There are some important concepts here, though there are not a lot of pages to consider. Wood’s general thesis is contained on pp. 3-5, commencing with the paragraph which begins "the story". It is important to note how Wood interprets the creation of the "Village Myth". The idealized village which features in popular art is a conscious creation of later times (including ours), and not the historic “real thing”. You may need to consider what a myth is, to get the full impact of what Wood is trying to say. A myth is sometimes called an "operant truth"--something which is not objectively true, but we act upon it as it it was true. (If you follow the link, scroll down to the American Heritage Dictionary definition, meanings 3 and 4. They're closest to what Wood and I mean
My guess is that most if not all of you will be encountering your first cultural geography book in Wood’s monograph. It shouldn’t cause you too much trouble. The language is modern (which should come as a relief), it is illustrated (and the illustrations are important), and the terminology is not too technical, though it may take some getting used to, in the beginning. So will the types of charts and maps Wood uses. You will need to have your text with you each and every class! Starting with this one. I want to introduce some of the kinds of maps Wood uses, and I can’t do that unless you have examples in front of your nose. (You're also going to have fun watching me try to learn to use the document reader.)
The Scrolling Image above shows four views of Old Saybrook, Connecticut: One from Google Earth, one historic topographical map from the 19th century, one contemporary topographical map, and one hybrid.The question to think about is why would settlers choose Old Saybrook as a location for their town? All come from the websites I uploaded to External Links on Blackboard.The answer lies in the picture below. Click on it to find out what the colonists were looking for, and then figure out why.
Read, in Joseph Wood, The New England Village,
Notes on Reading.
Chapter 1, The Colonial Encounter With the Land. 9 - 37
This chapter is longer than most of Wood's chapters, so give yourself ample time to absorb it. We will probably spend today and Friday discussing some of the ideas in it. There are a number of concepts to acquaint yourselves with, including "Cultural Ecology" (p. 10), the land types mentioned (intervale, marsh zones, meadow zones, etc.), eras.
There are a lot of illustrations in this chapter, which of course means there is less text. Don't let this put you too much at ease: they need careful study,..especially the types with which you are less familiar. You will find it helpful to use the photographs in conjunction with the topographic maps, as these will help you translate the map symbols. Make sure you understand what an "Isochronic Map" is (p. 35). understanding the prefix "iso" will help, and this will also make the topographic maps easier to understand.
Wood continues his general practice of stating his chapter thesis at the outset of the chapter (pp. 10-12). Check your understanding of it by seeing if you can paraphrase it in your own words.
For Wednesday, September 28
For Monday, September 26
The section "Shaping New England's Cultural Geography" to the end of the chapter (p. 37 and following), Begin the process of knitting our understanding of the land and the people together. There is nothing particularly difficult about this section, but besure you understand the distinction between "nucleated" and "dispersed" systems of settlement. Understand, too, the concept of "settlement by replication", and the reason(s) why it became the principal process of development of New England throughout the colonial and early national periods.
What I'd also like you to do is find additional illustrations of similar areas online. For example, the two images of Woodbury CT (see Wood, p. 31) above are from PanoramioThe red marker shows the approximate place the picture on the left was taken.
Flickr is another good place to prowl. Above is a picture of part of Sudbury Massachusetts, which illustrates some of the principles Wood is presenting us.
For Friday, September 30
Read, in Joseph Wood, The New England Village,
Chapter 1, The Colonial Encounter With the Land. pp. 37 - 51
Notes on Reading.
Hampton, NH. "Hampton is the exception that proves the rule. Abundant salt marsh supported large numbers of cattle but not sites for farmsteads. Residents retained nucleated agricultural settlement into the nineteenth Century" (J Wood, p. 48)
Introduction: “As a City upon a Hill”. pp. 1 - 8
