Transcendentalism, Project to Link Thoreau & Emerson to Modern Pop Culture, CCSS

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were promoting the ideals of Transcendentalism way back in the mid-1800s and, yet, those same ideas still surround us today in our media and popular culture. When you pause and closely examine the music in your earbuds, the movies in your streaming accounts, and the bestsellers loaded in your e-readers, you’ll see that some of today’s artists promote the very same ideas as the founders of Transcendentalism.

For this assignment, your students will become experts on Emerson and Thoreau by finding echoes of their famous words in the works of people we enjoy today. T.V. shows, movies, cartoons/comic strips, music, products/packaging, internet news stories, and public figures are fair game as students find examples to illustrate the words of Emerson and Thoreau.

The five tenets of Transcendentalism will be the focus in this project, including non-conformity, self-reliance, importance of nature (finding enlightenment or true self in nature), favoring intuition over reason, and the celebration of the simplified life.

This packet included a 1-page student assignment handout and a 1-page rubric for grading final projects. To serve as a model for students to follow, the assignment includes a detailed example showing how Lady Gaga illustrates the tenet of non-conformity.

The assignment can be done on campus in your school's computer lab or as a take-home assignment. It usually takes my class a full week for this project – two days for internet research/product building and three more days if we also include presentations.

Want an additional team activity designed to help students connect our modern world with the teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson? Check out these Transcendentalism Quote Analysis group activity materials: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Transcendentalism-Ralph-Waldo-Emerson-Quote-Analysis-Team-Activity-CCSS-482019

Want an author biography activity to help students research Ralph Waldo Emerson's life? Click here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ralph-Waldo-Emerson-Author-Study-Worksheet-Easy-Biography-Activity-CCSS-3328995

Want an author biography activity to help students research Henry David Thoreau's life? Click here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Henry-David-Thoreau-Author-Study-Worksheet-Easy-Thoreau-Biography-Activity-CCSS-3328990

Thanks for stopping by!

Cover image credit: Pixabay, Public domain