Return to Course

Housekeeping:

• Take the Fourth Week Survey before class today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H2C6PZP. 
• Email Etiquette 

Agenda:

Email Etiquette 

Emails are an important part of discourse communities. In college and the professional world, always start with FORMAL emails. Emails should begin with "Dear Professor..., and end with your name (and any contact information that the professor needs). 

"Native Americans and Europeans - Early Encounters"  

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.

American Encounters

In "Native Americans and Europeans: Early Encounters in the Caribbean," White describes the multifaceted collision of cultures that occurred throughout the world. What are some of the collisions he identifies?

American Cultural Collisions:

• Military
• Political
• Religious
• Economic 

I think we often emphasize the military clashes without recognizing that war was only one of the many ways different groups of people were colliding and changing each other.

Group Work: Close Readings

Break into groups and discuss your reactions to this viseral description of war. THEN talk about one or two things that you noticed beyond the battle itself. For example, how is religion used by Underhill? What does this show us about Underhill's feelings?

War and Trauma

The description of the attack at Pequot Fort begins with distant, relatively objective language about military maneuvers (52-53). Once the attack becomes close range - once Underhill is engaging in close combat with the Pequot - the tone and the language changes. First Underhill becomes defensive (53-54) about his position and actions as an officer (I did not ask my men their opinions). He distances himself from those around him. Then we see Underhill becoming conflicted over the loss of life - both English and Pequot. Underhill becomes increasing concerned with the people he is killing, identifying them not just as warriors but also as women and children.

Beneath the brutality of this encounter, what can we learn? Why would Underhill WRITE this? He could have left things out or changed things (and he probably did) - why did he include everything here? What does this do for Underhill? What does this say about the nature of encounters in the Americas? 

Making Connections. 

White points out the fact that Europeans typically show more respect for Amerindian groups whose political structures resemble those in Europe (i.e. a monarchy or oligarchy, not democratic and theocratic societies). Why do you think this would be? How do we see that idea working in Underhill's account? 

War and Religion:

War and violence are traditionally tied to spiritual beliefs and practices, even though these things seem antithetical. War is a place where MANY people (at the same time) confront the reality of life and death and have to come to terms with it. Throughout history, many groups took their deities or representations of those deities to war with them. In the United States, soldiers carried saints' medallions and Bibles into battle.

Underhill uses religion in several places in this account. Underhill's conception of the Divine is probably not the same as anyone in this room (The Antinomians are not an active sect, like the Puritans. Although some people still talk about antinomianism in Christianity and other religions -just as they talk about puritanism- it is discussed as a trend not as a sect or self-identifying sect that I could find). So let's look at Underhill's use of religion as objectively as possible. What is religion DOING here? How does it work in the narrative? How does it work for the author. Break into groups and discuss it for 10 minutes.  

Religion as Rhetoric

Look at the allusions to God or the Bible in Bradford's text. How do his religious beliefs function as a rhetorical device in this argument. Does the rhetorical use of something (like religion) negate the spiritual/political/social truth of it?

Rhetorical Strategies:

Rhetorical strategies are argumentative approaches that you've used your entire life (we're just naming things you already recognize).

Ethos: appeal to authority or values (ethics)

• This could be celebrity appeal (the authority of a well now individual). 
• This could be an appeal to shared values, such as shared national pride (nationalism)
• This could also be moralistic or religious in nature (the authority of a shared moral/religious belief)  

Pathos: appeal to emotion

• This could be anything that excites emotions (either positive or negative).
• For example, the ad that makes you feel insecure about your body image is appeal to your emotions (it generates insecurity and anxiety).  

Logos: appeal to rationality or reason (logic)

• This is anything that (appears to be) logical or rational.
• Logos often includes statistics, numbers and quantifiable data. 
• Logos and ethos often collide (the rational data is presented by someone who appears to have the credentials to make those claims). 

Sex Appeal

• Sex appeal uses sexuality to persuade the audience.  

More links for rhetorical appeals:

• Writing Commons Rhetorical Appeals
• Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (Greek Roots) 
• Purdue OWL 

Pursuing American Spirituality Further:

Here are some other great sources for early American Christian writing. How do these compare with Underhill? With Rowlandson?

• A History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
• "A Model of Christian Charity" by John Winthrop
• Sermons of Jonathan Edwards 

More Research in Early Encounters:

• Westford Knight - this is often listed as pseudo-archeology. What do you think about it? Why would people want to create something like this? 
• The Westward Knight and Henry Sinclair