1. A brief summary of the seminar. Include any highlights for you – new information, a particularly useful exercise, a favorite moment. Be sure to identify the main historical themes and the core documents presented in the seminar.

I was particularly intrigued by the theme of forbidden love and the sense that early colonists felt compelled to carry on the spirit of the natives. I found this even more fascinating in light of our continuing discussion about the myth of the vanishing Indian and the myth of the Cherokee grandmother. Combined with the introduction of ocular and specular history, this course continues to challenge my traditional interpretation of Indian history.


2. What questions did the seminar raise for you and how will you follow-up on those questions? Will you need to do further research – and if so, how will you approach that research and what sources are available to you?

The question I raise still center on the myth of the vanishing Indian and the seeming conflict Americans have had with resolving out love of what they came to represent and our longing to identify ourselves with the nobility of their culture with our tendency to thoughtlessly destroy their culture. I look forward to being introduced to more discussion and resources that can shed more light on this.

3. How would you use this material in the classroom? If you do not currently teach this material, pretend that you do (you may be teaching it at some point in your career!).

We do approach all our curriculum at WHS from a thematic manner. In the case of US History, we hammer kids with the internalized ethos of the chosen people; the work ethic, fair play, rugged individualism. All I've been exposed to so far plays directly into those themes.


4. How does the material presented in the seminar deepen your understanding of the relationship between representation and reality in the history of New England natives?

It further proves the complexity of history and that it is constantly in a state of debate and revision. I have not been exposed to much of this information despite a fair amount of course work in US History. I'm further discouraged from relying / using textbooks as the primary source of content delivery.