Captivity/Travel Narrative Project
Intructions for Paper
Travel and captivity narratives were among the most popular texts in the colonial era. They offered readers an opportunity to understand people, places, and cultures with which they were unfamiliar, and helped develop a distinct colonial outlook. For this project, students will select one captivity or travel narrative from a person who experienced colonial North America. Using that text along with additional secondary sources for context, each student will complete a research paper on the narrative. Additional details will follow early in the semester. Please look at the two attached files.
Course Syllabus
History 2401 – History of the United States, Age of Discovery-Present
Tuesday and Thursday, 1:20-2:45, Room 4316
Dr. Sara RzeszutekHaviland
shaviland@sfc.edu
Office: Room 7003
Office Hours: W, 12:00-1:45; Th, 11-1; 3-4, or by appointment
Course Description
This course examines the social, political, economic, and cultural developments in early American history. Beginning before Columbus made landfall in 1492, we will examine the interactions of Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans. We will follow their experiences with one another through the American Revolution and examine how the various groups responded to the creation of the United States of America. While we will explore the major political players in the period, we will emphasize the experiences of ordinary women and men of diverse racial, social, regional, and religious backgrounds. In addition, we will explore historiographical debates and seek to understand how historians access, interpret, and analyze early American history.
Texts
All texts are available at the St. Francis College bookstore. If you decide to purchase your texts online, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to select shipping that will get you the book in time to complete the assignments.
Camilla Townsend, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma
Jill Lepore, New York Burning
Additional readings will be posted on Canvas. If you have trouble accessing the files, it is your responsibility to get help in a computer lab and/or email me.
Goals and Objectives
Students who take this course will learn:
• The origins and experiences of those who contributed to shaping early American history.
• Key methods, ideas, and analytical frameworks for understanding the encounters among different groups in early America.
• How historiographical debates have approached early American history.
• Basic history research methods.
• Critical thinking and analytical writing skills for the discipline of history.
At the end of this class, students should be able to:
• Describe the first waves of migration to the Americas, with an emphasis on the development of native cultures and the relationship between humans and the environment.
• State the circumstances that led Europeans to explore and the benefits, drawbacks, and complexities of the process of exploration.
• Explain the causes and consequences the transatlantic slave trade, along with the expansion and regional development of slavery in the Americas.
• Identify patterns of settlement in the future United States, with an emphasis on point of origin, religion, and agriculture as factors that influenced community development.
• Analyze the relationship between Native Americans and newcomers.
• Compare and contrast the experiences of women in the Americas of different racial, ethnic, religious, and class backgrounds.
• Assess the significance of early patterns of expansion in establishing a distinct American identity.
• Explain the development of colonial politics, independence thought, and the emergence of what would become U.S. politics.
• Identify the causes of the American Revolution and describe the war itself.
• Interpret primary and secondary sources, and utilize both to create an analysis.
This course also meets the following outcomes for General Education:
SEH 3: Synthesize and critically reflect on the relationship between the individual and society and how societies are organized, using appropriate evidence-based methods of inquiry.
WHG 2: Demonstrate the ability to articulate differences and similarities across cultures.
WHG 3: Synthesize and balance information shaping social, cultural and individual identities.
Attendance Policy
Attendance Policy & Classroom Etiquette
Students are required to attend class. You should arrive on time and be ready to participate. Four or more unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. It is your responsibility to talk to me if you believe an absence meets the conditions for being excused. These conditions typically include documented illness, family emergencies, and participation in approved college activities. If you have a foreseeable absence, it is your responsibility to present it to me ahead of time. Every three late arrivals will count for one unexcused absence. If you arrive late it is your responsibility to check in at the end of class. Leaving class frequently or for large blocks of time will result in being marked absent as well.
Appropriate use of tablets, cell phones, and laptops in the classroom include note taking, looking up class material on Canvas or the class blog to reference in discussion, and using Internet services for looking up words or concepts when reading primary sources.
Inappropriate uses of these devices include texting, chatting, social network sites, games, and other non-class related activities. Be respectful: using these devices inappropriately distracts you, your classmates, and me, and I reserve the right to require you to put your device away.
Assignments and Grading
Participation 10% OF FINAL GRADE
This class includes discussion, and your engagement in the material during class sessions is essential to your success in this class. Small group work, large group discussion, and overall engagement in the material will be assessed.
