Paper topics for Axtell & Kramnick, Fall 2006

Papers should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins, printed in 12 pt. Times New Roman or a similar proportional font. Since the book you are writing on should be your only source (unless otherwise specified), the basis for your assertions and the sources of your examples and quotations may be cited by simply listing the author and page numbers in parentheses, for example (Rowson, pp. 23-24). If there is a specific document or section within the book (as in the various chapters of Axtell), that should be mentioned in the text.

This is not a research paper. The idea here is not to pack in as much information as you can, but instead to present a thoughtful and clearly-written analysis. The best essays will thoroughly answer the question and make a clear, well-defined argument, supporting the author's point of view with specific factual or textual evidence. For your information, rely on the book you are analyzing and other materials used in this course (textbooks, lectures, and online readings). You may use sections of the course books that were not assigned to the whole class, but you MAY NOT bring in any outside secondary works without permission of Prof. Pasley or one of the TAs.

Papers focusing on the Axtell (Indians) or Kramnick (Enlightenment) books are due in your section meeting the week of October 19-20.

Other choices will be added so please check back later. As always, ask any questions by commenting on this post.

Topics focusing on James Axtell, ed., The Indian Peoples of Eastern America: A Documentary History of the Sexes

• What relationship does a society's "private" life have with its "public" life? In other words, do ideas about the proper structure and functioning of families and personal relationships have any influence on ideas about politics and government, and vice versa?
• Based on the readings, compare and contrast the workings and values of eastern North American native families and communities with those of the Europeans who colonized the continent. What were the most important differences? What aspects of Native American culture promoted resistance to European colonization, and what aspects may have hindered resistance?
• In the conclusion to "The White Indians of Colonial America," James Axtell quotes Crevecouer in saying that "something singularly captivating" (p. 88) kept white captives in Native American societies, but Axtell never says what that something was. From the article and the textbook, what do you think it was, and why? Do you think that factor changed for men and women, adults and children, English and French? Why or why not?

Topics focusing on Isaac Kramnick, ed., The Portable Enlightenment Reader

• Describe and analyze the essential elements of Enlightenment thought on one or two of the the following topics:
• the nature of truth
• the role of women in society
• the political rights of women
• crime (and punishment)
• slavery
• Africans
• American Indians
  
• war
• progress
• history
• art
• mind
• the existence of God
• organized religion
• the human mind
• human nature
  
• the scientific method
• morality
• manners
  
• role of the state in the economy
• luxury goods and other form of consumption
  
• the natural world

You will almost certainly need to read well beyond the sections of the book that were assigned to the whole class. Email Professor Pasley if you have another idea for a specific aspect of Enlightenment thought to write about.

Philip Long's Questions for 9/22-9/23

According to John Winthrop's speech, what were the Puritans' motivations for coming to New England? How does this fit with the popular view of the Puritans' desire for religious freedom? How did their view of life and Christianity lead to a different style of society than the Virginia settlers?

Questions for Jeff Pasley's section, Sept. 21

We will spend some time going over the test terms, but here are a couple of questions on the Puritans for the second half of the alphabet to wrote and all to consider:

• Did the Puritans come to America in pursuit of religious freedom? What evidence would you give to support your answer? You will need to have read the textbook on the Puritans in order to answer this question. Looking up the names Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams would help also.
• Former president Ronald Reagan was in the habit of quoting Massachusetts Bay leader John Winthrop's line from your online reading about America as a "city on a hill." What did Winthrop mean by that phrase? BONUS: Was Reagan using it correctly? Here are speeches in which Reagan used it in 1974 and 1989.
  

Terms to study for 1st test -- Fall 2006

Here are some terms that you should study for the upcoming test, which will be given in sections next week. The IDs will be drawn directly from this list, but not all of these are necessarily of equal weight. The terms come from both the reading and the lectures, including some lecture material we have not come to yet. Ask any questions in sections or as comments on this posting.

Please note that I have omitted very broad and obvious terms such as the names of major colonial settlements and the various competing empires. You should definitely study the distinctive approach to colonization of all the major empires, the Indian relations of each empire & region, and the family structures, political arrangements, & economic values that were characteristic of each major culture we have discussed.

• Columbian Exchange (animals, plants, diseases)
  
• Aztecs
• Cahokia
  
• Household economy
• patriarchy
• coverture
• Eastern Woodlands
  
• beloved men
• longhouses
• corn, beans, & squash
  
• Reconquista
• conquistadores
• Requerimiento
• berdaches
  
• Papal donation
  
• Cortes, Hernan
• encomienda
  
• joint-stock companies
• indentured servitude
  
• "breaking the will"
• Calvinism & doctrine of "election"
  
• Great Chain of Being
• Divine Right of Kings
  
• Filmer, Robert
• Stuarts
• Royal touch
  
• sovereignty
  
• Leviathan
• state of nature
  
• "imperium in imperio"
  
• original sin
• New England Primer
• "white Indians"
  
• Iroquois Confederacy
• "Great Peacemaker"
  
• Powhatan
• Pocahontas
• Smith, Captain John
• werowances
• indentured servants
• Wampanoags
• "Indian givers"
• vacuum domicilium
• Pilgrims
• Puritans
• Cromwell, Oliver
  
• Protestant Reformation: "priesthood of all believers," "sola scriptura"
  
• Winthrop, John
• "city on a hill"
• Tisquantum
  
• King Philip's War
• Hutchinson, Anne
• Williams, Roger
• Champlain, Samuel de
• Hurons
• fur trade
• Beaver Wars
  
• Onontio
• captivity narratives
• Restoration
  
• Dominion of New England
• Bacon's Rebellion
• Glorious Revolution
• Salem witchcraft crisis
  
• proprietary colonies
  
• Quakers
• Penn, William
• "holy conversation"
• slavery, rise of as southern labor system
  
• colonial assemblies

Kris Maulden's questions - Sept. 21/22

This week we'll be reviewing for the first midterm and discussing the Puritans. To be ready to talk about the Puritans, be sure to read online unit 4 and the portions of ch. 3 and 4 of the textbook about Massachusetts (see especially p. 84-94). We'll start with review and that will be very informal. I will not prepare questions or discussion topics as a review; that will be your job. Come in ready to ask any questions you have over the readings or the lecture up to this point, and we'll answer them as well as we can.

