Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.
Roger Williams University
Office Hours  M, T, Th, F, 9:00-10:00
Feinstein 111
(401) 254 3230
American Studies 335
New England
Fall Semester
2000
General Information about the course can be found by clicking on The Syllabus button, above.  The Semester Calendar button will take you to a calendar of readings for the course.  Underlined readings are links to additional required or optional readings.  The Calendar will be updated regularly as the course continues to develop.  Remind yourself to check it frequently.

A Word or Two About the Units.

Unit One will focus on the geography and resources of New England as discovered and exploited by the early colonists.  We'll be using two primary sources, one of which will be purchased at the University Bookstore, and the other of which will be taken off the internet.  William Wood's New England Prospect (the text to be purchased) was written by a settler arriving in the early years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Mourt's Relation, the internet source was written by members of the Plymouth Colony a few years earlier.  Your paper for this unit will ask you to compare aspects of those two accounts.

Unit One Begins September 8, 2000, and should conclude with a paper due September 25.  Click on the Unit One button to find study notes and specific reading assignmens.

Unit Two will focus on the relationship between the geography of New England and the settlement pattern evoked by that geography.  It will commence on September 25.  The Calendar for this unit is still under construction.  The principal source for this unit is The New England Village by Joseph S. Wood.  When ready, study notes will be found by clicking on the Unit Two button.

Unit Three will explore the social relationships which developed in the village and small town culture presented in Unit Two.  The principal source for this unit will be the book, A Very Social Time, by Karen V. Hansen.  When ready, study notes will be found by clicking on the Unit Three button.

Unit Four will explore the stage upon which those social relationships were enacted:  the New England House.  The principal source for this unit will be the book,  Our Own Snug Fireside, by Jane C. Nylander.  When ready, study notes will be found by clicking on the Unit Four button.

Unit Five will present a selection of New Englanders, historic and contemporary, and will afford opportunities for class members to conduce further research on persons of special interest to them.  When ready, study notes will be found by clicking on the Unit Five button.  Our principal source for this unit will be the book, In the Memory House, by Howard Mansfield.  Potential research topics can be found by clicking on the Famous New Englanders Button.