Canvas Discussions 15% of final grade
Each week, students in this course are required to post a to a Canvas discussion. The class will be divided into three groups:
Last name A-G = Group 1
Last name H-M = Group 2
Last name N-Z = Group 3
When your group’s week is indicated on the syllabus, you are responsible beginning a discussion thread that addresses the question, “What is interesting about the assigned reading and why is it historically important?”
The other two groups that week are required to select a post and write a comment on it. Comments must be substantive and engage with the reading and the post you respond to in a concrete way.
The goal of this assignment is to generate conversation about the readings out of class as well as in class, to provide you with an opportunity to hone analytical writing skills, the skills to write for an audience, and the ability to write both clearly and succinctly, and to ensure that you are keeping up with the assigned reading. These skills will benefit you in this class and beyond, as this type of writing and critical engagement is in high demand. In addition, disseminating your views on a blog will enhance your digital literacy.
Questions will be due on Wednesdays and comments will be due on Friday. All discussions close at midnight each Friday.
Responses should be short. A well-constructed paragraph will do.
Book Analysis – SELECT ONE
Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, Due 2/9
New York Burning, Due 4/18 20% of Final Grade
Pocahontas
The true story of Pocahontas differs wildly from the common mythology about her life. In a 2-3 page essay, explore those differences and offer an argument on how both the mythology and the reality enhance one’s overall understanding of early colonial history. In other words, does the myth have value? Does knowing the reality change how you think about early American history? Why or why not?
New York Burning
Select a theme that interests you in Jill Lepore’s New York Burning and, in 2-3 pages, explain why that theme is historically important. How does an understanding of this theme enhance one’s overall understanding of the complex issues at play in colonial New York City?
Captivity/Travel Narrative Project, Due 4/27 30% of Final Grade
Travel and captivity narratives were among the most popular texts in the colonial era. They offered readers an opportunity to understand people, places, and cultures with which they were unfamiliar, and helped develop a distinct colonial outlook. For this project, students will select one captivity or travel narrative from a person who experienced colonial North America. Using that text along with additional secondary sources for context, each student will complete a research paper on the narrative. Additional details will follow early in the semester.
Final Essay Exam 25% of Final Grade
An essay exam will take place at the end of the semester. It will be comprehensive, covering themes from the entire course, and the questions will be made available to you ahead of time.
Grade Scale
A Outstanding 100-94 percent
A- Excellent 90-93 percent
B+ Very good 89-87 percent
B Good 86-84 percent
B- Strong 80-83 percent
C+ Above Average 79-77 percent
C Average 76-74 percent
C- Below Average but acceptable 70-73 percent
D Poor 70-60 percent
F Failing below 60 percent
Students will receive periodic grade reports from me over the course of the semester. It is your responsibility to confirm the accuracy of the report and get in touch with me if you have any questions. I will not make any grade changes after the semester is over unless there is an extenuating circumstance.
Plagiarism Policy: When you use the words or ideas of other scholars, authors, or students in your written work without giving them appropriate credit in your citations, you are committing plagiarism. A sheet offering examples of appropriate and inappropriate usage is attached to the end of this syllabus. Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and will result in a failing grade on the assignment. In the event of severe plagiarism cases or repeated plagiarism, your case will be presented for formal inquiry to the Committee on Academic Integrity.
If you have any questions or are confused in any way about what constitutes plagiarism, please discuss it with me. I am more than willing to address any question you may have, but I will not grade plagiarized work.
Syllabus Statement:
St. Francis College is committed to a policy of ensuring that no individual with a disability is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in college programs or activities due to his or her disability. The college has resources and procedures in place to ensure that students with disabilities have full access to our academic programs and facilities. Any student interested in obtaining academic accommodations should contact Dr. Jose Rodriquez, Dean of Students (718) 489-5315 or jrodriquez2300@sfc.edu.
COURSE SCHEDULE –PLEASE BRING YOUR BOOKS TO CLASS WITH YOU
1/19 – Introduction
1/24 – Pre-Contact North America and Early Encounters – Group 1
Reading: Selections from Alfred Crosby, ON CANVAS
1/26 – Colonial Beginnings
Reading: Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma Introduction & Chapter 1
1/31 – Native Women and Colonial Settlers – Group 2
Reading: Pocahontas, Ch 2-3
2/2 – DISCUSSION
Readings: Pocahontas, ch 4-5
2/7 – Daily Life in Colonial America – Group 3
Readings: Pocahontas, ch 6-7
2/9 – Diversity in Colonial America
Readings: Pocahontas, ch 8-9
2/14 – Introduction to Transatlantic Slavery
No New Readings; Pocahontas paper due!
