To this point in our course, we have been studying people who telling stories about creation, exploring, colonizing, conquering, creating a revolution, or hungry (or any combination of those). We now move to authors who are creating art that represents the American character as we know it today. They have created symbols, plots, and characters we know, and sometimes those are more complex than they may initially seem. In addition, we see authors struggling with the purpose of fiction. Is it good? Is it bad? How does it influence its audience? This episode briefly explores those ideas and sets the stage for the remainder of our semester.

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Quidor, John. Ichabod Crane Flying from the Headless Horseman. Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, vol. 39, no. 1, 1984, pp. 12–19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40514264. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.

In this episode, we pause to consider the various voices emerging out of the American Revolution. Though our class concentrates upon the literature of the United States prior to 1865, the voices emerging out of this larger dialogue can help us to see that the past is not so different from the present. Several debates in the public space right now misunderstand these documents; by reading the material and hearing these author first hand, you can better navigate those public conversations without being misled by oversimplified summaries. 

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"Judith Sargent Murray, the Forgotten Revolutionary." New England Historical Society, https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/judith-sargent-murray-2/. Accessed 5 Oct 2020.

In this episode, I offer a few key concepts needed to understand the arguments made by Thomas Paine in his work Common Sense. Though his work would have been more or less easily accessible to his contemporaries, it can prove dense to a modern audience. I offer the gist of the three sections of his work that we read, and this basis should help guide you through your reading. 

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"Thomas Paine, Political Activist." ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/thomas-paine-4768840. Accessed 28 Sept 2020.

In this episode, I provide some background information on the slave trade, a bit of information on Equiano himself, and some ideas you can look for in his work. This is a difficult topic to address, but my hope is that by listening to a brief summary of the horrors of the slave trade that you will better be able to appreciate Equiano's value in representing millions of people who would otherwise go unheard. I also address in this episode some of the contemporary ways people criticize slavery; my hope is that you will now better be equipped to understand how those criticisms/ideas are unambiguously wrong.

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"Equaino by Daniel Orme, Frontispiece of His Auotbiography." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaudah_Equiano#/media/File:Daniel_Orme,_W._Denton_-_Olaudah_Equiano_(Gustavus_Vassa),_1789.png. Accessed 23 Sept 2020.

In this episode, we will examine some of the essential keys needed to understand Franklin's Autobiography. These keys can give you inroads to understand his personality and his work, though keep in mind that the size and scope of his writing means that others are available as well. My intent is to provide some historical information about Franklin and to demonstrate that he was a flawed human being who nonetheless was able to rise to prominence based on his intelligence and industry.

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"The Eponym of the Effect, Benjamin Franklin." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_effect#/media/File:Franklin-Benjamin-LOC.jpg. Accessed 21 Sept 2020.

This episode discusses some of the historical and theological ideas that can help you better understand these two men and their works. Though this is not an exhaustive list of concepts, it should provide some basic keys to help you unlock the concepts both writers have addressed. As I noted in the episode, these concepts are not dead to us; by seeking to understand them in the past, we might better understand our own lives or those of the people around us.

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"Jonathan Edwards, engraving, 18th century." Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonathan-Edwards/images-videos. Accessed 10 Sept 2020.

To this point in the course we have studied a great number of texts written by men for other men. This episode--which is a little longer than usual--concentrates on unlocking the complicated lives of two women whose experiences illustrate both their own personal desires and the world around them. Anne Bradstreet was a clever, intelligent woman who was a member of a culture that forty years later came to fear the power women might hold; her desires, doubts, and arguments could not be plainly presented, so they are nestled inside of other tropes. On the other hand, Mary Rowlandson's account stands the test of time and is still read in Bible studies today, for it shows the solid foundation that unshakable faith can provide to a person in dire times. It also shows the basic humanity of Native Americans, though Rowlandson sometimes misses this herself.

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Garrett, Edmund. "Frontispiece for an Account of Anne Bradstreet, Puritan Poetess, and Kindred Topics." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bradstreet#/media/File:Frontispiece_for_An_Account_of_Anne_Bradstreet_The_Puritan_Poetess,_and_Kindred_Topics,_edited_by_Colonel_Luther_Caldwell_(Boston,_1898)_(cropped).jpg. Accessed 31 Aug 2020.

In this episode we explore the background needed to understand the movement of English-speaking colonists into the Chesapeake Bay and Cape Cod areas. This episode is presented as a way to give you inroads into these writers and their works, though there is still much, much more to learn. The episode also explores the question of "Why do we need to read these works in a class on literature? What benefits can we gain from them?"

Picture credit:

Me! I took this when I visited the Jamestown Colony in 2020. For more images, see: https://www.instagram.com/mr.john.bowman/

This episode offers you some insight into Columbus, de Vaca, and Champlain by giving you some key insights into the reasons for their narratives, the framing of their writing, and the main characteristics of their various purposes. There is much, much more to explore, but this gives some general overview into their presentation so that you can better understand the reading in the Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 2. 

Episode image (Since Columbus kidnapped the Taino, I think it more fitting to include de Vaca.):

Ealmagro. Munumento a Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvar_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Cabeza_de_Vaca#/media/File:Cabeza_de_Vaca1.jpg.

This episode follows your reading for the Native Americans in The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 2. Make sure to see the specific page numbers required as found in the course module.

Episode image:

Engel, Jordan. Tsalagi Map of the United States. The Decolonial Atlas, https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/the-united-states-in-cherokee-part-ii/.