The Puritans and Their Cultured Despisers
The Puritans were narrow-minded fundamentalists who hated sex, beauty, and anything fun. Right? Wrong! In this course we will examine voices in American literature and culture from Hawthorne to Arthur Miller who bequeathed to us this stereotype. Then we will look beyond the popular impressions to recover the "real" Puritans-the sensitive moralists, imaginative poets, sophisticated political scientists, and innovative philosophers who emerged from colonial New England. By rediscovering these creative thinkers and social visionaries, students will be equipped to better understand American society's indebtedness to its Puritan past. (formerly RELI/HIST/AMCV 0271) 3 hrs. lect./disc.