Shadows present, foreshadowing deeper shadows to come. Students can write an analysis of a scholarly article on one of the authors studied. Students can trace a motif appearing in several of the works. Students can place a current issue or problem in its historical literary perspective. For example, a Native American tale can be analyzed in conjunction with the today's controvery over the origins of life.
Students can investigate the historical background for a work or an author.
Washington Irving and the movementnfor American cultural independence from English could be explored. Another example would be to examine Uncle Tom's Cabin's contemporary reception. Students can take a position on the censorship of works such as The Scarlet Letter , Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , or any modern work. Students can trace the evolution of college anthologies for literature survey classes. To be discussed would be the works added, the works dropped, and possible reasons for the changes.