Rationalism vs. Puritanism

Before beginning this assignment, you should be aware that you are still responsible for the reading my posts and the literature I provide for the following posts: The Puritans and The Rationalists. This project replaces the tasks, not the reading. Your grade for this project will be recorded twice -- once in the Puritan column, and once in the Rationalists. You should read the entire set of directions and consult with me before beginning this project.

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It should be obvious to see how the Puritans and the Rationalists differed in opinions, especially those who were lucky to live at the same time. As a starter, you should do some brief research on Cotton Mather, who was the son of a Puritan minister, to see what happened to him when he began inoculating people to protect them from smallpox.

First: Complete a substantial post on your blog that gives a summary of what you found in your research, where you found it, as well as your views on the incident. This should be 3-4 paragraphs.

Next: you should choose a modern topic to which we can attach the ideals of both the Puritans and the Rationalists. It should not be too hard to think of one -- just think about the strong feelings and arguments people have about topics where there is a difference between science and religion. (Stem cell research, abortion, evolution vs. creationism, etc.)

YOU ARE GOING TO DO SOME RESEARCH!!

After deciding your topic, you need to find two pieces of reliable literature from both sides. Two of these pieces of literature should be from religious groups or recognized social organizations. These examples should illustrate well the group's feelings about the topic, and from where they base those feelings. The other two pieces should be persuasive writings, editorials, or other pieces of media (youtube?) from individuals who are demonstrating their feelings about the issue. You should provide suitable bibliographic citations for all these pieces. There are tips for you here and and there is an easy MLA citation guide here.

Each of the four pieces you provide should be followed by your personal reaction to the way in which the material and the arguments are presented. I am not asking you to choose sides, or to use this as an opportunity to promote your feelings. I want you to address how each of your examples delivers their message. You might find this will be easy to do for some examples than for others, so be selective.

The next step should be a final discussion in which you explain how the arguments you found relate to the Puritans and the Rationalists we are studying in American Literature. This discussion should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 paragraphs, and contain direct textual evidence from the examples you found as well as the following texts: Of Plymouth Plantation, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Checklist:

1. Summary / Discussion of Cotton Mather
2. Material (link) from religious group or social organization 1 with your discussion
3. Material (link) from religious group or social organization 2 with your discussion
4. Material from individual 1 with your discussion
5. Material from individual 2 with your discussion
6. Final discussion with direct textual evidence from your examples as well as the literature listed above.