Survey of American Literature I

1
Survey of American Literature I

• from the beginning to 1870
• DR. ETTA MADDEN

2
Questions?

• Syllabus?
• Responses?
• Abstracts?

3
Introductions

• Major?
• Minor?
• Lit courses?
• Writing courses?
• Why this course?
• Desire to accomplish?
• Pretest results?

4
Summary

• Class composition
• Pretest results
• Facts vs. Ideas
• Why American literature?

5
Literature

• Beautifully or interestingly written material
• Contains universal truth
• Elevates understanding of human condition

6
Literature

• Is reflection of culture
• Contributes to creation of culture
• Culture
• Ways of being, co-existing, understanding life

7
Beginnings Beliefs and Texts

• Genesis Exodus
• The Geneva Bible (1560)
• Creation Emergence Accounts
• ? How does its visual appearance make you feel?
  Why?

8
Beginnings Beliefs and Texts

• Genesis Exodus
• ? Content
• ? What does the creation emergence story tell
  you?

9
Knowledge Authority

• Sources of knowledge
• How do we know what we know?
• Authority Figures
• Whom do we trust, obey, respect? Why?

10

• Both appearance and content tell us something
  about
• Authority figures
• Reading practices
• Gender roles
• Attitudes toward Nature or Natural World
• Clans/Nations/Cultures
• Laws

11
Key Dates

• Printing Press, Gutenberg, 1439
• The Bible, 1456
• Columbus, 1492
• Luthers Theses and Excommunication, 1517 and
  1520
• Geneva Bible, 1560

12

• Direct Reading and Protestantism
• ? the Bible in the hands of the people
• ? priesthood of all believers
• ? primary and secondary texts
• The Age of Exploration
• ? literal placement of Garden of
  Eden
• ? reading the Bible as factual
  history rather than myth

13
Myth?

• Widely held belief that provides meaning and
  understanding for a culture
• No use of true or not true in definition
• Example The Literacy Myth

14
Literacy Myth

• Literacy contributes to success progress of
  individual culture
• True or not true?
• Our culture upholds it

15
The Literacy Myth

• Literacy contributes to success progress of
  individual culture
• Challenges
• What is literacy?
• Functional literacy vs. critical literacy
• What is success?
• Financial, spiritual, emotional, physical,
  intellectual
• What is progress?
• Buildings, bridges, roads, computers

16
The Literacy Myth the culture of the Geneva
Bible

• How has our understanding of the production
  function of this text changed?
• What does it say of functional critical
  literacy?
• Authority figures?
• Ways of reading?
• Sources of knowledge?

17
Next time

• Responses groups 2 3
• Zuni creation account
• Compare Zuni account to Geneva account
• Use intro to help
• How do appearance content make you feel why?

18
Next time

• Columbuss journals
• Who are his authority figures?
• What are his sources of knowledge?
• How does his writing reflect the Geneva Bible?
• Would you want to be at a party with him? Why?