Whitt (University of Denver)

General Information

Abstract

This course will examine who we were before we became a nation. In so doing, we begin with the Native American tradition and the literature of discovery and exploration before moving on to the European settlers. We will take a close look at the Puritans, whose ordered world, according to John Winthrop , "disposed of the condition of mankind as...some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, others mean and in subjection." So then we are not surprised to read Anne Bradstreet's line, "Men can do best, and women know it well." Historical context is indeed significant. Through extensive readings in literature that is imaginative in diverse ways--charming by its understated simplicity and haunting by its overt complexity--we will come to understand the mindset that was to shape our heritage and our literature.

Population

This course is a survey course for juniors and seniors and beginning graduate students. The course has about 15 to 20 students, and the format is mixed lecture and discussion.

Bibliography and Texts

Lauter, et al., Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume I Winslow, ed., Jonathan Edwards , Basic Writings

General Writing and Pedagogy:

Students are required to present a 10-minute oral contextual analysis with chronology of an assigned topic. Topics include areas of concern not covered in class readings or discussions. Reports are presented when they reflect on the time periods of the following units. Examples are The Federalist papers, the Salem Witchcraft trials, the Log College, The Coquette, The Selling of Joseph, etc. The report is accompanied by a two-page written summary for each class member.

Students will determine a position on some issue debated in class and produce a 10- to 15-page provocative paper with substantive research.

Students will write one short paper (2-5 pages) demonstrating an understanding of Edwards' essay "Freedom of the Will." The assignment expanded: From any situation in literature that we have looked at this quarter, show how a character (moral agent) exerts his or her will. Use the Edwards' essay as a lens through which you interpret the literary or historical situation. Your brief essay should reflect Edwards' language and touch on enough of his points to show that you have some basic understanding of the ideas in "Freedom of the Will." In your conclusion, determine if looking at the situation anew through this essay casts new light on your assessment of the character's actions. Possible situations include: Why does Franklin buy that marker for his parents' grave? Why does Franklin choose the speckled ax? Why do the churches choose to close their doors to George Whitefield? Why does Edward Taylor not give the Lord's Supper to everybody? Why is Anne Hutchinson removed from Massachusetts Bay Colony?

Students will take an in-class final exam. They should prepare in the following ways:

l. Have a timeline in mind in which they can compare different events, trends, lifestyles, philosophies.

2. Know important terms that characterize this era of American literature; for example, jeremiad, antinomian, Puritan, pilgrim, halfway covenant, Calvinism, Arminianism, Great Awakening, ethnocentricity, etc.

3. Be able to elaborate on genres and definitions of what early American literature includes.

4. Understand how one person tangentially connects to another; for example, Solomon Stoddard was grandfather of Jonathan Edwards ; Michael Wigglesworth was Samuel Sewall's tutor at Harvard; John Cotton was Cotton Mather's grandfather, etc.

Readings & Pedagogy:

Unit #1: One Class

Overview of class and background information on several beginnings.

Unit #2: One Week

Native American Writings: Myth origins of Winnebago, Zuni, Navajo, Hopi, Iroquois, and the Raven stories. (Heath, 25- 66)

Unit #3: One Week

Discovery literature (not to include English): Columbus 's journal (H, 70-80); Virgin of Guadalupe (H, 81-88); Samuel de Champlain (H, 132-136)

Unit #4: One Class

The Southern Experience: John Smith's History of Virginia (H, 151-159); Richard Frethorne's letter home (H, 173- 176).

Unit #5: Four Weeks

The Northern Experience: Pilgrim and Puritan. Winthrop's journals (H, 191-210); William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation (H, 212-232); Anne Bradstreet's poetry (H, 258-281); Edward Taylor's poetry (H, 346-385); Michael Wigglesworth's poetry (H, 284-295); New England Primer and Bay Psalm Book (H, 298-310); Mary Rowlandson and Sarah Knight --the woman's dilemma and challenge (H, 318-342; 473-490); Samuel Sewall's diary and Cotton Mather's witch remarks (H, 387-399; 401- 406).

Unit #6: Two Weeks

The Intellectual Light of the 18th Century: Jonathan Edwards , Benjamin Franklin , and John Woolman. all of Winslow's book of Edwards' essays; the Autobiography of Franklin (H, 823- 881); Woolman's journals (H, 593-610).

Unit #7: One Week

The Rhetoric of the Republic: Crevecoeur's Letters (H, 892-925); Paine's tracts (H, 940-957); Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia (H, 964-971).

Final Exam: Examples of Essay questions:

l. In the study of literature, we will often find a distinct period of years referred to by a person's name; for example, the last half of the 18th century in England may be called the Age of Johnson; the first half of the same century may be called the Age of Pope and Swift. Choose any 50-year period we have studied in this course, give it somebody's name that is relevant to our reading list, and defend your choice by stating why or how this person's work best represents this period in American literature.

2. Early American literature has long been considered the study of English-speaking people in the New World. Only very recently has this traditional way of looking at the literature been outwardly lampooned as ethnocentric. Define the study of early American literature. When does literature become truly American? Is American literature tied to the formation of the government? Is it nationalistic? Is it related to the land or nature? Does it have anything to do with ubi panis ibi patria? Does the literature create the myths, or do the myths create the literature? Must literature be imaginative to fit into an English curriculum? (Let these questions be suggestive.)