Summary

Module 3 surveys a number of texts produced by writers of the British Colonial period leading up to the American Revolution.

Objectives

• Demonstrate critical reading, thinking, and writing skills by analyzing texts produced by writers of the British Colonial period leading up to the American Revolution;
• Recognize the value inherent in literary art forms and the powerful impact they may have on audiences;
• Identify and analyze the connections between the literature and American history;
• Recognize the contribution of the literature to the development of contemporary culture;
• Define and provide examples of the literary characteristics of works by American authors from the Colonial period
• Define and identify the basic characteristics of Neoclassical literature
• Recognize characteristics of Puritan thinking and influences on American literature and ideas including the metaphor of the “City on the Hill” and the rhetorical appeal of “The Model of Christ”
• Discuss some recurring themes of American literature.

Readings

• Introduction, pp 403-5
• ***”The Autobiography,” Benjamin Franklin, pp 440-4; 467-514; 531-46; “The Way to Wealth, pp 443-9
• “Letters from an American Farmer, Letter III: What is an American?” J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, pp 634-45
• The Iroquois Constitution (Links to an external site.): Read the beginning section and then browse a bit.
• “The Private Journal of a Journey from Boston to New York,” Sarah Kemble Knight, pp 610-5
• “Speech to the Osages,” Tecumseh, pp 994-6

NOTE: Readings that begin with *** are longer works, and will take more time to complete. Students should plan their reading schedules accordingly!

Assignments

Note: You will see the directions to these assignments in the following pages of Module 3.

Please complete all of these assignments before the conclusion of Module 3:

• Complete all readings
• Discussion #3: Colonial Literature
• Challenge Task #3
• Writing Assignment #3
• Module 3: Discussion #3:

  .

  Section 1

  Module 3: Discussion #3: Colonial Literature

  No unread replies.No replies.

  Directions

  Before beginning your second discussion thread, Review the Discussion Board Expectations in the Syllabus under Course Grading.

  (1) In this discussion, there are a number of Discussion Prompts listed below. You must respond to TWO of them.

  • Make your initial post before the Module is halfway over. (As always, please consult the course Calendar where the instructor will list specific due dates.)
  • Return before the Module closes and respond to at least two classmates’ posts, preferably on the same topics you chose. Continue the conversation with your fellow students.
  • Students are expected to read what other students have posted.
  • Students may reply to, or expand upon, points made by other students in the thread.

  (2) To earn points:

  • All posts should average about two paragraphs minimum.
  • All posts MUST be significant and substantial contributions that demonstrate your mastery of the readings. If you are not earning full points for discussions, then be sure to review the Instructor comments and the grading rubric.
  • Remember: a Literature class IS Reading and Discussion…there are no “right” answers to these questions!

  GENERAL NOTE: remember…

  • Discussions are informal, personal responses based on your own reading of a text
  • Do not “research”websites or repeat the editor’s comments or copy/paste from any outside source: use your own brain
  • A Literature class IS Reading and Discussion…there are no “right” answers to these questions!

  Discussion #3 Prompts

  Discussion Question #1

  Sarah Kemble KnightThis is another narrative that is revealing of the lives of women in Early America, but it also tells us a lot about life for everyone in the early Colonial Age. It’s interesting to read this not only for its illustration of the challenges facing an independent woman earlier in our history, but also that it reveals a very wild and unsettled America… where today we have roads and trains and planes, and no modern American woman would hesitate to travel even vast distances alone and unchaperoned…Kemble has a very different experience.She lives in a time when middle and upper-class women rarely traveled alone even in “civilized society” to do everyday tasks, much less to traverse the wilderness to conduct “business”. (Of course, “lower-class” and frontier women often worked alone). But remember too, even most Men did not travel alone through the wilderness because it was too dangerous to do so. Here are some questions to explore and reply to…

  • What did you think of her narrative? What did you find interesting in it?
  • She does not travel alone though, and often she must wait upon another person in order to continue her trip. Why is this?
  • Unlike Bradstreet and Rowlandson, Knight is not a Puritan, though she is a woman of New England, Boston. How is her text different, in this regard, than those we have read by these two earlier women? What parts of her narrative are similar?
  • What is the purpose of this narrative, and who is the audience? Why did she write this text? who would have been interested in reading this and why? What did she want to do in writing it?
  • What subjects does Kemble’s narrative focus on? Which of the subjects of her narrative did you find most interesting? Why?
  • What does Kemble’s journey reveal to us about this period in American history? Remember, she is traveling through our region, and journeying to locations that are, for us, merely a few hours drive.
  • In what might ways Kemble’s narrative remind us of Rowlandson’s text? Make a connection between these two narratives and explain it.

