Wednesday, September 14
We turned from William Bradford's account of peacemaking with the Native Americans to Mary Rowlandson's narrative of her as a prisoner of the Indians during King Philip's War. As background and transition we traced the history of Squanto, the plague which devastated the native population before and after the colonists arrived -- and the Puritans' gratitude to God for this "miraculous" development -- and Metacomet's (King Philip's) account of why he went to war.
HW due Thursday:
Finish the biography of Rowlandson on p. 38 of the textbook and the selections from her Narrative on pages 40-45. Students will be expected to provide details from the text to demonstrate that they have read the assigned pages.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, September 13
We read the section on Indian Relations from Chapter 11 of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, then addressed the questions assigned as homework: were the terms of the Puritans' treaty with the Wampanoag equally favorable to both sides? what does Bradford seem to think about the native population in general?
As part of the process we looked at certain students' papers (mostly from other classes) under the document camera and examined both their views and how well those views were expressed and supported.
HW due Thursday:
Read pp. 38-45 in the textbook (including a biography of Mary Rowlandson and selections from her Narrative of the Captivity).
We read the section on Indian Relations from Chapter 11 of William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, then addressed the questions assigned as homework: were the terms of the Puritans' treaty with the Wampanoag equally favorable to both sides? what does Bradford seem to think about the native population in general?
As part of the process we looked at certain students' papers (mostly from other classes) under the document camera and examined both their views and how well those views were expressed and supported.
HW due Thursday:
Read pp. 38-45 in the textbook (including a biography of Mary Rowlandson and selections from her Narrative of the Captivity).
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 12
Dr. P announced that he had located enough books for a class set and that students should therefore leave their textbooks (Elements of Literature, 5th Course) at home wherever they do their homework. We will use the classroom set in class.
We turned to the Puritans, starting with the cover of our textbook, based on the famous quotation from John Winthrop, "We shall be as a city on a hill." We discussed (reviewed) briefly who the Puritans were and why they came to the new world, and then began the selections in EOL from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, stressing how the Puritans saw God's Providence everywhere at work in the world.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pp. 126-133 in the textbook, then type a response to question #3 on p. 135.
Dr. P announced that he had located enough books for a class set and that students should therefore leave their textbooks (Elements of Literature, 5th Course) at home wherever they do their homework. We will use the classroom set in class.
We turned to the Puritans, starting with the cover of our textbook, based on the famous quotation from John Winthrop, "We shall be as a city on a hill." We discussed (reviewed) briefly who the Puritans were and why they came to the new world, and then began the selections in EOL from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, stressing how the Puritans saw God's Providence everywhere at work in the world.
HW due Tuesday:
Read pp. 126-133 in the textbook, then type a response to question #3 on p. 135.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday, September 9
Students turned in their Timelines of American History.
We returned to the ambivalence with which European-Americans have historically regarded Native Americans, using as illustrations the Pioneer Square totem pole, artifacts of the Makah Tribe, and the photographs of Edward S. and Asahel Curtis.
Students turned in their Timelines of American History.
We returned to the ambivalence with which European-Americans have historically regarded Native Americans, using as illustrations the Pioneer Square totem pole, artifacts of the Makah Tribe, and the photographs of Edward S. and Asahel Curtis.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday, September 8
We picked up on the theme of racial profiling in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto . . ." by listening to a short segment from a National Public Radio segment (from this morning) about counter-terrorist surveilance at the Mall of America in Minnesota, where statistics indicate that non-white minorities are subjected to questioning regarding "suspicious activities" ouut of all proportion to their numbers.
The perspective of those who "do not fit the profile of the country" (to quote Alexie's narrator) -- and specifically of Native Americans -- was localized through the history of the Pioneer Square totem pole pictured on the back wall of the classroom.
HW due Friday:
Timeline of American Literature. See yesterday's entry and Documents page.
We picked up on the theme of racial profiling in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto . . ." by listening to a short segment from a National Public Radio segment (from this morning) about counter-terrorist surveilance at the Mall of America in Minnesota, where statistics indicate that non-white minorities are subjected to questioning regarding "suspicious activities" ouut of all proportion to their numbers.
