/ Resources and Supplies
- Overhead projector
- Access to internet
- Recordings of French jazz
- Handouts, Appendix C
10.6 – Students analyze the effects of the First World War
California Common Core Content Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in Social Studies (see Appendix A)
Key Terms/Phrases/People
- Disillusionment
- Despair
- Insecurity
- Innocence
- Lost Generation
- Expatriate
- Existentialism
- Jean Paul Sartre
- What does it mean to feel disillusionment and despair?
- How do the effects of WWI create a sense of innocence lost?
- How are the effects of WWI reflected in art and literature of the time?
- Why is the post-WWI generation referred to as the ‘Lost Generation’?
Suggested Time
Block – 2 class periods;
Standard – 3 class periods; Lesson may be extended, time permitting
Topic Outline / Suggested Teaching Activities / Suggested Resources / Important Points
The enormous suffering and apparent pointlessness of the Great War left a deep mark on Western society. A sense of disillusionment settled over the survivors, marked by insecurity and despair as reflected in the art, literature and music of the era. Students will grapple with these concepts as they examine the post-war years in France and Germany. / 1. Review the causes of WWI with students. Can be as simple as a quick discussion where students offer what they remember or more detailed with student-created web diagrams with the Causes of WWI in the center.
2. Introduce the following vocabulary:
- disillusionment
- despair
- insecurity
- innocence
3. Review jazz concepts and ideas from NEA’s Jazz In The Schools program.
4. Play selections from the suggested recording list of French Jazz. Discuss the differences that students hear in the music using the following questions as a guide:
- Does this music represent a particular kind of jazz?
- Are there "sounds" that are different from what you’ve heard when listening to earlier lessons?
- If so, where did the sounds come from (how are they produced and what do they signify to you) and why are they different?
- What might life have been like for these early musicians and composers?
- Do you think that the music was universally liked?
- What do likes and dislikes have to do with the definition of Jazz as an art form?
6. Listen to more selections from the suggested list of recordings and ask students to think about connections between the music and the poetry. What does the music say about the time and place that the recordings were made?
7. Have students read other literary selections that reflect the sentiments held by the Lost Generation (i.e., Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Pasos) (Appendix C)
8. Show students the Power Point, Art Movements of the Post-WWI Years. Have students take notes on their reactions to the pictures during the presentation. Discuss their comments.
9. Assessment – Have students document their reflections on post-WWI France and similarities with today. Can they think of contemporary music, movies, artwork or literature that reflects current ideas of disillusionment, despair, insecurity and loss of innocence?
Building on their earlier work, their reflections can be in a form of the students’ choosing such as a written narrative, graphic representation, music composition, video mash-up, etc. but should compare and contrast the two eras. / For the Teacher:
The following website contains an excellent overview of the interwar years and the arts:
europe/lecture8.html
Students should be familiar with the outcomes of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles and the economic hardships faced by European nations in the aftermath of the war.
Ask students to work in small groups to compare and contrast what they know about post-WWI and modern society. Ask them to create a visual of their discussion. The product might be a Venn diagram, drawing, cartoon, etc.
Music:
Jazz In France Post World War One (Digitally Remastered) (various artists) See Table 1 for recording details.
Depending on the size and diversity of the class, discussions can be whole class or small groups.
Suggested discussion starters: Students may be slow to start but can be engaged by questions that they can relate to their own lives, for example, remind them that early jazz was thought to be low class and dirty. How does that relate to their knowledge of hip-hop and rap?
Students might also recognize that overtime, music that was initially thought to be deviant ends up co-opted and mainstreamed by the majority. This is true with jazz as well as hip-hop and rap. Why might that happen?
The following website contains an excellent overview of the interwar years and the arts, including artist and their works:
1 / In literature, in art, in music, the post-war theme is similar: abandon tradition, experiment with the unknown, change the rules, dare to be different, innovate, and above all, expose the sham of western civilization, a civilization whose entire system of values was now perceived as one without justification.
French Jazz, although very similar to American Jazz, has a very distinct sound, with a slightly different style. It is important to let the students experience the differences for themselves, rather than pointing them out. Class discussion on the differences and possible reasons for the difference will help the students better understand the ways that various and distinctly different nations were affected by the horrors of the war.