What is a national literature? That is the question we will focus on in American Literature I.

As we learn about the foundations and roots of American literature, we will discover that much of our tradition is borrowed from other cultures. Our own identity as a national literature doesn’t surface until after the American Civil War.

Certainly, a course in American Literature will focus on all of the appropriate time periods. In American Literature I we generally start with the Puritans, move on to the Age of Reason, hop over to the Romantic period, glide on over to the Transcendentalists, and then move toward the subject matter of American Literature II (Realism, Naturalism, Early 20th C, Modernism, American Drama, Harlem Renaissance, Late 20th C, and Post-Modernism).

Sadly, the canon is only just recognizing the national literature of the time before - - the time before the Puritans. The peoples of the American continent had a tradition; they used the oral tradition. It is here, in the stories of the Native Americans, where we will begin our journey.

We will begin by looking at the work of Paul Reuben. I would like for you to read this overview and bibliography. I am reprinting it below for those of you who might like to hear it, as well.

Citation: Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 1: Early American Literature to1700 - Native American Oral Literatures.” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. WWW URL: http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/native.html (April 30, 2007).

Andrew Wiget is a distinguished scholar in this field - note the bibliographical entries below. Here are some of his comments:

Culture is a system of beliefs and values through which a group of people structure their experience of the world. By working with this definition of culture, which is very close to the way current criticism understands the impact of ideology upon literature, we can begin to pluralize our notion of the world and understand that other peoples can organize their experience in different ways, and dramatize their experience of the world through different symbolic forms.

If culture is a system of beliefs and values by which people organize their experience of the world, then it follows that forms of expressive culture such as these (creation) myths should embody the basic beliefs and values of the people who create them. These beliefs and values can be roughly organized in three areas: (1) beliefs about the nature of the physical world; (2) beliefs about social order and appropriate behavior; and (3) beliefs about human nature and the problem of good and evil.

Both the Zuni story and the Iroquoian story of the origins of the confederacy also talk about how society should be organized, about the importance of kinship and families, about how society divides its many functions in order to provide for healing, for food, for decision making, and so on. The Iroquoian confederacy was a model of Federalism for the drafters of the Constitution, who were much impressed by the way in which the confederacy managed to preserve the autonomy of its individual member tribes while being able to manage effective concerted actions, as the colonists to their dismay too often found out. The Navajo story of Changing Woman and the Lakota story of White Buffalo Calf Pipe Woman are important illustrations not only of the role of women as culture heroes, but also of every people’s necessity to evolve structures such as the Pipe Ceremony or the Navajo healing rituals to restore and maintain order in the world.

The Raven and Hare narratives are stories about a Trickster figure. Tricksters are the opposite of culture heroes. Culture heroes exist in mythology to dramatize prototypical events and behaviors; they show us how to do what is right and how we became the people who we are. Tricksters, on the other hand, provide for disorder and change; they enable us to see the seamy underside of life and remind us that culture, finally, is artificial, that there is no necessary reason why things must be the way they are. If there is sufficient motivation to change things, Trickster provides for the possibility of such change, most often by showing us the danger of believing too sincerely that this arbitrary arrangement we call culture is the way things really are. When Raven cures the girl, for instance, he does so to gain her sexual favors, and in so doing calls into question the not-always-warranted trust that people place in healing figures like doctors. The Bungling Host story, widespread throughout Native America, humorously illustrates the perils of overreaching the limits of one’s identity while trying to ingratiate one’s self.

Perhaps the most important thing that needs to be done is to challenge students’ notions of myth. When students hear the word “myth,” they succumb to the popular belief that mythology is necessarily something that is false. This is a good place to start a discussion about truth, inviting students to consider that there are other kinds of truth besides scientific truth (which is what gave a bad name to mythology in the first place). Consider this definition of myth: “The dramatic representation of culturally important truths in narrative form.” Such a definition highlights the fact that myths represent or dramatize shared visions of the world for the people who hold them. Myths articulate the fundamental truths about the shape of the universe and the nature of humanity.

It is also important to look at important issues of form such as repetition. Repetition strikes many students as boring. Repetition, however, is an aesthetic device that can be used to create expectation. Consider the number three and how several aspects of our Euro-American experience are organized in terms of three: the start of a race (”on your mark, get set, go”); three sizes (small, medium, and large); the three colors of a traffic signal; and of course, three little pigs. These are all commonplace examples, so commonplace, in fact, that initially most students don’t think much of them. But there is no reason why we should begin things by counting to three. We could count to four or five or seven, as respectively the Zunis, the Chinooks, and the Hebrews did. In other words, these repetitions have an aesthetic function: they create a sense of expectation, and when one arrives at the full number of repetitions, a sense of completeness, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

We begin our journey in British literary history in the Anglo-Saxon period, also called the Old English period. Beowulf is the best known story of this period, and is the oldest text of literature in the English language. This period is known for oral traditions of literature. The use of storytelling has lasted and been passed down through generations. Poetry is the dominant form. A strong belief in the concepts of fate colored the writings of the time, and there was a lot of discussion about origins and a lot of contention between the church and the pagan worlds. Of course, Christianity is relatively new, seeing that it’s only 449 AD. The Anglo-Saxon period lasts until 1066. As such, Christianity was relatively new to the world. This cultural and religious clash, combined with constant quest for land, provided themes based in the heroic tradition. The stories glorified heroic warriors who prevailed in battle. Further, the tales were didactic in nature and taught some type of lesson. The conflicts between worldviews are obvious, but it is important to note, that the surviving tales all exist on the side of Christians. Who knows what the other side had to tell?

