Real and personal accounts of life push students beyond stereotypes of war and people of the era, said Donley. She believes students can relate to Frederic and Catherine as young people, in love and caught up in events of enormous size and complexity. This was why she selected A Farewell to Arms.
What I’m really interested in is motivating students to do high-quality research work.
~ Kate Donley
Reading their words and holding the possessions of people from the same era in their hands deepens this connection.
“Hemingway’s complex style, subject matter, and ambiguity provide ample room for analysis and research, especially using Norwich’s unique resources in the museum and archives,” said Donley. “The archival texts provided one other way for the students to connect to the subject matter of WWI—students could connect to Gus Nelson and duVal Allen as fellow Norwich students, similar to themselves.”
© Sept. 6, 2013, Norwich University Office of Communications