American Studies 335
New England
Roger Williams University
CAS 228
M, W. &  F  11:00-12:00
Fall Semester, 2008
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Office:  CAS 110
Hours: M, F,   9:00-10:00
T, Th 11:--12:30 or by appointment
Phone:  254 3230
E-mail:  amst335@gmail.com
The Week's Work
Download and Read
Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth .Part I.
Caleb Johnson is a descendant of the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower, and he has provided a mammoth website of materials related to the first New England Settlement.  He describes Mourt’s Relation as “This journal, written by several Pilgrims--namely William Bradford and Edward Winslow--records events at Plymouth from the Mayflower's arrival in November 1620 through the First Thanksgiving in October 1621, and everything in between” You will need to download all sections of this text eventually, so why not do them all now?
For Monday, September 8
News Flash!!

A version of New England's Prospect is now available online courtesy of Google Books.  (Google does everything, doesn't it?)  The version is the version published by the Prince Society in 1865, which is a facsimile of the original publication.  Take a look at it, and enjoy it for the old style printing and spelling, as well as for the woodcuts which decorate it.  You'll see what a favor Dr. Vaughan has done for you.  I'd be curious whether you're recommend relying on this version in future offerings of the course, or whether I should continue using the Vaughn edition.  What do you think?
For Wednesday, September 10
ADDITIONAL Internet work.

If you haven’t downloaded and installed Google Earth on your computer
do so now.  Find it at http://earth.google.com/  You might also consider
joining a user’s group you'll find by clicking here.

Also go to Windows Live Local and bookmark it.  You’ll have
occasion to play around with both of these programs during
the semester.

Download Google Earth Here
Windows Live Local
Read, in Wood, Part I, Chapters 10-12, pp. 57-74
Note here the number of "plantations" Wood mentions. This will become significant as you begin to investigate town formation in early New England in the next unit of the course.   In fact, why not make a list of them.  (Lists help focus the mind).
From the Internet, visit http://www.norcrossws.org/norcross.htm

Read, in Wood, Part II, Chapters 1-9, pp. 75-97,

Download and Read, from the Internet,
Mourt's Relation, parts II and III. .
Following his discussion of flora and fauna, Wood turns his attention to the indigenous Native American Population. Much of the material in Mourt's Relation also concerns contact with Native Americans.


The Plymouth Gentian

An internet resource for indigenous ethno-technology focusing on the arts of Eastern Woodland Indian Peoples, providing historical & contemporary background with instructional how-to's & references
The rather difficult to read button above highlights an idea we need to keep in mind.  Commonly we think of the Europeans as being posessors of "technology" while the Native Americans were not.  Both communities had technology of a sort, and many of the techniques used by Native Americans were more appropriate to New England than the technologies of the English colonists.  Click on the button above and visit NativeTech.org.  Investigate some of the ways Native Americans used the natural resources of their region.  Some of these were adopted by Europeans, some not.  The narrations in Mourt's Relation may offer some insight as to why more Native American technology wasn't adopted.
For Friday, September 12
Medford, MA, 1830  Click for a larger view.