Friday, January 22, 2010

1-25 Reading Assignment


The University of Virginia's library makes available a version of Winthrop's "A Modell of Christian Charity," a sermon he composed and delivered while sailing from Europe to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Winthrop became the colony's first governor and figures now as the most important of the Protestant dissenters (the "Puritans," we usually call them) who colonized portions of the New World. We will meet him again on Monday when we discuss Anne Hutchinson, the most significant early challenger to Winthrop's authority.

As you read, think about Winthrop alongside Smith. Does his writing style seem different? Does he make clear a different purpose for the Massachusetts colony? Above all, how does he compare as a "founding father"? Can you think of a good reason to begin "American literature" here rather than with Smith?

No comments: