Monday, 8 September

We start by thinking about the prospects of new beginnings. We’ll then turn to our readings of seventeenth-century religious, cultural, political, and social issues on both sides of the Atlantic. We use the pieces from Bradford and Winthrop to consider the experience of the Pilgrim separatists and Puritan reformers and their reasons—some noble, some less so—for conducting their “errand into the wilderness.” We look as well at the writings of one of the most famous early voices and consider the ways that the new order dealt with alternative investments.

     For Wednesday, 10 September

• Read Hutchinson, from Examination of Mrs. Ann Hutchinson (A, 231-235)
• Record two entries in your commonplace book

Wednesday, 10 September

Today we engage with one of the earliest figures of dissent, Ann Hutchinson. As idealistic as the goals might have been about the divine appointment in the new world, achieving them proved a tougher task. Here we think further about the foundational issues of primary texts, historical context, and the role of faith and democracy throughout.

    For Friday, 12 September

• Read Poetry of Bay Psalm Book (A, 848-851)
• Read Bradstreet (A, 251-252, 259-260)
• Read Taylor (A, 324-325)
• Record two entries in your common place book

Friday, 12 September

Today we turn to some of the early poetry of colonial America. We think not only about the ways that these artistic productions differ from the sermons and writings read earlier this week, but also reckon the ways that readers might have understood their efforts.

    For Monday, 15 September

• Read Mather, from The Wonders of the Invisible World (A, 338-342);
• Read Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (A, 354-363)
• Record two entries in your common place book