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
For Monday, October 20

Read, in Wood,
Chapter 6, "The Settlement Ideal", pp. 135-160


Link to Slide-Show of Concord, MA.
Link to a sliide-show of other views of Litchfield.
Litchfield, Connecticut (Left) and Concord, Massachusetts (below) are iconic images of New England today.  Both are considered "colonial" in the minds of Americans, and visitors from overseas, but the images one sees in the town centers of each are late 19th century, buildings and landscapes alike.  Click on the images to study slide-shows of each town.  We'll look at them in class, as well.
For Wednesday, October 22
“Tradition and history are not the same concepts. Traditions are conventions that evolve. Traditions are the pasts we make in the present. The New England tradition of large colonial houses encircling town commons to form puritan villages was invented in the nineteenth century and Michael Steinitz and I here employ a four stage model to explain how."
Read, in Wood,

Chapter 7.  "A World We Have Gained."  pp.  161- 180
Above, views of a place many of you are coming to know quite well.  They link to the panoramic map from which I extracted them.  We'll take some time to  view these in class, as well, and perhaps also see what's changed, using one of our modern tools.  Is this a vernacular landscape?  Traditional?  Historical?
For Friday, October 22  Treasure Hunting and Planning
We're entering into a transition here.  I don't really want to start a new book on a Friday, but perhaps I'll take a minute or two to re-introduce it to you all.  Bring Hansen with, in case I decide to thumb through it a bit.

Beyond waving Hansen under your noses, what I plan to do is divide the period in rough halves:  We'll peruse the treasures you've been finding, and we'll talk a little more about the project.  For those of you who are working in groups, I'd like you to be ready to give a very rough sense of what town-related project you're going to do.  For example, if you're going to analyze a town from multiple perspectives, I'd like to have you ready to claim a town for your own.  If you're going to look at some comparative element of town life (say churches, schools, or other civic buildings, or civic space like the a town square,  I'd like to have a sense of which institution you're going to examine.

For those of you working as individuals, the same ideas apply.  If you wish to work on one town, which one (and perhaps which aspect of that town if you want to specialize in greater detail)  If you are interested in some institution, which one, and which place(s) will you compare?

You don't have to have a finished idea...but do bring some preliminary thoughts to share with everyone.