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The Americas: Narratives of Formation
Housekeeping:
- Syllabus Quiz
- Roster Pages
Agenda:
Thomas Cole. "The Four Elements."
A Note on History...
Someone told me: "There's his story, her story, and then there's the truth." I think that's true whether you're trying to sort out an argument between toddlers or American history. This class is about learning to hear and understand all the stories!
Lecture:
Discussion Questions
What are the ISSUES that Dr. Pattel announced in his lecture?
- What is heterogeneity?
- What is xenophobia?
- What is literature?
- ANY WRITTEN WORDS.
- How do we STUDY something as LITERATURE?
- What does he say about literature and race?
- How does the term AMERICAN signify inclusion AND exclusion?
The Iroquois (/ˈɪrəkwɔɪ/ or /ˈɪrəkwɑː/), also known as the Haudenosaunee /ˈhoʊdənɵˈʃoʊni/, are a historically powerful and important northeast Native American confederacy (although the term "Iroquois" actually refers to a shared language, not a people group). They were known during the colonial years to the French as the "Iroquois League" and later as the "Iroquois Confederacy", and to the English as the "Five Nations" (before 1722) and later as the "Six Nations", comprising the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. The Iroquois have absorbed many other peoples into their cultures as a result of warfare, adoption of captives, and by offering shelter to displaced nations.
The historic Erie and Wyandot, both independent peoples, also spoke Iroquoian languages and, in the larger sense, are often considered Iroquoian peoples because of their similar languages and cultures.[1]
In 2010, more than 45,000 enrolled Six Nations people lived in Canada, and about 80,000 in the United States.
Discussion Questions:
- Who wrote this legend?
- Can someone summarize the Iroquois creation legend in three sentences?
- What stood out to you about the legend?
- What does the legend tell us about Iroquois identity?
This story is not attributed to any author, but the reason many Iroquois stories have been preserved is that David Cusick, a man who belonged to the Iroquois nation in New York, began writing these myths down. Cusick's father had been an important ally for the U.S. during the Revolutionary War. Cusick was a Christian, educated by missionaries in the area, and he became a physician and an artist.
Group Work:
Break into groups and discuss how you would present this story as a film? What actors would you use? Would it be a animated film? What technical choices would you make? How would these choices convey the central message of the legend? Write your answers in the comment box below.
Doing a Close Reading:
- Identify a few major themes or ideas here.
- Let's trace ONE:
- Count the number of times that talking or speaking appears in the myth.
- Now jot down something significant about each time that word occurs.
- WHAT PATTERNS DO YOU NOTICE? WHAT OVERARCHING MEANING CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM THESE PATTERNS?
- THAT is close reading.
Discussion Questions:
- Can someone summarize the legend in three sentences or less?
- What stood out to you about the legend?
- What does the legend tell us about Iroquois identity?
- How is language a part of Iroquois identity in this legend?
- What does this tell us about gender construction in Iroquois culture?
- What does the dog have to do with the narrative?
During the 1800s (nineteenth century), folklorists tried to identify non-Western cultures with women and female leaders to explain European Imperialism as a masculine triumph. Do stories like this support the idea that non-Western cultures were dominated by females?
Was Godasiyo a historical chief or a mythic one? What is the difference between myth and history? Why is this important?
The texts we've been reading discussing today are primary texts. This is a secondary texts. What's the difference?
Primary texts are original texts, creative works, relics, or artifacts. By contrast, secondary texts are ABOUT primary texts. See "Primary vs Secondary Sources."
Group Work:
Break into groups and discuss Neil White's interpretation of the early encounters between Native Americans and Europeans. What are his main points? What evidence does he use to support these points? Write your answers in the comment box below.
Now that we've practiced close reading in class, what does the term "close reading" mean to you? Break into group and compare your personal definition of "close reading" with the one created by Harvard's Writing Lab.
List three strategies that you could use to do close reading in the future.
Looking Ahead
This combination of primary and secondary texts is a model for the combination of texts we will be exploring throughout the year (and using for the final paper).
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