Writing Assignments

During the term you will be responsible for reading and critiquing two articles. The texts that you may consider for review are listed below. Your first review is due by October 1; your second review is due by November 24. Your critiques should be no more than 350 words each and should focus on the main theme of the reading under consideration.

Directions:
Your critiques should be written in the form of a précis. A précis is an abstract or concise summary of a text. It has two primary aims:

1) to describe the goal of the text in question (what is the author trying to convince you of?)
2) to summarize the ARGUMENT which the author uses to convince you of his/her point

In terms of Content:
You should get to the HEART of the matter quickly. In the beginning focus on the main point or the most important point. Once you've told the reader the goal of the text, tell the reader how the author achieves the goal. What is the argument s/he uses? What evidence does the author draw upon to make the case a strong one?

In terms of Style:
You must type your essays, which should be no more than 350 words each. They should be written in full sentences, and they ought to be grammatically and structurally sound. In other words, proofread your essays. They should be free of both spelling and grammar errors.

Review Assignment I: Available Readings

* William Cronon, "Seasons of Want and Plenty" [online]

* John Kicza, "The Native Societies of the Americas Before Contact" from Resilient Cultures: American's Native Peoples Confront European Colonization [library]

* Catherine Albanese, "American Indians' Nature Religion" from MPARH [library]

* Felipe Fernández-Armesto, "Columbus Hero or Villain" [online]

* Helen Wallis, "What Columbus Knew" from History Today [online]

* Pauline Moffitt Watts, "Prophecy and Discovery: On the Spiritual Origins of Christopher Columbus's 'Enterprise of the Indies'" [online pdf]

* Sepulveda v. Las Casas [online]

* Edmund Morgan, "Slavery and Freedom: The American Paradox" [online pdf]

* Perry Miller, The Puritans' "Errand into the Wilderness" [online]

* Philip J. Greven, Jr, "Family Structure in 17th-Century Andover, Mass." [library]

* James P. Ronda, "Indians' Views of Christian Missionaries" from MPARH [library]

* Elizabeth Reiss, "The Devil, the Body, and the Feminine Soul in New England" [online]

* Virginia DeJohn Anderson, "King Philip's Herds" [online]

* Mary K. Geiter, The Restoration Crisis and the Launching of Pennsylvania, 1679-81, English Historical Review, Vol. 112, No. 446, pp. 300-318 [library]

* Ira Berlin, "Time, Space, and the Evolution of Afro-America Society" [online pdf]

Review Assignment II: Available Readings

* Jack P. Greene ""Origins of the American Revolution: A Constitutional Interpretation" from Understanding the American Revolution: Issues and Actors [online]

* Gordon Wood, "Republicanism" from The Creation of the American Republic [online]

* William W. Freehling, "The Founding Fathers and Slavery" [online]

* Bernard Bailyn, "Fulfillment" from Ideological Origins [library]

* Joyce Appleby, "Capitalism and the Rise of the Republican Opposition," [online]

* Drew McCoy "Jefferson and the Empire of Liberty" [online]

* Lucia Stanton "The Other End of the Telescope: Jefferson through the Eyes of His Slaves" [online pdf ]

* Joseph Ellis "Jefferson: Post-DNA" [online pdf ]

* Annette Gordon-Reed "Jefferson: Blacks and the Founding Father" [online pdf]

* Roger Brown, "The War of 1812 and the Struggle for Political Permanency" [online]

* James H. Merrill, "The Indians' New World: The Catawba Experience" [online pdf]

* Jacqueline Jones, "Black Women, Work, and the Family Under Slavery" [library]

* James McPherson, "The Differences between the North and South" [online]

* Articles to be added on the Civil War