This document provides an overview of the American Literature Mid-Year Exam, focusing on the connections between the Enlightenment, architecture, education, and modern life. It discusses how Thomas Jefferson designed the University of Virginia based on classical forms that represented the ideals of education and knowledge at the time. It then examines Frank Gehry's modern architectural designs and whether they reflect aspects of modern American life in the same way Jefferson's designs embodied Enlightenment ideals. Students are prompted to write an essay discussing Jefferson's design of UVA, what it represented about education in the 1800s, and to speculate whether Gehry's designs effectively symbolize America in the 20th century in the same manner.

1. American Literature Mid-Year Exam Part I – Math, Education, Society and The Age of Reason

4. Let’s begin…

7. a 2 + b 2 = c 2 Press SPACEBAR or Click MOUSE

9. (the next few slides show more detail) The “cosmic monochord” is supposed to show how far the planets, sun, stars, and heaven (including the angels at “gg”) are from Earth (“Terra” at the bottom).

13. Plato considered the cube to be connected to the Earth, so Kepler speculated that the distances between us and the other planets might be based on the relative distances between all the Platonic solids if they were nested inside each other . He abandoned this idea when it turned out that most of it didn’t match his measurements. (It’s interesting to note that some of it did fit.)

33. These are models of Gehry’s proposed museum in NYC which was cancelled and thoroughly criticized in the article you just read by Robert W. Tracinski . Note the Twin Towers in the background. The model on the right is, of course, superimposed over a photo from before 9-11.

34. Some critics think Gehry’s ideas evoke this….

35. Others see it as M.C. Escher’s ideas come to life…

38. Modern technology has moved our ability to create geometric forms well beyond the Platonic solids and other classics of geometry….

40. This…? The classic forms of “School of Athens” by Raphael

41. Or this…? The whimsy of Legos mixed with the math of Escher

44. Good Luck!