An American Renaissance. - раздел Образование, Учебное пособие по курсу «Анализ текста» I. Read The Text And Answer The Questions:
1. What Ideological Borde...
I. Read the text and answer the questions:
1. What ideological border existed between the western and eastern parts of the country?
2. What were some young people disappointed by?
3. Where did they look for new ideas?
4. What philosophies did the Transcendentalists reject? Why?
5. What was the main idea of the Transcendentalists?
II. Make inferences about:
1. What ideas were writers trying to find in the west?
2. Why did the author call this time “An American Renaissance”?
In the 1830s and 1840s, the frontier of American society was quickly moving toward the west. Following in the path of Brackenridge and Cooper, writers were beginning to look at the western frontier for ideas for a literature about American life. But in the cities along the east coast, the older ideal of the nation as an Atlantic community was still very much alive. The feeling there was that the cultures of Massachusetts and Virginia ought to be the models of national culture.
At this time, Boston and its neighboring towns and villages were filled with intellectual excitement and activity. Harvard, in nearby Cambridge, was no longer the only place deeply interested in education. The powerful (and now rather conservative) North American Review, founded by Harvard professor Edward Channing in 1818, was also busily spreading ideas. And since 1826, traveling lecturers had been bringing knowledge about culture and science to both the city and the New England countryside…
Among the younger people, there was much talk about the “new spiritual era”. The young intellectuals of Boston were dissatisfied with the old patriotism. America’s power and wealth did not interest them. They wanted to explore the inner life. They studied the Greek, German and Indian philosophers. Many kept diaries about their lives and feelings. Others became vegetarians or nudists.
In the center of this activity were the Transcendentalists. They formed a movement of feelings and beliefs rather than a system of philosophy. They rejected both the conservative Puritanism of their ancestors and the newer, liberal faith of Unitarianism. They saw both religions as “negative, cold, lifeless”. Although they respected Christ for the wisdom of his teachings, they thought of the works of Shakespeare and the great philosophers as equally important.
The Transcendentalists tried to find the truth through feelings and intuition rather than through logic. Orestes Brownson, and early Transcendentalists, defined the movement as “the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively … an order of knowledge transcending the senses". Henry David Thoreau put it more simply: ‘Wisdom does not inspect, it beholds.”
The Transcendentalists found God everywhere, in man and in nature:
Sea, earth, air, sound, silence,
Plant, quadruped, bird,
By one music enchanted,
One deity stirred.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
In many ways, nature itself was their "Bible". Birds, clouds, trees and snow had a special meaning for them. Natural images like these created a kind of language. Through this language they discovered ideas already planted in the human soul:
All things in nature are beautiful types to the soul that will read them.
…
Every object that speaks to the senses was meant for the soul.
(Christopher Cranch)
In 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) published Nature, the clearest statement of Transcendentalist ideas. In it he stated that man should not see nature merely as something to be used; that man’s relationship with nature transcends the idea of usefulness. He saw an important difference between understanding (judging things only according to the senses) and “Reason”:
When the eye of Reason opens … outlines and surfaces become transparent and are no longer seen; causes and spirits are seen through them. The best moments of life are these delicious awakenings.
Государственное образовательное учреждение... высшего профессионального образования... Ивановский государственный энергетический...
Если Вам нужно дополнительный материал на эту тему, или Вы не нашли то, что искали, рекомендуем воспользоваться поиском по нашей базе работ:
An American Renaissance.
Что будем делать с полученным материалом:
Если этот материал оказался полезным ля Вас, Вы можете сохранить его на свою страничку в социальных сетях:
Contents
Part 1: Effective Reading
Part 2: George Washington Carver: The Plant Doctor
Part 3: Emily Dick
Effective Reading
‘Why am I reading?’ is the first question an effective reader asks himself or herself, because how you read depends on your purpose. You may read to locate specific information, to
Skimming
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read a newspaper, you’re probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you’re skimming the t
Scanning
Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what yo
Previewing
Previewing a text means gathering as much information about the text as you can before you actually read it. You can ask yourself the following questions:
Critical Reading
The purpose of critical reading is to accept or reject a writer's opinion. It involves gaining a deeper understanding of the material. Successful critical readers r
Guessing word meaning
There are various strategies that you can learn which will help you to deduce what a word likely means. Yes, you could just look them up in a dictionary; but, studies show that you
Making Inferences
Inferences are evidence-based guesses. They are the conclusions a reader draws about the unsaid based on what is actually said. Inferences drawn while reading are m