This is where we start our exploration of British literature, and from that period, we’ll move on to the medieval period. Also called the Middle English period, the medieval period begins in about 1066 and lasts to 1485 AD. This period is also known for the use of oral tradition, folk ballads, mystery and miracle plays, and romances. The Medieval Age has remained popular today, and we can certainly see its popularity in Second Life and at real life historical reenactments. It is likely that the code of chivalry and honor or the rumors of figures like King Arthur and Lancelot are the basis for the popularity of the period. Of course, the texts are didactic and Christianity prevails. However, corruption, greed, and lust often snuck into the literary works to demonstrate that these vices, while not encouraged, flourished in the culture.
In the British Literature Classroom Media Lab, you can view a student presentation on what chivalric customs would be like in today’s society. You can also read Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Lady of Shallot on the first floor, and listen to two interpretations of it in the media lab. The beauty of the period often masks the darker side of the period, and our job, as students, is to see the real through the smoke of fantasy.

We will, of course, explore the Canterbury Tales. In Second Life, we will go on a similar trek and will invite the world to join us. The idea is to understand the art of storytelling as it applied to Chaucer and the difficulty of creating didactic texts in the face of criticism.

The third period we will cover is the Renaissance that begins in about 1485 and lasts until the 1660’s. In Second Life, we will use the Renaissance classroom to discover some of the important texts and conflicts of the time. We will stage interpretations of Othello, as well. While many people associate Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare with the period known as the Renaissance, it is important to note that this period lasted more than a 1000 years. So, it is inaccurate and unjust to reduce the period to those two figures. Further, we will discover that there is a bit of controversy surrounding the identity of Shakespeare.

The Renaissance, as an over arching period, is a shift in worldview. The focus on religion is now starting to sway toward an understanding and acceptance of scientific theory. Whereas human nature was doomed in the former literary periods, this period expresses a focus on human life on earth, humanity on earth and the idea that humans can be molded and shaped into new and better things. Some popular themes include carious types of love including courtly love and lost love. The most popular genres, of course, are poetry and drama.

The Neo-Classical period, or the Restoration, begins in about 1660 and lasts until about the late 1790’s. This is a time period of a complete reversal. We’re no longer focusing on religion. Now we’re focusing on reason and logic. The works are emphasizing stability between harmony and wisdom. The social contract and the government begin to over power the authority of the church. There is a lot of upheaval in the government because now people are expecting life, liberty and property as fundamental or natural rights. Of course satire is very popular, poetry remains popular, essays, letters, diaries, biographies and novels start coming into the forefront of literary texts. Satire, as a dominant form, becomes the richest gift of this period. In Second Life, we will try to express the satiric through interactive presentations of the texts of this period.

We have a lot to cover in 6 weeks, but we will have many opportunities to share and discuss these authors and genres. By using the British Literature Classroom in Second Life, we will be able to experience some culture as we delve into these texts. The visuals of this London mansion will, undoubtedly, help to raise these authors from dusty pages.

Discussions for this course are held every Monday from 9-10 P M Eastern Standard Time (E S T). There will also be a Sunday series from 8-9 P M E S T for students in all sections of L C C C literature and for those participating in the at-large extension series.

#03. Podcast featuring Beth Ritter-Guth Location: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, US.

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Episode #2 of the SLEDucating Podcast

James Hayton is Assistant Professor Bocconi University Milan, Italy. His research focuses on people, innovation and entrepreneurship.

http://James-Hayton.com
http://stream.sdabocconi.it/tedplus/research.html

DOWNLOAD EPISODE #2 HERE

Episode #1 of the SLEDucating Podcast.

Show notes

Hi there this is Chris Hambly, director of audiocourses.com and your host for the Sleducating Podcast. Welcome to the first episode of Sleducating, a podcast for academics and new-media people operating in SecondLife.

The podcast will be as frequent as I can manage and/or as frequent as you the listeners wants, I really want this to be your cast, so do get involved. Each episode will be fairly short and will usually feature an interview along with voice comments from anyone that has something to say.

The voicemail numbers can be found on the “About” page at sleducating.com and they are:

USA/world: +1909-313-4254

UK/Europe: +44-207-8714760

My email is chambly AT gmail.com

To kick off the first episode we have CC Chapman, VP of Crayon Marketing discussing why colleges and universities should podcast.

Have fun and see you in-world soon.

DOWNLOAD EPISODE 1 HERE