As for discussion questions for the Puritans this week:

1. After reading this week's readings, did the Puritans come to America for religious freedom? (To answer this question, you need to explain what you think "religious freedom" means, and why the Puritans succeeded or failed in attaining it.)

2. We discussed the drawbacks to Virginia in detail last week. What problems did the Puritans face in Massachusetts Bay? Do those problems reveal any deeper problems with Puritan society, and why?

Philip Long's Questions 9/14-15

During the colonization period, the English prided themselves on being much more honest and fair with the Native Americans they encountered than the Spanish. While the Spanish justified their conquest with the Requerimiento the English "purchased" their land from the Indians. Do you feel that this method was more legitimate than the Spanish method? In what ways was the Spanish conquest more honest than fair than the English? Please include the Looking out for Number One in your assessment.

Kris Maulden's Questions - Sept. 14/15

This week we'll be discussing the Requerimiento and T.H. Breen's "Looking Out for Number One" from the online reader, parts of ch.'s 3 and 4 of the textbook, and the last half of the Axtell book. Here are your questions for discussion:

1. How do Spanish attitudes shown by the Requerimiento and discussed in lecture resemble and differ from English attitudes explained in lecture and the Breen article? Is there something to be said in favor or against both of them?

2. Is early Virginia an object lesson for having a strong central authority? Why or why not? If so, why is strong authority needed and if not, why is this a unique situation?

3. For those of you who have read John Smith: Breen only quotes John Smith a few times, but do you think that John Smith is a good example of early Virginians as entirely self-interested? Why or why not? (Note: please use specific examples if you answer this question: most people in class probably will not have read it and so you need to explain yourself well.)

Questions for Jeff Pasley's section, 9/14/06

Based on the textbook and the online readings (especially the Requerimiento and T.H. Breen's article "Looking Out for Number 1"), what were the major similarities and differences between Spanish and English colonization of the New World? The English and other competitors of the Spaniards and their ally, the Catholic Church, relied heavily on the so-called "Black Legend" of Spanish cruelty to justify their own form of colonialism, contending that the English treated native peoples much more fairly and humanely. Was there any truth to that self-serving English view at all?

Camping like an Indian?

This is an opportunity for Kris Maulden's students to pick up some online participation credit, but if anyone else wants to chime in feel welcome. This last week we discussed the ways in which we can idealize the Indians too much, and this article in Camping Magazine is a good example of it. The writer addresses the stereotyping (both positive and negative) of Native Americans in camping trips for children, and I'm curious what you think. Does the author have a point that "honoring" Native Americans can dehumanize them, or are we being too sensitive by saying that too much admiration is a bad thing? Why or why not? If you agree with the author, have you seen other examples of Indians being idealized to the point that they aren't treated as "real" people?

Questions for Jeff Pasley's section, Sept. 7

Based on the James Axtell readings (book and article), plus the lectures & texbook, which culture, European or Eastern Woodlands Indian, do you find more appealing? Why? Which culture would you rather live in, as person of your gender & race & nationality, should you find yourself transported back to 17th-century America? Answer as specifically as you can, using a particular European and/or Indian group as your example, if possible.

Alternatively, you may answer Philip's question for this week below. I wish I had thought of it.

Phil's Question for 9/7-9/8

In this week's entry in the Online Reader, J. Axtell discusses the reluctance of white captives to return to their own society once they have been introduced to the Indian culture. Do you think these instances are just examples of advanced cases of Stockholm Syndrome or are the captives truly adopting the Indian culture over the Europeans? If this is merely Stockholm Syndrome, why are there so few cases of the reverse happening, where Indians conform to European society? How was Indian captivity more appealing?

John Smith's "Generall Historie of Virginia"

As promised, the above link will take you to a digital version of John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles.

Those of you interested in reading it can do it from that website, but be patient; there is a lot of text and even on a high-speed connection the page will take a few minutes to load. You can begin with page 1 (the front matter denoted by Roman numerals is not required, but it does provide a fair summary of events for the whole book if you just want to see what is in the book), and continue at least through the year 1609 (p. 96). If the site wears out your patience, you can always pick up a version from Ellis Library and read it that way.

For Kris Maulden's students: If you want to write a paper over this book, please post questions on which you would like to write as comments, or talk to me.

Kris Maulden's questions - Sept. 7/8

In discussions this week we'll be discussing Eastern Woodlands Indians in very broad strokes, but we'll cover them the best that we can. For this week, be sure to read chapter 2 in the textbook, unit 2 of the online reader and, as background information, sections 1-3 of the Axtell book. Now, for thought, comment, and discussion:

1. The Iroquois conceived of their confederacy as a longhouse; in a like fashion, Filmer talked of European monarchies as households. What similarities and differences do you see between these descriptions? How might the differences between a longhouse and a European family lead to different conceptions of society? (Note: You will probably think of differences quickly, but please think a little longer to come up with some similarities.)

2. Do you see any aspects of family and society that make you think that either European or Native American societies are superior in some way? Are there any things that make you think less of Europeans or Indians? One simple way to think about this question is this: Do you find European or Native American societies more attractive, and why? Conversely, why do you think the other is less appealing?