Paul Laurence Dunbar is one of Dayton\u2019s gems. Along with the Wright brothers and Charles Kettering, Dunbar is on the list of famous Daytonians known around the world.<\/p>\n
For students of literature, Dunbar is one of Dayton\u2019s greatest treasures. That\u2019s why Carol Loranger, chair and associate professor of English Language and Literatures, has been sending students in her American literature survey course to Woodland Cemetery and downtown Dayton to find Dunbar\u2019s grave site and home, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s good for the students to experience a local writer of such literary and historical importance,\u201d said Loranger.<\/p>\n
Dunbar is known for his lyrical poetry in both standard English and dialect. He often wrote poems about the African American experience, such as \u201cDinah Kneading Dough\u201d and \u201cSympathy,\u201d from which come the famous words \u201cI know why the caged bird sings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students who make the literary pilgrimage Loranger suggests are asked to record it with a photo posted to Course Studio. If they complete this activity in the first few weeks of the class, they earn an extra 5 percent added to their lowest exam grade. Loranger uses the activity to avoid last-minute extra credit assignments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel students should plan ahead,\u201d said Loranger, \u201cThey should not ask for extra credit because they’ve done badly and hope to repair it, but ask for it as an augmentation of their learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Loranger has been offering this assignment to her students for 10 years, and many of them have taken her up on it. Loranger says she often teaches young people who are planning to become middle or high school English teachers, and she suggested that a photograph next to Dunbar\u2019s home is a great image for a teacher\u2019s homepage.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I hope it gives those of them who find employment locally an idea for a field trip,\u201d she adds, and instills in them a pride for Dayton-area literature and art.<\/p>\n\n\t\t