SOL - Southern Landscapes Module Overview

Southern Landscapes Module Overview

Quote from Eudora Welty "To imagine yourself inside another person... is what a storywriter does in every piece of work; it is his first step, and his last too, I suppose."Though not as recognized as other "renaissance" periods, literature in the American South did undergo a particularly enthusiastic period of its own in the 1920s and 1930s. Later named the Southern Renaissance, or Renascence, this flourishing of literature in the South was led by writers, such as William Faulkner, Katherine Ann Porter, Tennessee Williams, and Robert Penn Warren, among others. Though the literature produced by Southern writers during this time and since is more complicated than a regional label suggests, grouping these writers together does provide some insight into features exclusive to Southern literature, such as Southern Gothic.

At the same time, being able to find, assess, and synthesize information from a variety of sources involves skills that all high school students should acquire. Most students turn to Google or other search engines when it is time to find information, but there is more to research than just copying and pasting some information from Wikipedia. In this unit, you will learn more effective ways to conduct research as you complete several research assignments that will take you through the writing process while deepening your understanding of the literature of the state of Georgia.

 

 Essential Questions

  1. What is the research process?
  2. How can I assess the reliability of a source?
  3. How do I use citations to show that I can responsibly handle the ideas and words of others?
  4. What is the difference between a bibliography and a works cited?
  5. How do I create an annotated bibliography?
  6. What is Southern Gothic?
  7. How will learning about the literature of the South and of Georgia help me to understand American literature?

 

KEYTERMS Knowing your key terms can help unlock the doors to valuable information in this module. Study these words before moving on! Keep them close and consider printing a list or making notecards. Key Terms

  1. Bibliography: a list of full MLA citations of all sources consulted during the research process
  2. Annotation: notes that accompany a text or citation to explain, identify, or provide more information about it
  3. Works Cited List: a list of full MLA citations for all sources used in a paper or presentation listed in alphabetical order on a separate page at the end of the paper or presentation
  4. Parenthetical Citations: short versions of MLA citations included in parentheses within the paper or presentation as a sort of shorthand reference to the full Works Cited list
  5. Development Sentences: sentences that provide more detail to further explain a claim
  6. Analysis Sentences: sentences that explain the relationship between the supporting evidence and the claim and make it clear how the evidence provided supports the writer's claim
  7. Southern Gothic­: a type of writing popular among Southern writers in the 20th century that involves the use of strange and complex characters, irony, Southern settings, and twisted plots to critique the social structure and morality of the South
  8. Foreshadowing: hints or suggestions about what will happen in the future in a story
  9. Setting: the time and place in which a story takes place
  10. Plot: the series of events that makes up the action of a story
  11. Imagery: language and description that appeals to our five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch
  12. Personification: figure of speech in which a thing, an idea, or an animal is presented as if it is alive and has human characteristics
  13. Atmosphere: the feeling, emotion, or mood a writer conveys through the description of the setting and objects within it
  14. Characterization: the way a writer helps the reader understand what kind of person a certain character is. Methods of characterization include direct description; the character's speech, actions, and thoughts; and other characters' thoughts and speech about the character
  15. Irony: a contrast between expectations and reality; types of irony include verbal, situational, dramatic, and ironic vision
  16. Symbol: an object used to represent a larger or more significant idea
  17. Simile: a type of metaphor that is directly stated, usually with the words "like" or "as"
  18. Metaphor: usually defined as a comparison between a familiar object and an unfamiliar object that doesn't use "like" or "as," but it also means any use of a word or phrase that isn't meant to be taken literally
  19. Narrator: the voice telling the story, not to be confused with the author
  20. Theme: a text's central message or observation about life

 

Self-Assessment

Complete the following self-assessment to check your understanding of the module's key terms.

 

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