Last year, the English Department arranged the rental of Gilder Lehrman Institute’s traveling exhibition on the life of Frederick Douglass, a memoirist whose work we study in AP English Language and Composition. My co-teacher, Mark Tremblay, and I used the exhibition during the month of September to amplify our study of Douglass, to introduce appreciative inquiry, and to study how to make an effective argument through analysis of words and images. Watching our students’ presentations on their panels, we appreciated how students applied their knowledge of the summer reading, research skills, and emerging understanding of rhetoric to explain the exhibit. Based on its success, this summer, English Department Head Shauna Turnbull agreed to fund their purchase for annual use by English and history classes at Proctor.
Last month, examining the exhibition that we now own, 39 juniors and seniors in our three AP Lang classes collaborated in teams to analyze the rhetorical techniques that Gilder Lehrman’s curators used in composing the panels and arranging a narrative. Complementing their summer reading of the author’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, they researched strategies in visual rhetoric, a skill tested on the College Board’s AP Exam in English Language & Composition, which many will take in May. Supported by librarian Heidi Thoma, students had access to research resources in Lovejoy Library. I encouraged them to consult a particular book, Picturing Frederick Douglass, that explores how this writer became the most photographed figure in the 19th century. Each group presented their analysis of one assigned panel to the larger class, conveying a comprehensive understanding of how Frederick Douglass emerged as a central figure in the abolitionist, suffragist, and early civil rights movements.
As Mark observed of students’ presentations, “They had to think about their own rhetoric and how they presented their information. They incorporated what they read into what they wrote. Expanding the breadth of the critical mind is one of our goals. These connected threads served all these functions.”
Installed in a classroom on the third floor of Farrell Field House, the panels attract occasional visitors drawn to the historical photographs, provocative claims, and colorful graphics on the cloth exhibition.
Reflecting on the experience of using the panels, Mark concluded:
“This project incorporated rhetorical analysis of images and text -- and our summer work. It showed the value of our summer reading. This was a way for us to continue the conversations we didn’t get to have while students were reading. It complements our study of rhetoric in our school-year book, Uncharted Territory. The Douglass panels offer a broad overview of so much of what we cover – images, portraits, the colors, the words that the curators have chosen.” ~ Mark Tremblay, English Department
Ben McComb ‘27, a member of my C block AP Lang class, observed:
“It was, overall, a different way to learn about Douglass. I liked the way the panels were set up and how they connected with the reading we did over the summer. He’s a great example of the power of writing about important topics.” ~ Ben '27
Budgets for academic departments can seem abstract. It is lovely to have a teaching tool that engages students with core skills and content across several disciplines. Encountering this exhibition and analyzing its rhetoric brought AP Lang’s summer reading to life, as it should for years to come.
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