skidmore college's AMERICAN STUDIES department fall 2007 am 101 am 101 - introduction to american culture: pre-civil war mwf, 9:05-10:OOam and f, 2:30-3~25pm, tlc 201 TLC 306, x5026 Gregory M. Pfitzer A study of the development of American life and culture up to the Civil War. Topics include utopian visions of the new world, religious settlements, the creation of a national iconography, the social implications of slavery, racial and ethnic conflict, gender roles, and the rise of the American intellectual traditions. Resources include fiction, folklore, satire, sermons, maps, journals, captivity narratives, trial transcripts, autobiography, art, architecture and material culture. American Studies 101 Introduction Pfitzer to American Culture Fall '07 This course introduces students to the development of American culture from the Age of Discovery to the American Civil War. It differs from ordinary survey courses in American history in two ways: 1) in addition to standard political and institutional sources used in many history courses, it concentrates on a wide variety of cultural expressions, including fiction, folklore, satire, art, poetry, music, maps, journals, trial transcripts, material culture, mass media, etc., and 2) it is episodic rather than comprehensive; that is, it focuses on representative events that are symbolic of the larger patterns of national development. With respect to these representative events, special attention will be paid not only to the "what" of history (the nuts and bolts of what happened in the past) but also to the "how" of history (that is, how people have used the past to "construct" images of self and nationhood in the present). The thematic emphasis of the course will be on the term "culture"--both how a culture is perceived by others and how a culture perceives itself. The assumption is that American culture, like any culture, is multi-faceted and many-layered. Therefore the assignments are designed to make connections among a wide array of historical sources associated with specific epochs in the American past. On most Mondays throughout the term, students will receive a set of documents related in someway to the specific time period to be covered the following week. On the following Monday students will submit a brief description of each document and a paragraph-long discussion of how they are related (approximately two pages). For instance, you might find the following in your set of documents for the 1670s: an excerpt from Mary Rowlandson's Indian captivity narrative, transcripts from the trials of dissident Quakers, supernatural accounts of catastrophes at sea, a description of Bacon's Rebellion, an account of witch hangings in Connecticut, and newspaper editorials on King Philip's War. After identifying each of these documents, you might then speculate that they have something to do collectively with the growing fear among colonists in the late seventeenth century that "outside influences" (both visible and invisible) were threatening the stability of colonial life. These documents will be used as foundations for Professor Pfitzer's lectures, so students will be able to compare their hypotheses with the themes developed in class. Students will not be judged on their ability to anticipate Professor Pfitzer's connections but on the basis of their ability to present plausible theories about the relatedness of the documents. Classes will follow a lecture/discussion format, and class participation is an important component of the overall grade. Fridays will be devoted to the informal discussion of a specific primary source geared to the lectures for the week, and students will be asked to lead discussions during those sessions. Students are expected to attend class, participate in discussion, write two short papers (5-7 pages each), and take a midterm exam and final exam. The two papers will be worth 15% each, the midterm and final exam will be worth 20% each, the cumulative document analyses will be worth 20% (you must complete § of 8), and class participation will be worth 10%. Late documents and papers will be penalized. Students should purchase the following books from the bookstore: Christopher Columbus, Four Voyages Ben Franklin, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin Mason Weems, The Life of Washington Alex de T ocqueville, Democracy in America Davy Crockett, The Autobiography of David Crockett Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Robert Penn Warren, The Legacy of the Civil War There is no assigned textbook for the course. For those students who desire a more comprehensive approach to the period, a survey textbook--Gary Nash, et. aI., The American People--has been put on reserve in Scribner Library. Unit I: Novus Mundi: Visions of the New World (1492-1692) Week 1: The "Old