Part One: Encounter and Colonization

Wed., Sept 2 Introduction

Fri., Sept. 4 The Atlantic World, ca. 1450

Mon., Sept. 7 The European Invasion of America

• Recommended Web Sites:
  • The 1492 Exhibit at the Library of Congress
    
  • Columbus and the Age of Discovery
    

Wed., Sept. 9 Discussion Sections

• Required Reading:
  • Favata and Fernandez, eds., The Account: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion, entire
    
  • David E. Stannard, "Genocide in the Americas" (on reserve)
    
  • James Axtell, "Moral Reflections on the Columbian Legacy" (on reserve)
    
  • Boyer, Enduring Vision, ch. 1-2
    
• Questions: Why did Europeans come to America initially? How did they react to Native Americans, and how did Native Americans react to them? How should we judge the results of these early encounters? Were Europeans morally responsible for the destruction of Native American societies?
• Noon or Evening: Black Robe (video)

Fri., Sept. 11 Bust, Boom, Bondage and Rebellion in Virginia

• Recommended Web Site: APVA Jamestown Rediscovery Project

Mon., Sept. 14 The Puritans' Quest for Utopia in New England

• Recommended Web Site: A Virtual Tour of Plimoth Plantation

Wed., Sept. 16 Discussion Sections

• Required Reading:
  
  • Demos, Unredeemed Captive, 3-213
    
  • Boyer, Enduring Vision, ch. 3
    
• Questions: What does Demos's account reveal about the world views of New England Puritans, on the one hand, and Kahnawake Indians, on the other hand, in the early eighteenth century? What cultural values mattered most to each group? To what extent were the two groups' value systems reconcilable? incompatible? What was the historical significance of Eunice Williams's decision not to return to Anglo-American society?

Fri., Sept. 18 Africanization and Anglicization

Distribution of First Paper Assignment

Mon., Sept. 21 Americanization, Great Awakening and Global War

Recommended Web Site: 1755: The French and Indian War Homepage

Wed., Sept. 23 Discussion Sections

• Required Reading:
  
  • Sobel, The World They Made Together, 3-99, 171-203, 214-229
    
  • Boyer, Enduring Vision, ch. 4
    
• Questions: What is Sobel's central thesis? What evidence does she provide to support it? Do you find her interpretation persuasive? If so, what are the implications for your general understanding of American history? If not, what do think are the major problems with Sobel's analysis?

Fri., Sept. 25 Imperial Crisis