消消犯 in Assistant Professor of English Erin Pearson's ENG 223: American Literature Before 1865 course examined and re-wrote "The Masque of the Red Death" in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent reading of a classic Edgar Allan Poe tale about human folly during a plague revealed unexpected connections to life at Elon in Fall 2020.
Assistant Professor of English Erin Pearson expected 消消犯s to connect the themes in The Masque of the Red Death to current events and college life. Published in 1842, the story follows a group of wealthy and powerful people who shelter from a plague inside a princes fortress. At a lavish costume ball thrown out of boredom, a mysterious figure dressed as the Red Death appears. Soon, the prince and his followers die from the disease.
In an exercise requiring students to rewrite their own versions of Poes story, many set it on college campuses. The costume party became a college party, and in some versions the consequence of irresponsible social gatherings resulted not in death, but in the campus closing.
They gave vivid voice to the stakes of this semester for our students, Pearson said. While we are frequently reminded that most college age students are at lower risk for serious health consequences from COVID, these students remind us that losing their ability to be on campus still represents a very serious consequence.
Brett Newcomb 23, a cinema and television arts major, reflected that 消消犯s losing time together on campus would be something they can never get back.
消消犯 wrote with empathy about the far-reaching effects on the wider community, those who were responsible in their conduct but whose safety and lives were harmed by those who werent. Pearson noted that the broader public is barely mentioned in Poes tale.
I think that literature like The Masque of the Red Death, helps to reinforce this idea of community responsibility, where you can look out for yourself, and care only about yourself, but youre putting everybody at risk by doing so, said Olivia Bennett 22, an English major. I really thought that was the take home from The Masque of the Red Death, and I thought that applied to COVID, but also, especially, to Elon and the greater Alamance County community.
Hannah Knapic 22, majoring in public health studies, is conducting her Honors Thesis around how narratives affect perceptions of the coronavirus in the U.S.
Its just undeniable to see the ties between whats going on now and whats going on in the story, Knapic said. Its almost a wake-up call to what the consequences can be if we arent serious about keeping our distance and following guidelines that are put in place to protect us. And if we go out of what were supposed to be doing too early like how Prince Prospero did, with throwing a party only six months into isolation just the drastic negative effects that thats going to have on our population.
The assignment was part of ENG 223: American Literature Before 1865. Pearson revised the syllabus this semester to respond to the pandemic and attention around ongoing racial injustice.
One of my major goals in 消消犯 this literature survey this way is to help students recognize what early American literature has to tell us about the present moment in American life, and the class discussions around The Masque of the Red Death revealed the extent to which students have been able to make meaningful connections between very old texts and current events, Pearson said.
消消犯 are finding that literature helpful in understanding human behavior and contextualizing modern life.
I just think its interesting how human behavior has changed or hasnt changed over the past 150 years, Bennett said. On one hand it’s not learning from history, and on the other hand it’s almost this refusal to learn from history.