The perspective of those who "do not fit the profile of the country" (to quote Alexie's narrator) -- and specifically of Native Americans -- was localized through the history of the Pioneer Square totem pole pictured on the back wall of the classroom.
HW due Friday:
Timeline of American Literature. See yesterday's entry and Documents page.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wednesday, September 7
Students checked out copies of the textbook for the year (Elements of Literature, 5th Course), an anthology of American literature.
Students also received a copy of a 400-year timeline to which they are to add the names and dates of forty American authors, along with the name of one work by each.
We continued our discussion of "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven," and in some sections critiqued a further example of student writing about the story.
HW due Friday:
Complete the timeline (see Documents page).
Students checked out copies of the textbook for the year (Elements of Literature, 5th Course), an anthology of American literature.
Students also received a copy of a 400-year timeline to which they are to add the names and dates of forty American authors, along with the name of one work by each.
We continued our discussion of "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven," and in some sections critiqued a further example of student writing about the story.
HW due Friday:
Complete the timeline (see Documents page).
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday, September 2
We watched parts of an old episode of The Lone Ranger to clue students in on who the heck the Lone Ranger and Tonto are (were?) and what a violation of everything sacred it is to suggest that the two would ever fight, in heaven or elsewhere.
We returned to yesterday's Native American stories, read "The First Ship" aloud, and discussed why students felt it was outside the mould for stereotypical Indian tales. That it is historical rather than mythological was an important reason given in each class. Dr. P suggested that our preference for the mythological in Native culture reflects our inclination to relegate Indians to a distant, pre-industrial past for which we feel great nostalgia. The assigned story by Sherman Alexie will testify that Native Americans are still very much a part of our modern world.
HW due Tuesday:
Read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" closely, sensitively, and repeatedly and TYPE a solid paragraph or two of your best writing explaining why the story is named what it is. I am not looking for a single right answer. I want your ideas, well explained and supported with details from the text.
We watched parts of an old episode of The Lone Ranger to clue students in on who the heck the Lone Ranger and Tonto are (were?) and what a violation of everything sacred it is to suggest that the two would ever fight, in heaven or elsewhere.
We returned to yesterday's Native American stories, read "The First Ship" aloud, and discussed why students felt it was outside the mould for stereotypical Indian tales. That it is historical rather than mythological was an important reason given in each class. Dr. P suggested that our preference for the mythological in Native culture reflects our inclination to relegate Indians to a distant, pre-industrial past for which we feel great nostalgia. The assigned story by Sherman Alexie will testify that Native Americans are still very much a part of our modern world.
HW due Tuesday:
Read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" closely, sensitively, and repeatedly and TYPE a solid paragraph or two of your best writing explaining why the story is named what it is. I am not looking for a single right answer. I want your ideas, well explained and supported with details from the text.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Thursday, September 1
We compared the four Native American stories students read last evening, discussing which stories conformed most closely to our preconceptions of what such stories are like ("How Mosquitos Came to Be," "Raven,"); which conformed the least ("Iktome," "The First Ship"); and why. Students received copies of Sherman Alexie's short story "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven."
HW due Tuesday, Sept. 6:
Read the Alexie story closely, sensitively, and repeatedly and TYPE a solid paragraph or two of your best writing explaining why the story is named what it is. I am not looking for a single right answer. I want your ideas, well explained and supported with details from the text.
We compared the four Native American stories students read last evening, discussing which stories conformed most closely to our preconceptions of what such stories are like ("How Mosquitos Came to Be," "Raven,"); which conformed the least ("Iktome," "The First Ship"); and why. Students received copies of Sherman Alexie's short story "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven."
HW due Tuesday, Sept. 6:
Read the Alexie story closely, sensitively, and repeatedly and TYPE a solid paragraph or two of your best writing explaining why the story is named what it is. I am not looking for a single right answer. I want your ideas, well explained and supported with details from the text.
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