Week 1__________________________
Tuesday, January 9–Course Intro, Syllabus Review
Readings: The reading for the first few days will be posted under “readings” tab in case you have not yet secured your textbook. Check e-mail for password.
- N. Scott Momaday, “The Becoming of the Native: Man in America Before Columbus”: 51-57 (read in class)
Thursday, January 11
Readings
- Section Introduction, “Literature to 1750” : 1-22. LINK (for those who haven’t purchased book yet)
- Sub-Section Introduction, “Native American Origin and Creation Stories”: 29-33
- All selections and introductory material from Native American Origin and Creation Stories: 33-50. Be prepared to discuss one in detail that you were particularly drawn to. LINK (for those who haven’t purchased book yet)
Keywords and Ideas
- Animism
- Material, political, and cultural drivers of colonization in the “New World”
- Transcription of Native American tales from oral to written format
- Native American stories (related to Reflective Engagement 1)
Week 2__________________________
Tuesday, January 16–Native American Origin and Creation Stories
Readings
- Sub-Section Introduction, “Explorations and Early Encounters” (59-64)
- Christopher Columbus, “Letter of Columbus, Describing the Results of His First Voyage” (64-72)
- Excerpting Early American Exploration Narratives–A Google Books Project. Instructions: Choose a roughly 10-page excerpt from an exploration narrative from one of the following (each book contains a number of narratives). In class, be prepared to briefly present your selection, noting the region and author information, and then proceed to summarize and reflect on your chosen section. Please focus on those sections in which the author describes the native population–you’ll be able to identify such sections in the linked and detailed table of contents for each book, which you can find after scrolling down a few pages in each linked text. Ask yourself: how are the American Indians depicted? Do you think the description is objective, or influenced by what you take to be the goals of the expedition? That is, does it seem realistic, or romanticized? Be ready to offer an informal overview of your archival exploration in class on Thursday.
Thursday, January 18–Exploration and Early Encounters
Readings
- Sub-Section Introduction, “Colonial Settlements”: 91-103
- John Winthrop: “A Modell of Christian Charity”: 136-149
- Anne Bradstreet: Author Introduction: 150-152
- “The Prologue”: 153
- “The Author to Her Book”: 156
- “Before the Birth of One of Her Children”: 156
- “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment”: 158
- Edward Taylor: Author Introduction: 217-218
- “Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children”: 221-222