Preface
There are many ways to form a chapter in the history of American literature. For my chapter on minimalism, I envisioned an introduction, a description of a few key authors, popular works, and then outside examples that allow the reader to make connections that help them understand the topic better. My history of American literature is not meant to be too complex. I want to make it basic enough to where somebody who has never heard of minimalism could understand it while also containing enough information so that someone who is knowledgeable about the topic can still learn a thing or two. This chapter is meant to be different than other histories of American literature because of its use of videos and links to other websites as well as its comparison between minimalist literature and other forms of minimalism. Rather than expecting the reader to learn everything they could want to know from my website, I want them to be able to continue to explore and to enrich their knowledge to their heart’s content. Everybody has different interests, so I want my website to be a means of guiding each reader to their own particular interest.
I have yet to find a history of American literature that makes a great deal of sense to me. The main reason for this is that most are too complex for me to understand and do not offer me resources to further learn about what is being discussed. Because of this, I made it a goal to create a history of American literature that anybody could understand. My digital chapter begins with an introduction to minimalism. Since the chapter is designed to be used for those that are non-literary scholars, the introduction discusses the history and basic themes that one can see in a minimalist piece. This allows a reader who has never heard of minimalism to grasp an understanding of what it is. The next tab discusses three of the era’s most prominent writers and gives a background on each. There are also videos about each writer as well as links to other webpages that are more specific to each writer. These provide a pathway for the reader to learn more. On the following tab, a few of the most famous minimalist works are discussed. Overall, these first three tabs serve as a general introduction to minimalism. The next tabs begin to make connections to something other than literature: music. The next tab does the same sort of thing; however, the connection is made between minimalist literature and minimalist art. My overall goal is to allow my reader to be able to better understand what minimalism truly is, and these connections may make it easier. After seeing examples of minimalist literary works and other non-literary works, they should have developed a greater amount of knowledge about minimalism.
I purposefully constructed the order of the elements that make up this digital chapter in a way where anybody who knew nothing about minimalism could follow and understand. I began with an introduction that discussed minimalism’s history and central themes so the reader could more easily understand what is talked about further into the chapter. It continues to build on itself by using the next two tabs to discuss famous minimalist authors and works. Overall, the first three tabs are supposed to give the reader enough knowledge so they can make the connections that are supposed to make in the second part of the chapter. The second part talks about ways that minimalism can be seen in other forms of art. It is placed at the end so the reader can work up to a level where he or she can fully understand what is being discussed. My main goal in the creating of this chapter is to leave no reader confused about anything talked about in the chapter.
This chapter is not designed to prove or disprove any themes seen in minimalism, but rather make a connection that most histories of American literature do not make. I want my readers to connect characteristics seen in other minimalist forms of art to what they see in minimalist literature. Since its target audience consists of those who know very little about this literary movement, it is designed to only teach general concepts about minimalism. All of the elements included are supposed to create a well-balanced effect that does not confuse the reader. Any link or video included has the sole purpose of allowing the reader to learn more rather than making an argument. Histories of American literature that I have seen in the past have really confused me because of my lack of knowledge regarding American literature in general. When the authors would try to make arguments, I would only be left confused more than I already was since I would have no clue what they were talking about. As stated earlier, I do not want my readers to feel the way I did, so this is why I chose to construct this chapter the way I did.
The medium used for this digital chapter is a website created from weebly.com. I chose to use this format because it provided an easy way to design a digital chapter in the way in which I wanted. It allowed me to insert pictures, videos, links, and other graphics which were meant to be a key part of my chapter. As previously stated, I want the readers to learn, so I used these devices to aid them. Overall, this website generator ended up being a great formatting tool for my digital chapter because I was able to use it in a very multimodal way that allows my readers obtain what I want them to get out of my digital chapter.
I have yet to find a history of American literature that makes a great deal of sense to me. The main reason for this is that most are too complex for me to understand and do not offer me resources to further learn about what is being discussed. Because of this, I made it a goal to create a history of American literature that anybody could understand. My digital chapter begins with an introduction to minimalism. Since the chapter is designed to be used for those that are non-literary scholars, the introduction discusses the history and basic themes that one can see in a minimalist piece. This allows a reader who has never heard of minimalism to grasp an understanding of what it is. The next tab discusses three of the era’s most prominent writers and gives a background on each. There are also videos about each writer as well as links to other webpages that are more specific to each writer. These provide a pathway for the reader to learn more. On the following tab, a few of the most famous minimalist works are discussed. Overall, these first three tabs serve as a general introduction to minimalism. The next tabs begin to make connections to something other than literature: music. The next tab does the same sort of thing; however, the connection is made between minimalist literature and minimalist art. My overall goal is to allow my reader to be able to better understand what minimalism truly is, and these connections may make it easier. After seeing examples of minimalist literary works and other non-literary works, they should have developed a greater amount of knowledge about minimalism.
I purposefully constructed the order of the elements that make up this digital chapter in a way where anybody who knew nothing about minimalism could follow and understand. I began with an introduction that discussed minimalism’s history and central themes so the reader could more easily understand what is talked about further into the chapter. It continues to build on itself by using the next two tabs to discuss famous minimalist authors and works. Overall, the first three tabs are supposed to give the reader enough knowledge so they can make the connections that are supposed to make in the second part of the chapter. The second part talks about ways that minimalism can be seen in other forms of art. It is placed at the end so the reader can work up to a level where he or she can fully understand what is being discussed. My main goal in the creating of this chapter is to leave no reader confused about anything talked about in the chapter.
This chapter is not designed to prove or disprove any themes seen in minimalism, but rather make a connection that most histories of American literature do not make. I want my readers to connect characteristics seen in other minimalist forms of art to what they see in minimalist literature. Since its target audience consists of those who know very little about this literary movement, it is designed to only teach general concepts about minimalism. All of the elements included are supposed to create a well-balanced effect that does not confuse the reader. Any link or video included has the sole purpose of allowing the reader to learn more rather than making an argument. Histories of American literature that I have seen in the past have really confused me because of my lack of knowledge regarding American literature in general. When the authors would try to make arguments, I would only be left confused more than I already was since I would have no clue what they were talking about. As stated earlier, I do not want my readers to feel the way I did, so this is why I chose to construct this chapter the way I did.
The medium used for this digital chapter is a website created from weebly.com. I chose to use this format because it provided an easy way to design a digital chapter in the way in which I wanted. It allowed me to insert pictures, videos, links, and other graphics which were meant to be a key part of my chapter. As previously stated, I want the readers to learn, so I used these devices to aid them. Overall, this website generator ended up being a great formatting tool for my digital chapter because I was able to use it in a very multimodal way that allows my readers obtain what I want them to get out of my digital chapter.