Thanks for your feedback on the course thus far. I’ll offer some thoughts and clarifications on Wednesday. Since class doesn’t meet on Monday, bloggers for both Monday and Wednesday should plan to respond to Winthrop by Tuesday night. Please read my comments on your earlier blogs and let me know if you have questions about my feedback.
We’re fast-forwarding nearly ninety years from Cabeza de Vaca’s Relacion (1542) to Winthrop’s sermon (1630). Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity” has so profoundly impacted American thought that Ronald Reagan alluded to it in his farewell speech and John McCain invoked it during his most recent presidential campaign. It’s a rich and challenging text, so give yourself time to read it at least twice.
Wed bloggers: Brett, Kelly, Ivana, Justin, Carroyl, Jess, Steph, Michele, Melissa, Cody, Matt I., Matt G., Zach, Tyler, Chelsea, Shannon
Questions to consider:
- What metaphors do you find in this sermon, and how do they help you understand the Puritans’ goals for their new community?
- What evidence do you find of Winthrop’s understanding of social class? How does this compare with your own opinions about wealth and poverty in the U.S.?
- What examples of the five points of Calvinism do you see?
- How might a sermon be understood as a literary text? What makes a sermon different from other narratives, and what stylistic examples do you see in Winthrop’s sermon that differ from the other texts we’ve read so far?
- What mythological elements might we find in Winthrop’s sermon? What does the sermon contribute to our historical understanding of the Colonial period? Let’s keep in mind that these big-picture questions about how each author fits into the intertextual conversation about American history and identity will always be a way to respond meaningfully to our readings this term.
An excerpt of Reagan’s farewell speech:
An excerpt of one of John McCain’s 2008 speeches:
