Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Millersville University of Pennsylvania/Seventeenth-Century Anglo-America (Fall 2014)/Course description

If colonial America often seems a bygone time, its seventeenth century origins can appear almost irretrievably distant. And yet, the roots of contemporary life lie in that remote past. America's founding era saw Spain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and England introduce colonies on the continent, with Santa Fe, Quebec, and Jamestown launched nearly simultaneously at the beginning of the 17th century. These colonial enterprises quickly brought an intermingling of germs, plants, animals, and people -- an often-unwilling mixture that made the world anew for all.

This course explores development of the British North American colonies from the first contacts between native and colonizing peoples to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. As noted above, "America" was multicultural and diverse from the very start. These mixed multitudes struggled to adapt to their new circumstances, and to exert control over them. In our quest to understand the colonial origins of American society and culture, that question of control will guide our inquiries.

Historical Novel Assignment

Rather than a pure research project, you will read a historical novel of your own choosing (with the understanding that the action will mainly take place in 17th-century Anglo-America). (1,250 – 1,500 words)

Your final essay, which will also be published on Wikipedia as a new page or an expansion of a stub page, should be structured as follows:

• Summary / Synopsis (250 – 400 words)
  • Key Passages
  • Sources if any
  • Reviews if any
• Historic Context (250 – 400 words)
  • Narrative
  • Chronology
  • Bibliography for historic contextincluding primary and secondary sources, Online resources, Museum exhibits, Other texts, films, &c.
• Analytic Essay (the rest of the words ….)
  • Introduction
  • Scope of issue
  • Separating fact from fiction
  • Distortions, misrepresentations, omissions
  • Bibliography for analysis
• Works cited

(Click to return to your main course page and continue.)