  Discussion Question #2

  de Crevecoeur and the AmericanThis text is, today, a bit controversial, as it underpins the traditional belief in “American Exceptionalism” and the concept of America as the “melting pot” of the world’s peoples. Many writers and scholars today profoundly disagree with the argument de Crevecoeur promulgates, of the American being a mix of European nations. They argue that his vision helped create the racist attitudes that underpinned the institution of slavery, that led to the tragic treatment of the Native Americans, and caused the oppression of other minority groups in American history. To counter this idea, the modern notion of “multiculturalism” was created to argue for a more “inclusive” vision of American society. However, many everyday people of all backgrounds still find much value in de Crevecoeur’s definition of an “American.” One important thing to bear in mind is an idea we covered in Unit I, that at the start of European exploration and immigration to “America,” the European peoples considered themselves different races. They spoke different languages, had different histories, and those histories extended back into the great conflicts of the Middle Ages, and even further to the Roman conquest. British identity, for instance, extended to the tribal past of pre-Roman Britain. (And it is interesting to think that Native Americans are to 17th century Europeans what the primitive Europeans tribes were to the Romans. In a sense, the Europeans in the New World are repeating what they learned from the Romans and from the conflicts of the Middle Ages.) Today, we commonly lump all Europeans together into one group, or all “White” people into one group. But the concept “White” is a political one, and its definition today reflects our modern context, which has been shaped by the arguments and conflicts concerning Race in America and of our shared national history. THEN, the meaning of this word did not share these modern definitions, and the differences between European groups could be very profound, and these differences are often left out of the discussion of American history. Here are some questions to explore and reply to…

  • What is an “American” according to de Crevecoeur? Why does he claim the an American is a “new man”? In what ways is in an American “new”?
  • Is de Crevecoeur’s definition of an American limited only to Europeans, or is there more to it than that? Is there any part of it that is “multicultural”? What do you think of his definition today: how useful is it to us?
  • According to this text, how is America settled and made civilized?
  • What is the role of Nature in the settlement of America by Europeans?
  • One of the things that de Crevecouer talks about is the setting aside of “ancient animosities” that Americans “choose” to do when they join “American” society. Explain his claim here: what are these “ancient animosities”? Why is it important to American society that these are removed? What role does nature have in removing them?
  • Is de Crevecouer “arguing for” a specific definition, or vision, of America that he thinks or wants to be true? Or, is de Crevcouer observing what he sees, and drawing conclusions from these observations? That is, is he a propagandist or a scientific thinker? What’s the difference?
  • de Crevecouer explains how the concept and worship of “God” changes in the American Wilderness, in Nature? How does the European experience in adapting to Nature, change European attitudes about “God” and “religion”?

  Discussion Question #3

  Benjamin FranklinPerhaps the greatest and most popular American of all time, Benjamin Franklin is truly a unique and inspiring person. He is the ultimate Renaissance man: writer, diplomat, statesman, scientist, athlete, scholar, city planner, postman, and inventor. There are only a handful of human beings in history that can match the diversity and influence of his accomplishments. Tall, handsome, funny, and intelligent, to the European of his day, he symbolized America and “the American.”It is not much of a stretch to argue that without Franklin, there would have been no America, and he is sometimes referred to as “the one indispensable man.” He negotiated the end of the Revolution and helped to write the Treaty of Paris. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Continental Congress, he revised the Declaration of Independence, and he had a hand in just about every decision and agreement at the time of Revolution. To top it all off, he also the first American to publish results of a scientific experiment in the Transactions of the Royal Philosophical Society. (He was not the first to publish in the Transactions, however. Cotton Mather wrote an account of a freak blizzard in Feb-Mar of 1717 that covered parts of New England with over 4 feet of snow.)Don’t forget to connect Franklin to “The Great Law.” Be sure to take a look at it as part of your reading for this Thread. If you have the time and inclination, be sure to read his hilarious defense of Native American culture in his “Remarks Concerning the Savages”History is so neat.Here are some questions to explore and reply to…

