For Tuesday, October 16
 

Quiz #2 on Rutherfurd, chapters 6 - 11

Among the things you might want to consider are incidents which illustrate or identify the role in the history of London of each of the following:

Thomas Becket (ch 6)
kiddles (ch. 6)
Smithfield (ch. 6)
Class Distinctions (nobles and merchants) (ch. 7)
What a commune is, and what mayors and aldermen are (ch. 7)
The Clink (ch. 7)
Magna Carta (ch. 7)
Jews and anti-Semitism in medieval London (ch. 8)
Methods of control of illicit sexual behavior (ch. 8)
Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone (ch. 8)
Wat Tyler (ch. 8)
Coat of Arms (ch. 8) 
The effects of the plague (black death) (ch. 9)
Richard Whittington (ch. 9)
The Guilds (ch. 9)
Geoffrey Chaucer (ch. 9)
The English Reformation (ch. 10)
The Charterhouse (ch. 10)
Thomas Cranmer and Thomas More(ch. 10)
The Oath of Supremacy (ch. 10)
The Globe (ch. 11)
Puritans and the Theatre (ch. 11)
Queen Elizabeth (ch. 11)
The Chancellor's Men (ch. 11)

Read, in  Davidson:

Chapter 6, "The Madness of John Brown" pp. 122-146

Grand theories such as Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier theory try to explain historical events by relating them to larger cultural factors. Psychohistory, on the other hand, looks inward to uncover explanations for human behavior. The organization of this chapter varies a bit from some of those we've investigated to date. We begin with a bare-bones outline of the event itself: the raid on Harper's Ferry. Then we proceed to look at contemporary explanations of Brown's behavior, including those which diagnosed him as "mad". Finally, we look at more general psychological theories to uncover clues to Brown's behavior. You'll note that most psychohistorians take the theories of Sigmund Freud for their jumping off place. Consequently, they look to Brown's own family history for clues to his behavior in the public arena. How convincing do you find the story they weave?

For Thursday, October 18

Read, in Davidson

Chapter 7. "The View from the Bottom Rail" pp. 147 - 175

Most history reconstructs the past from literary sources: documents of one sort or another, both private and public. Significant parts of the population leave scant literary records, and what we know of them is gleaned from the perceptions and records of others. Oral history provides a way of capturing the perspective of non-literate people. This chapter suggests both the advantages of oral history and some cautionary warnings associated with it, using the tale of the Freedmen's Bureau to provide examples. You will want to identify several different pitfalls associated with oral history, and think of ways to overcome them.