources
The Thoreau Reader: The Works of Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862
http://thoreau.eserver.org/
This Web site is a resource for teachers to learn more about the transcendental philosophy and
Thoreau.
The Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://www.rwe.org/index.php
This Web site is a resource for teachers to learn more about the transcendental philosophy and
Emerson.
The Web of American Transcendentalism
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/
This Web site is a resource for teachers to learn more about the transcendental philosophy and
Emerson and Thoreau.
Calvin & Hobbes Web site
http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/
This is a source of strips online, but beware of pop-ups. Archived strips are available but are
limited. Checking your local libraries for print books may be a better solution.
Shoe Web site
http://www.gocomics.com/shoe/
This comic strip can also be a good source although more from a pessimistic than an optimistic
viewpoint.
For Better or Worse Web site
http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/
This explores life from a family perspective and sometimes deals with trust in self, individuality,
and the spiritual over the material.
Zits Web site
http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm
I use this comic strip often to teach literary terms. The lives of the characters take turns at time
that can illustrate the transcendental philosophy.
Student Assessment/Reflections
Ongoing assessment for this activity should be based on observation of students’ work on the various
genres considered by the class. Use the final project to gauge students’ comprehension of the
characteristics of transcendentalism and their ability to analyze resources independently. Generally
speaking, if students are able to complete the chart for the final project with specific examples from
popular culture resources, they comprehend the characteristics of the transcendental movement. The
rubric for the final project can structure your feedback for individual students.
NCTE/IRA Standards
1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of
themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information;
to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment.
Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an
understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human
experience.
3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their
knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their
understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context,
graphics).
8 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate
knowledge.