History Wars

For general writing and format guidelines click on H.T.M. Journal
>Note the total write-up is one page (typed, single-spaced) = 600 words
>Email a copy of this write-up to each person in your group prior to the due class time
ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVE. To explore the following idea as it applies to American Colonial History: "Every self-conscious group of any size fabricates myths about the past: about its origins, its mission, its righteousness, its benevolence, its general superiority." ~C. Vann Woodward

PART 1 of 3: Background Reading

Myths embody the images Americans have of themselves and of their country. Those same myths articulate the cluster of values that Americans believe sustain their culture and civilization. The challenge for the History Thinking Machine is to examine the link between those myths and fundamental American values.
Learning to think critically means learning to identify and see beyond dominant cultural myths--collective and often unconsciously held beliefs that influence our thinking, reading, and writing. We must grapple with the real differences in perspective that arise in a pluralistic society like the United States. By learning to think beyond the obvious and the natural, we the develop the intellectual independence that is essential to critical thinking, reading, and writing. Images of the past often legitimize the way things are now.

Myth as Cultural Reality
A myth is a narrative, or a story, that explains a belief or a phenomenon. Historians and literary scholars, following the work of cultural anthropologists, associate myth with culture--a people and the values, ideals, attitudes, traditions, and ideologies that make them an identifiable group. A cultural myth is the narrative explanation--in both written and oral form--of a culture, its origins, its mission, its development, and its future.

Myths occupy an essential and natural place in the lives of all Americans, as they do for all human beings. Like the individual who creates his/her reality from experiences, perceptions, and moral values, so too does a group formulate a collective reality of the culture, which provides an identity for the individual. Along with elements of truth, myths constitute the very substance of a culture's concept of reality. A principal function of myth is to put one in tune with the rest of the world by giving meaning to that world and by making it understandable, ordered, and explicable.

It is important to understand that mythmaking is usually not a conscious act and that myths are generally not the product of deliberate lying and deceit. They are part of the way that human beings make sense of their world and the core of how societies remember who and what they are, and how a sense of identity is passed on to new generations.

PART 2 of 3: Assigned video clips

For this write-up we're going to follow James Loewen through some brief video clips as he endeavors to reveal what we are asked to remember about the American colonial era. These videos are based on his book Lies Across America. Summarize what Loewen states is fact/greater truth vs. fiction/myth/lesser truth for your assigned segment by group task below:

CAPTAIN Did Pilgrims Really Land at Plymouth Rock?

RECORDER Mayflower Ship Myths Debunked

ENCOURAGER Pilgrim Museum Critiqued By Expert

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE Wampanoag Living Recreated

REFLECTOR Plimouth Plantation's Authenticity Examined

PART 3 of 3. Loewen on the Pilgrim Religion

Message & Messenger. Loewen in his Afterword provides us with five "Crap Detector" questions. Take a look at those, and apply one or two to your write-up; i.e., analyze what Loewen is up to in these videos. What assumptions is he challenging in the above video clip? What does he mean by saying "God as the original real estate agent?" View this video clip below to respond:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL1Q7ZgGQdM&feature=PlayList&p=93DC944B297BBAD3&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=11

PART 1 of 3: Background Reading
Myths embody the images Americans have of themselves and of their country. Those same myths articulate the cluster of values that Americans believe sustain their culture and civilization. The challenge for the History Thinking Machine is to examine the link between those myths and fundamental American values. Learning to think critically means learning to identify and see beyond dominant cultural myths--collective and often unconsciously held beliefs that influence our thinking, reading, and writing. We must grapple with the real differences in perspective that arise in a pluralistic society like the United States. By learning to think beyond the obvious and the natural, we the develop the intellectual independence that is essential to critical thinking, reading, and writing. Images of the past often legitimize the way things are now. Myth as Cultural Reality A myth is a narrative, or a story, that explains a belief or a phenomenon. Historians and literary scholars, following the work of cultural anthropologists, associate myth with culture--a people and the values, ideals, attitudes, traditions, and ideologies that make them an identifiable group. A cultural myth is the narrative explanation--in both written and oral form--of a culture, its origins, its mission, its development, and its future. Myths occupy an essential and natural place in the lives of all Americans, as they do for all human beings. Like the individual who creates his/her reality from experiences, perceptions, and moral values, so too does a group formulate a collective reality of the culture, which provides an identity for the individual. Along with elements of truth, myths constitute the very substance of a culture's concept of reality. A principal function of myth is to put one in tune with the rest of the world by giving meaning to that world and by making it understandable, ordered, and explicable. It is important to understand that mythmaking is usually not a conscious act and that myths are generally not the product of deliberate lying and deceit. They are part of the way that human beings make sense of their world and the core of how societies remember who and what they are, and how a sense of identity is passed on to new generations.
PART 2 of 3: Assigned video clips
For this write-up we're going to follow James Loewen through some brief video clips as he endeavors to reveal what we are asked to remember about the American colonial era. These videos are based on his book Lies Across America. Summarize what Loewen states is fact/greater truth vs. fiction/myth/lesser truth for your assigned segment by group task below:
CAPTAIN	Did Pilgrims Really Land at Plymouth Rock?
RECORDER	Mayflower Ship Myths Debunked
ENCOURAGER	Pilgrim Museum Critiqued By Expert
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE	Wampanoag Living Recreated
REFLECTOR	Plimouth Plantation's Authenticity Examined
PART 3 of 3. Loewen on the Pilgrim Religion
Message & Messenger. Loewen in his Afterword provides us with five "Crap Detector" questions. Take a look at those, and apply one or two to your write-up; i.e., analyze what Loewen is up to in these videos. What assumptions is he challenging in the above video clip? What does he mean by saying "God as the original real estate agent?" View this video clip below to respond: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL1Q7ZgGQdM&feature=PlayList&p=93DC944B297BBAD3&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=11