World": A Culture of Crisis Wednesday September 5 -- Introduction: What is American Studies? Definitions of Culture Friday September 7 -- Ancient and Medieval Images of the New World Friday September 7 - The Conquest of Paradise: Expectations and Realities Reading: (travelogue) Christopher Columbus Four Voyages, pp. 115-123; 206226; 265-276; 283-304. Week 2: Cultural Projections and New Beginnings * * * Document packet #1 due Monday September 10 -- Fabled Dreams: Spanish EI Dorado Wednesday September 12 - In Search of the Northwest Passage Friday September 14 -- The Failed Dream: Jamestown Friday September 14 - Pocahontas and Myths of American Origins Reading: (eyewitness accounts) John Smith, "The General History of Virginia," (xeroxes). Week 3: Puritan New England and the Culture of Dissent * * * Document packet #2 due Monday September 17 -- The Epic Pilgrimage: The Separatist Experiment Wednesday September 19 -- The New Jerusalem: The Mass Bay Colony Friday September 21 - Making Old England into New England Friday September 21 -- Trouble in Paradise: New England Dissent Reading: (narrative and counter-narrative) selections from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation and Thomas Morton, New English Canaan (xeroxes). Week 4: The American Jeremiad: the Culture of Self-Criticism * * * First paper due Monday September 24 -- A City Upon a Hill? The Puritan Interregnum Wednesday September 26 -- The "Red Devils" and King Philip's War Friday September 28 -- "Black Devils" and Slavery as Original Sin Friday September 28 -- The Devil Within: The Salem Witchcraft Trials Reading: (trial transcripts) selections from the transcripts of the Salem Witchcraft Trials--Carrier, Goode, Mather (xeroxes). Unit II: Colonial Subcultures and the Idea of America (1692-1783) Week 5: The New Adam and the Garden of the World * * * Document packet #3 due Monday October 1 -- Religious Revivalism and the Great Awakening Wednesday October 3 -- The Middling Sort: The Pastoral Ideal and Colonial Empire Friday October 5 - The Nation's Crucible: The French and Indian War Friday October 5 -- Unity Amidst Diversity: Creating an American Type Reading: (autobiography) Ben Franklin, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin (Twyford, at the Bishop of st. Asaph's - "Advertisement,"), pp. 16-127. Week 6: Regeneration Through Violence: The Independence Movement * * * Document packet #4 due Monday October 8 -- The "Great Drama": The Coming of War Wednesday October 10 - Olympic Struggle: The American Revolution Reading: (propaganda/political manifesto) Thomas Paine, Common Sense; (propaganda) Joel Barlow, selections from "The Columbiad" (xerox). Friday October 12 - American Studies Association (no class) Week 7: "Exam”ining the Past: * * * Midterm Examination Monday October 15-- Midterm Examination (identifications and quotations) Wednesday October 17-- Midterm Examination (essay) Friday October 19 - Study Break (no class) Unit III: The Culture of Legitimacy and Respect (1783-1850) Week 8: False Starts: The Search for Meaning and Structure Monday October 22-- Revolutionary Aspirations: The Obligations of Victory Wednesday October 24 - E Pluribus Unum: The Federal Constitution Friday October 26- Party Politics and Family Squabbles Friday October 26 -- Symbolic Cultures: National Iconography in the 1790s Reading: (popular culture) Mason Weems, The Life of Washington chapters I-II, VIII-IX, XI-XVI. Week 9: Expansion and Empire-Building * * * Document packet #5 due Monday October 29 - Adams and Jefferson: Political Strife in the Early Republic Wednesday October 31- Cloaks and Daggers: A Conspiratorial Culture Friday November 2- A Culture of Legitimacy: The War of 1812 Friday November 2 - Singing the Nation's Praises: Music and Nationalism Reading: (music) selections from "Patriotic Music of the Early Republic" (xerox and tapes). Week 10: Growing Pains: America's Cultural Maturation * * * Document packet #6 due Monday November 5 -- The Era of Good Feelings? Wednesday November 7 - America at 50: Mid-life Crises and the Post-heroic Age Friday November 9-- From Foreign Shores: The European Image of the American Self Friday November 9 - Tyranny of the Majority: The Common Denominator Culture Reading (political essays) Alex de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, chapters 11,12,15,18,21-25,32,39-40,43-44,46,51. Week 11: One Nation, Under God, Indivisible: Manifest Destiny * * * Second paper due Monday November 12-- Sermons in Stones: Nature and Providence Wednesday November 14 - Go West Young Man (and Woman?) Friday November 16 - The Lost Generation and the Mexican War Friday November 16 - American Folklore and the Vernacular Tradition Reading: (folklore) Davy Crockett, Narrative of the Life of David Crockett. Week 12: Creating Cultural Symbols Monday November