  • Who do you think is the audience for his Autobiography, not who does the Autobiography claim is the audience? And what do you think his purpose is? What parts of the text show his purpose?
  • How does Franklin’s life reveal a reliance on Human Reason? How does he use Reason to improve not only his own life, but society in general? How is this way of thinking different from that of Winthrop and the Puritans?
  • Consider the episode that Franklin relates when he was “becalmed off Block Island.” What does this episode reveal about the way that Franklin thinks? What does it reveal about the limits of Reason? Quote this part of the text. Explain
  • Some modern readers think that Franklin is a bit vain, maybe even arrogant, in the way he depicts his own success in life. At the same time, it is HIS Autobiography, and if there is any place it’s okay to be proud of your accomplishments and blow your own horn a bit, it is this genre. And the thing is: he did A LOT of really important things! Take a moment outside this class, and search just a little on the web about Franklin. Find something he did that you 1) didn’t know he was part of, and that 2) you think is pretty cool. Talk about that a bit.
  • What does this Autobiography show about Franklin’s individual program of education? What does Franklin think of education, books, reading, and language? How do these concerns direct his life from an early age?
  • What part of Franklin did you enjoy the most?
  • Long before Franklin helped to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he assisted the Cherokee Tribe in publishing the Great Law (the Iroquois Constitution) in Cherokee. He then edited and printed the first English translation of the “Great Law.” Today, some scholars note the similarities between parts of the Great Law and the US Constitution. What are those similarities? What do you think of this connection? If true, what would this imply about the influence of Native American culture and attitudes on American Democracy and society? How would this relate to de Crevecouer’s claim? (The consensus of modern scholarship tends to not support this connection, however; but it is fun to consider!)

• Section 2

  DirectionsFrom all the readings we have encountered so far, show a concrete example of a Neoclassical LITERARY reference or allusion. Do not show a general attitude.Here is an example that shows specific reference to the CLASSICAL AGE:In his “Autobiography,” Franklin writes he “procur’d Xenophon’s Memorable Things of Socrates” (477). Here’s an example that just shows a general attitude:Franklin says he “sometimes disputed” with John Collins, “and very fond [they] were of Argument” (475).First review the Glossary entry on Neoclassicism. Then, beginning with a signal phrase, quote the exact language of the example, and include a correct in-text citation. Then explain the context of the quote and how it fulfills the definition of Neoclassicism.Your response should be about 3-5 sentences.
  You must complete Challenge Task #3 by the end of Module 3.

  Rubric

  Challenge Task Rubric

  Challenge Task Rubric

  Criteria	Ratings	Pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeBasic Writing	3 to >0.0 ptsRange 0 ptsNo Marks	3 pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDocumentation	3 to >0.0 ptsRange 0 ptsNo Marks	3 pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContent	4 to >0.0 ptsRange 0 ptsNo Marks	4 pts
  Total Points: 10

• Section 3

• Module 3: Writing Assignment #3

  • Points 20
  • Submitting a file upload

  Directions

  For this assignment, compare the Christian world view of the Puritan writers (such as Rowlandson, Winthrop, and Bradstreet) to the Rational world view of Benjamin Franklin. After comparing, draw a conclusion about the way in which American thinking about Life and the World had begun to change by the time of Franklin.Your writing should have THREE parts.

  • One part should focus on one or more Puritan writers: explain the “world view” and thinking process and show evidence from the text to illustrate the discussion.
  • One part should focus on Franklin: explain his “world view “and thinking process and show evidence from his text to illustrate the discussion
  • One part should draw a conclusion by comparing the two (above) discussions: what does your analysis reveal about the difference between the way they think about the world? explain your conclusion

  Your writing should be about 350 or so words in length. Remember to follow MLA format, clean up and organize your writing, and cite your evidence using MLA in-text style.This is DUE by the end of Module 3. (As always, consult the Course Calendar for specific dates.)Please compose your work in WORD and click “Submit Assignment” when you are ready.Check out the Writing Assignment Rubric below for further guidance.

  Writing Assignment Rubric The goal of the Writing Assignment is to practice and improve Academic Writing for future classes Each Writing assignment should be no more than 2-4 paragraphs, depending on the prompt You should: identify the “critical task” The “critical task” is the intellectual work you are required to do (analyze, summarize, compare, etc) organize your answer to reply to the command in the prompt execute your answer with precision and control These are intended to challenge you to write your best, so I am rigorous and require you to pay close attention to your writing. It may seem like I’m too hard (at first), but if you stick with it, you will be very happy with your writing at the end of the class. THESE ARE NOT ESSAYS OR PERSONAL RESPONSES!
  Each Writing Assignment is worth 0-20 pts Each Writing Assignment will be measured against the three Standards shown below.
  Standard #1: Writing and Organization 0-5 pts	Standard #2: Critical Content 0-10 pts	Standard #3: MLA Documentation 0-5 pts
  Correct English Appropriate paragraphs and organization Correct MLA format	Appropriately responds to the prompt; does the critical task Demonstrates knowledge of readings and class discussion Demonstrates independent thinking	Correct use of quotation marks Correct use of in-text citations Correct works cited Appropriate integration of evidence from the readings

  Rubric

  Writing Assignment Rubric

  Writing Assignment Rubric

  Criteria	Ratings	Pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting and Organization	5 to >0.0 ptsFull Marks 0 ptsNo Marks	5 pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCritical Content	10 to >0.0 ptsFull Marks 0 ptsNo Marks	10 pts
  This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMLA	5 to >0.0 ptsFull Marks 0 ptsNo Marks	5 pts
  Total Points: 20