HUM 2450.B01/B02 Assignments
07/12-07/16/04 (Week 3)
Assignments can be updated at needs/speed of the class; you will be notified of
updates by e-mail, and are responsible for checking the page after notification.
Click on links for online readings.
for MONDAY July 12
-- online notes for this section, "Building the 'Enlightened' Republic, part 1," available now!
-- Pohl Ch.2. 74-98, 104-112
Online readings:
-- Thomas Paine, "Common Sense [1776]. Paine's "pamphlet" influenced Jefferson and the other composers of the Declaration and Constitution. It remains one of the hallmarks of Enlightenment (and native-American)-influenced thought of the Revolutionary period.
-- Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence [1776]. The biggie, wherein Jefferson and his Revolutionary chums break America's ties with George III, King of England, over the Taxation Without Representation issue (all matters of religious freedom & etc. aside). Herein, the leaders of the Revolution came to think of themselves as "Americans."
for TUESDAY July 13
-- online notes for this section, "Building the 'Enlightened' Republic, part 2," available now!
-- Pohl Ch.3 130-171
Online readings:
-- de Crevecour, "What Is an American?" [1782]. De Crevecour, citizen of France, attempts to encapsulate this odd new creature for both himself and those back in France as that nation dragged toward its own revolution. Often quoted for jingoistic purposes, de Crevecour's ideas cast "Americans" in probably the best light they've ever been seen in.
-- Benjamin Franklin, "Information for Such as Would Remove" [1782]. Franklin's wry wit here attempts to discuss "Americans" and "America" to those thinking of joinging the new endeavor.
for WEDNESDAY July14
-- online notes for this section, "Building the 'Enlightened' Republic, part 2," available now!
-- Pohl Ch.3 130-171, Ch.4 185-194
Online readings:
-- de Crevecour, "What Is an American?" [1782]. De Crevecour, citizen of France, attempts to encapsulate this odd new creature for both himself and those back in France as that nation dragged toward its own revolution. Often quoted for jingoistic purposes, de Crevecour's ideas cast "Americans" in probably the best light they've ever been seen in.
-- Benjamin Franklin, "Information for Such as Would Remove" [1782]. Franklin's wry wit here attempts to discuss "Americans" and "America" to those thinking of joinging the new endeavor.
for THURSDAY July 15
-- online notes for this section, "Building the 'Enlightened' Republic, part 3," available now!
New online readings
-- Washingont Irving, "Traits of Indian Character" part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 [1820]. In this essay, the United States' first noted local author declaims European-American attitudes toward native tribespeople.
-- Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Maypole of Merry Mount" [1836] In this short story, Nathaniel Hawthorne comments on his Puritan ancestors and their attitudes toward Others. The analogy to European-American attitudes toward native tribespeople is clear.
for FRIDAY July 16
-- online notes for this section, "Defining 'America'" available now!
-- Pohl Ch.4 185-194
Online reading:
-- Washington Irving, "Rip Van
Winkle" and "The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow" [both 1819]. (CAVEAT: do not depend on either the Walt
Disney animated or Tim Burton live-action versions. They vary widely from
Irving's original tales.) In these famous tales, the United States' first
successful and internationally-acclaimed writer, Washington Irving, creates moody
scenes collected out of New England's immigrant past. Irving approaches the
folklore and customs of early Dutch-English colonial settlements, and places them
on a par with Aesop, the Grimm Brothers, and Francois Perrault. A wonderful
window into the early 19th-Century's attempt to see the distinctiveness of
"America." As you read, ask yourself: what idea of "America" does Irving give
in his tales? What view does this 19th-Century writer have of his country's early
past?
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Week 4
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