- American Identities: Pre-1870s

Catalog description

A study of what it means to be an American through the selective examination of continuities and changes in definitions of identity-self-constructed and assigned-from colonization to the mid-nineteenth century. The course considers cultural interactions among different groups (Europeans, Native Americans, African Americans) in the context of historical episodes of significance for identity formation (including the Salem Witch Trials, the American Revolution and the Civil War). In weekly "whodunit" workshops, students will examine primary sources, producing original historical scripts that document the ways cultural identities are shaped by multiple perspectives and contested paths.