POLC 4470 Week 1 Assignment

POLC 4470 Week 1 Assignment | Tulane University

Assignment 1: Whose land?

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Introduction

It is always about the land. Think of countries that are not defined by struggles over territory and you'll find very few. For Canadians, for example, the border with the U.S. is where it is because the War of 1812 which lasted for two years and resulted in the torching of the White House by British troops ended in a draw. French Canadians and settlers across British North America repelled invading forces, many from Tennessee and Kentucky. Was it Thomas Jefferson who had said that "the conquest of Canada is a mere matter of marching?"

Perhaps as importantly, Tecumseh convinced warriors from tribes like the Fox, Chickamauga, Iroquois, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Mohawk, Ojibway, Piankeshaw, Potawatomi, Sauk and Shawnee to form an alliance to aid the British against the Americans, fresh from their victory in the American Revolution. It resulted in a First Nations Confederacy that contributed to the unchanged status of the border between the two countries.

Here's a three-page article from the Smithsonian about The legend of Tecumseh   Download The legend of Tecumseh.

The Treaty of Ghent ending "the war that changed no borders"--admittedly Canada had possession of Detroit but quickly gave it back--was signed on Christmas Eve of 1814. But someone forgot to tell the Generals down in Louisiana, who fought the (in)famous Battle of New Orleans on January 8 in Chalmette.

Australia fits the pattern of British colonial settlement well and Kate Grenville's fictional account offers an introduction to clashes over land and home. To encourage you to start on her book, here's a two-minute movie preview of what it's about. We'll keep Aussie dialogue in films to a minimum since we may not always understand everything they're saying or the slang they use that combine English, Aussie settler and Indigene expressions.

For now, not long after the Botany Bay expedition, this is English-convict speak. In case you're wondering, what proportion of convicts sent across the oceans to Australia were guilty of felonies and high crimes? What better way to find out then to go to Ancestry.com which has some answers: 10 Common Crimes (Links to an external site.)

We've now made our way to the Grenville novel. Let's have a go with this trailer for a TV mini-series made recently and based on her narrative:

'The Secret River' (Links to an external site.) 

Objectives

After this unit you should be able to:

• Critically dissect the beginnings of colonialism and especially the impact on First Peoples who today are described as the traditional keepers of the land.

• Improve and develop writing skills that are different from political scientists and encompass genuine interdisciplinarity.

• Develop critical skills and creative impulses that can allow you  to spin great stories.

Instructions

Before reading, analyzing, and finishing your submission on The Secret River, you have one brief assignment that should be included in your submission. You should extrapolate from a quote from the novel:

These natives "lived in the forest and in the bays where settlement had not yet reached, and melted away if any of the new arrivals tried to come close.... They wandered about, naked as worms, sheltering under an overhang of rock or a sheet of bark. Their dwellings were no more substantial than those of a butterfly resting on a leaf....[Visible was] the splinter of a canoe, fragile as a dead leaf against the dazzle of the sun on the water, with a figure sitting in it, knees drawn up to its shoulders, or a twist of blue smoke rising from some hidden place in the forest." (p.92)

Your task is to put this citation under a microscope and reveal its possible meanings. For example, how fearful are these Natives about to be overrun from their lands? 

For the submission I recommend writing a minimum of three pages double-spaced while staying consistently on topic--on the novel itself. Make use of the text by selecting key passages and interpreting them. Be sure to find a couple of other references from Grenville in the early part of this book that set up the coming clash between settlers and natives. Describe one or two of the key protagonists, their ambitions, their failures, their successes. Identify place--where events occur. Don't overlook secondary characters who may play a decisive role in shaping the turn of events. Conclude by summing up the novel's importance in articulating both settler and Indigene views on their respective histories. 

Don't forget to submit your assignment answers by 8pm next Sunday. Remember too, as the syllabus states, that any honest and original attempt to follow the instructions based on your reading earns full credit. However, late work is not accepted.

To submit your assignment, click the "Submit Assignment" button and upload your document as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.

Grading and Evaluation

This is one part of your course grade where with timely effort you can count on earning full credit. Make sure to read my Assignment Comment once your assignment is graded. You are welcome to reply to it.