Vocabulary Practice
I. Explain the meaning of the following words and word combinations and translate them into Russian.
1) to snatch (up)
2) kidnap(p)er
Legacy of George Washington Carver
Scientist Extraordinaire, Man of Faith, Educator and Humanitarian
As a botany and agriculture teacher to the children of ex-s
Vocabulary Practice
I. Find synonyms to the following words and word combinations:
− to outvie
− to abandon
− to be content
− (to write)
Mine-by the Right of the White Election!
Mine-by the Right of the White Election! Mine-by the Royal Seal! Mine-by the Sign in the Scarlet prison- Bars-cannot conceal! Mine-here-in Vision-and in Veto! Mine-by the Grave'
Quiz for Automobile Experts
1. When was the first automobile with internal combustion engine made?
a) in 1862
b) in 1872
c) in 1882
2. What was its engine po
Vocabulary Practice.
I. Choose a synonym from the text to the underlined words and word combinations.
1. The only further step required is to get rid of the idea of produ
Mass Production
For all that, Britain emerged from the Second World War as the second biggest car producer and the biggest exporter in the world. Let’s see how management squandered that position.
What we
James Smithson’s Gift
Read the text and answer the questions:
1 Do you think Mr. Smithson found a good way to dispose of his money?
2 What do you call people who donate
Ernest Hemingway: Tragic Genius.
Quiz for Literature Experts
1. What is ‘epigram’?
a) an ending, or an extra part after the end of a book or play
b) a short, funny, sharp
Vocabulary Practice
I. Find a synonym from the text to the underlined words and word combinations:
1) from time to time
2) to stress, to underline
3) freedom
4) sympathy
The Roaring Twenties.
The following are paragraphs of one text. Read them carefully and place them in the correct order. Explain your choice.
A In 1928 the American people electe
The Left Bank
References to the Left Bank have never lost their power to evoke the most piquant images of Paris. The Left Bank's geographic and cerebral hub is the Latin Quarter, which takes its name from the un
The Lost Generation
Though several stories conjecture on how the Lost Generation came to be called thus, the most plausible seems to be this: One summer in Belley, while Gertrude Stein's Ford auto was in need of some
Gertrude Stein - brief biography
Gertrude Stein (b. Feb. 3, 1874, Allegheny, Pa., U.S.--d. July 27, 1946, Paris) was an avant-garde American writer, eccentric, and self-styled genius, whose Paris home was a salon for the leading a
Vocabulary Practice
I. Fill in the right prepositions where necessary:
1. The strange behavior of the newcomer set him ... from the rest of the company.
2. Though his parents opposed
Crash and Depression
Read the first text and make its summary.
In the heart of New York City lies a narrow street enclosed by the walls of high office buildings. Its name is Wall Street.
The Bonus Army
In the spring of 1932 thousands of unemployed ex-servicemen poured into Washington, the nation’s capital. They wanted the government to give them some bonus payments that it
Architecture Periods Quiz
There are many architects, but few true architect geniuses. Genius is, afterall, quite exceptional. What is an architectural genius? A genius is someone who has an extraordinary knack for architect
Vocabulary Practice
I. Translate into English:
− строительный подрядчик
− чувство пространства
− оказывать огромное влияние на что-либо
−
Music Theory Quiz
Are you good at music theory? Not sure? Let’s see.
1. What does the letter “C” stand for in musical notation?
a) doh
b) me
Vocabulary Practice.
I. Find synonyms to the following words and word combinations:
− unassuming
− unchallenged leader
− unaffected style
The Roots of Jazz
A number of regional styles contributed to the early development of jazz. Arguably the single most important was that of the New Orleans, Louisiana area, which was the first to be c
Vocabulary Practice
I. Translate the word combinations and sentences into Russian:
− wise sages from different world cultures
− to have a mean streak
− to s
Vocabulary Practice.
I. Find synonyms to the following words and word combinations:
− to capture
− to collaborate with
− to curtail
Sean Callahan
Margaret Bourke-White's persistence, combined with the prescience of Life picture editor Wilson Hicks, led her to a global scoop and another professional reincarnation: war photographer. W
Новости и инфо для студентов