Category Archives: Assignments

Contrast writing the last two assignments. How did differences in the assignments change the way you worked on each of them? Which was more difficult? Why? Which of the classroom activities gave you the greatest understanding of the assignment? Was … Continue reading →

Describe the process of writing this paper. What worked well? What would you do differently if you could? While the specifics of an assignment are a factor, what generalizations can you make about your writing process? What sorts of things … Continue reading →

Given what you know about Anne Hutchinson from Winthrop’s journal and given what you know about Anne Bradstreet from today’s reading, why did one woman’s atypical behavior lead to praise and the other’s lead to exile? Bruce Michelson and Marjorie … Continue reading →

Pick one of Greenblatt’s questions and answer it with Winthrop’s writing in mind. What kinds of behavior, what models of practice, does this work seem to enforce? Why might readers at a particular time and place find this work compelling? … Continue reading →

Assuming that, as the book suggests, origin stories “posit a general cultural outlook and offer perspectives on what life is and how to understand it” (17), what is the best way to understand life according to John Smith’s narrative of … Continue reading →