2/16 – Discussion
Reading: Robert Harms, The Diligent: A Voyage through the Worlds of the Slave Trade, part 10. ON CANVAS
2/21 – Slavery in New York – Group 1
Readings: Selections from New York Historical Society website, links to be provided.
2/23 – Colonial Slavery
Readings: Selections from Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone ON CANVAS
2/28 – Race, Gender, and Culture – Group 2
Readings: Jill Lepore, “John Sassamon between Two Cultures” and Jane Kamensky, “Outspoken Women and Witchcraft Accusations.” ON CANVAS
3/2 – In Class Research Research Workshop
3/7 – Religion in the Colonies – Group 3
Readings: Lepore, Intro & Chapter 1
3/9 – The Great Awakening and Colonial Culture
Readings: Lepore, 2
3/21 – Colonial New York – Group 1
Readings: Lepore, 3
3/23 – Discussion
No New Reading: Catch Up!
3/28 – Colonies and the West – Group 2
Readings: Lepore, 4
3/30 – Shifting Politics
Readings: Lepore, 5
4/4 – Regional Development in the Colonies – Group 3
Readings: Lepore, 6
4/6 – Discussion
Readings: Lepore, 7
4/11 – The Coming Revolution – Group 1
Readings: Kate Haulman, “A Short History of the High Roll,” ON CANVAS
4/18 – Revolutionary Ideology
No New Readings, Lepore paper due!
4/20 – Revolution – Group 2
Readings: TBA – Posted to Canvas
4/25 – Revolution, continued – Group 3
Readings: TBA – Posted to Canvas
4/27 – Course Wrap Up
Research Paper Due
PLAGIARISM GUIDE
Examples of acceptable use of source material and unacceptable uses of source material. Use these as guidelines to avoid plagiarism.
From Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era, New York: Basic Books, 1988, 151.
“Postwar policies fostered the construction of the vast majority of new housing in the suburbs. Housing starts went from 114,000 in 1944 to an all-time high of 1,692,000 in 1950. The cold war made a profound contribution to suburban sprawl.”
Acceptable ways to use this material:
As Elaine Tyler May illustrates, suburban sprawl increased in the postwar era, as government policies allowed for rapid construction of new suburban housing (May, 151).
Elaine Tyler May states that, “Postwar policies fostered the construction of the vast majority of new housing in the suburbs.” She points out that new housing constructions increased from 114,000 in 1944 to 1,692,000 in 1950.[1]
You may also use the entire quote encompassed by quotations in the body of the text, followed either by a parenthetical or a footnote.
All essays must have a bibliography or works cited page.
Unacceptable uses of this material:
Copying any of the words or phrases in their entirety without quotation marks AND citations.
Policies after the war led to the building of the large majority of new homes in suburban areas. New housing constructions grew from 114,000 in 1944 to the highest number ever, 1,692,000 in 1950. This was part of the cold war’s contribution to the sprawling suburbs. (WITH NO CITATION THIS WOULD BE PLAGIARISM)
HISTORY ESSAYS USE THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE FOR CITATION.
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Follow the link for a quick reference guide.
[1] Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (New York: Basic Books, 1998), 151.
HIS 2401
CAPTIVITY/TRAVEL NARRATIVE RESEARCH PAPER
For your research paper, you will select one of the following travel/captivity narratives, read it, and analyze it. Write a paper that explores a question that arises from your reading of the text. 5-7 pages.
You might frame your questions along the following lines:
What was the motivation for writing this specific narrative, and how did that motivation shape the story?
How can we understand the experience of encountering and learning another culture through this narrative?
What does the narrative reveal about cultural ideas about race, gender, religion, etc.?
Can we trust the narrative? If so, how do we know? If not, what does it reveal in spite of its particular flawed lens?
And so on.
Your essay should offer an argument, and you are required to consult a minimum of two peer-reviewed secondary sources to provide context and background information.
Book options. I strongly recommend that you start reading your selection soon, as it will take you some time to acclimate yourself to the prose of the period.
~Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together, with the Faithfulness of his Promises Displayed Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/851/851-h/851-h.htm
~John Williams, The Redeemed Captive (1704)
https://archive.org/details/redeemedcaptive01willgoog
The Narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
https://archive.org/details/narrativealvarnupnnez00nbudrich
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm
The Journals of Madam Knight, by Sarah Kemball Knight
https://archive.org/details/journalsofmadamk00knig
