Midterm guide

The midterm will have three sections. The first will be an essay section, which will be worth a possible 50 points. There will be three essay questions, of which you will choose one. The topics from which these questions will be drawn are:

1. Early perceptions and first contact between Europeans and Native Americans
2. Acculturation -- what did each group borrow from the other? What did each group have to learn about the other in order to have effective relations?
3. Conflict -- what led the English and the Native Americans into violent confrontations with each other?

A good essay requires an introduction with a thesis statement (what will you be arguing in the essay?), several paragraphs of supporting evidence, and an adequate conclusion (i.e., don't just stop writing or end with "This concludes my essay on Anglo-Indian conflict). Your essay should be no fewer than five full paragraphs (two sentences do not a paragraph make!). Of course, you can always write more than that. You have two hours and fifteen minutes to take the exam, so it might be best to err on the side of writing too much than too little.

To ensure that you write a clear and cogent essay, consider taking a few moments before you begin writing to sketch out a rough outline of your argument. Your essay should include information from both the lectures and the readings, so use the outline to remind yourself of the points you need to make in your essay.

To help with the reading material on the exam, you may bring a "crib sheet" for your reading notes. This may be one-sided and in a normal size (typically 12 point) font. This aid may contain only material from the readings. You must turn this sheet in with your blue book. If you have included material from the lecture notes, you will be penalized severely. (I realize there is some overlap between the lectures and the books and I will of course take that into account.) You should choose an essay topic as soon as possible, then take notes from the appropriate readings. Your crib sheet obviously cannot contain all the pertinent material from the readings, but it should provide you enough space to jot down some notes to jog your memory about the main points the authors have made, as well as some interesting details to add to your essays.

The second section will be an identification section, worth a possible 25 points. I will provide a list of ten terms, from which you will choose five to identify. Your answers should be roughly a paragraph in length and include the most important details about the term as well as its significance. Significance can usually be expressed as some sort of turning point in history. As we discussed in class, the significance of the Virginia Massacre of 1622 was that it caused the English to abandon a policy of peaceful conversion of the Indians. The significance of Pocahontas would be that she was an important intermediary between the English and the Powhatans or that her marriage to John Rolfe effectively ended the First Anglo-Powhatan War. You get the picture, I hope.

The last section will be short answers, worth a possible twenty-five points. These will be either multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank. The purpose of this section is to address information in your lecture notes that is not easily asked in the form of an identification question. So this section will include broader themes and ideas covered in the lecture notes. These answers should be written in your blue book, not on the exam itself. (You may write notes or doodles all over the exam paper -- I just want all your answers in the blue book.)

You can write the test in any order you see fit. Some people are anxious about essays and prefer to get them out of the way first; others prefer to dispatch the short answer sections quickly to leave themselves open time at the end to write the essay. As long as all three sections are in your blue book, I don't have a preference as to order.

Good luck with your studying. E-mail me if you have any further questions or concerns.

Readings for 5/28

Re: Vaughan, ch. 8. Choose one of the questions below and answer in a paragraph.

1. What were the three main arguments about the Pequot War that Vaughan tried to refute in this essay?
2. What is Vaughan's interpretation of the causes of the Pequot War?
3. How does the time in which an author was writing affect his/her interpretation of the Pequot War? What is another example of a historical topic whose treatment might be influenced by the era in which it was being discussed?
   

Readings for 5/27

The questions below refer to Sweet, ch. 1 and Vaughan, ch. 10. Please choose one of the questions and answer in at least a paragraph.

1. According to John Wood Sweet, how did the Narragansetts' relationship with the English affect their political arrangements? What was the main drawback to having the English involved in Narragansett politics?
2. Other than in the political realm, where else does one see the "anglicization" of the Naragansetts? How did this affect the formation of racial identity?
3. What was the experience of Native American converts to Christianity in colonial New England?
4. What was the experience of English settlers who chose to live within Indian communities?
   

Open thread for Vaughan, chs. 1, 2 & 5

Since this week got off to a slow start for me, you need only make one comment for this past week. I will leave this as an open thread, which means I won't ask specific questions for you to answer. Instead, you can get your participation points this week simply by remarking about something you found interesting in the reading for the week. Did anything surprise you? Challenge ideas you had about Native Americans and the period of conquest? A brief comment (a few sentences, no more than a paragraph) will suffice for this week.

I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day weekend!

Class cancelled, 5/20

I hate that my first post for the session is to cancel class, but I have to deal with an emergency that has arisen this morning. I will be dropping the "eve of colonization" lecture, so we will continue with the schedule on the syllabus. On Wednesday, we will be discussing early perceptions of Native Americans, as well as chapters 1 & 2 in The Roots of American Racism.