"The continual cold penetrates them, constricts the chest, and they die spitting blood or weakened by diarrhea." - Work that can kill.

Further emphasizing their usefullness and care.

Define invalid in this case.......

"Those Indian corpses floating in the sea" - gruesome image.

Why?

Describes empty landscape, physically and emotionally.

It is pleasant to read about de las Casas disagreeing what his people are doing.

Pleasure in pain?

Is it normal to be silent while being burned?

Crag: a steep or rugged cliff or rock face.

Once again, was it necessary?

"Slaughter house" - was it all necessary?

There are no words.

Temerity: excessive confidence or boldness, audacity.

Since when are wives and children considered the same as losing food?

"a Christian eats and consumes in one day an amount of food that would suffice to feed three houses inhabited by ten Indians for one month." - Gluttonous. Very Gluttonous.

"subjection of the women and children" - it was only a matter of time.

"This was the first land in the New World to be destroyed and depopulated by the Christians" - all of this is true.

"Provided Spain's enemies with ample evidence of his country's sins in America" - I mean, if I was made to look bad, I'd be ashamed too.

de las Casas would be accused of treason for speaking the truth?

"His goals would not be easily reached." One can hope, even if he is into his 'white savior complex' idea.

But did simply saying that the Native Americans have the full protection of the course suffice? Probably not.

I bet the victories were bittersweet.

Why only after returning in 1530s that his teachigs had widespread effect?

Or instead of buring his Venezuelean project, he could've Venezuela alone?

Monastic: relating to monks, nuns, or others living under religious vows, or the buildings in which they live.

Indeed, "black slavery [is] just as unjust as Indian slavery" and should've been the case a while ago.

Urged al masters to renounce the slave system - they won't do that if the system is making them money.

He only realized his wrongdoings after becoming a priest.

Note: the protection from the courts probably did not help with actually protectng Native Americans from being enslaved.

Note: why was de las Casas appointed the protector of the Indians? The only protection they needed was from governments like his.

Hispanola: island in the Carribean archipelago known as the Greater Antilles. Today, it's Haiti (West) and the Dominican Republic (East).

Guanahani: island in the Bahamas.

Taino Indians: indigenous people of the Carribean.

Why is "discoveries" in quotations?

That has been documented.

Bartolome de las Casas: 16th century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as an historian and social reformer. Famous works: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Another similarity - there was sun worship in Mexico and Maya.

Try saying that five times fast.

More focused on physical items for worship.

Similarities!

Also, the Incas are being lumped into Old Peru while Mayans had two seperate sections? Is this because the Mayans weren't tied to just Mexico but Central America?

Interesting....why?

Different from Mayan calendar.

Already different from Mexican and Mayan tales.

What is Old Peru?

Did Mayans actually have a Hades?

Mexican myth seems to vary greatly from Mayan myth.

Interesting how he appears in Mexican and Mayan mythology.......

Fane: temple or shrine.

Can't build arches but could build pyramids? Did I miss something?

Think I found the 2001 edits.

The author is very (positively) opinionated.

Elucidations: make (something clear; explain.

Are the Maya race Mexican or Peruvian? Or both?

I am curious myself, how did the Maya civilisation actually come to be?

This would've been cool to hear.

Summary: full detailed history of the Mayans, such as their history pre-invasion, their myths, architecture, numeral system, all serving a greater purpose.

Interesting how the ancients believed in resurrection and have several tales surround it.

Also, interesting how the author uses English wording and phrasing for the Mexican descriptions, instead of giving us the name of the 'Mexican Noah'.

It appears there are different creation myths that each group follows.

Curious as to the discinction between the Ancient Mexicans and Mexicans......

Summary: mentions various creation myths that are similar and contradict each other.

Connection: attending a Catholic school.

Reading about the different gods and their purposes reminds me of Greek and Roman mythology, where there is a specific god for everything imaginable.

Cosmology: the science of the origin and development of the universe. (i.e. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory.)

Interesting - thought they were polytheistic.

The civilsation have various myths and gods to celebrate various events.

That would've been interesting to experience - I'd be older!

Had never heard of Madoc, let alone heard of a myth where someone had found America before Columbus did. Shows our bias towards Columbus.

Summary: Description of the Civilization of Mexico. Goes into detail how their civilization was defined (without European or Asiatic inolvement). Describes the various myths on who was created and how the white man came over. The classification of race is self-diagnosed and diverse, especially with the Toltecs (who may not have existed). The civilisation was also responsible for the Mexican Year, Calendar System, Lunar Reckoning and Mexican 'Book of the Dead'. Civilisation was fine until they accepted and began trade with the Asiatics and Europeans.

Why would there be so much folklore and history behind the Toltecs if they didn't exist?

Or on Cinco de Mayo for Mexican and Hispanic people.

We like to do the same thing with other subjects all of the time (i.e. Global Literature).

Fallaciously: based on a mistaken belief.

Did U.S. Citizens actually think it was an unglorious period at the time though?

Ironic.

This entire paragraph is really interesting because typically, it's the other way around, with the older folk being more conservative and the younger group being more progressive.

This makes me think of the celebrities at the beginning of the pandemic singing "Imagine" - it just seemed so out-of-touch with what the rest of the world was battling against.

Unctuous: (of a person) excessivey or ingratiatingly flattering; oily.

I feel as though this is not only the case for Native Americans, but for those currently who live in a tight-knit family with strong cultural ties.

They are fascinated with "their" "Indians", but see no problem with exploitng them for profit and gain. Interesting.

Caliban: character in The Tempest, a servant of Prospero and described as a savage monster.

Is this because the non-Natives already see them as savages so any other narrative (fiction or non) would be acceptable?

But if the beaver had done that, then he would be considered rude and lazy. If anything, the story leans on the idea of the porcupine woman taking advantage of this lack of contract and that was the beaver's demise.

Capitulation: cease to resist an opponet or an unwelcome demand; surrender.

Gesticulation: a gesture, especially a dramatic one, used instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words.

ponderous: slow and clumsy because of great weight.

Depending on its usage, it can be open for interpretation.

I don't think this should ever be used as a title for a category.

That is a good point.

Did they not have some sort of tussle with a nearby village? Maybe it's not considered war, but they didn't have anything like it before?

A fact that we are still dealing with today.

Couldn't you say all of the "Europeans" (which at that point, most ships contained people from one country) looked the same? How did they tell them apart, the look of their beards?

Loving the sarcasm in this paragraph!

They would've had their own set of gods and religion separate from the Europeans anyway - wouldn't it have been strange if they already had crosses?

Equanimity: mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

.......why? There have been female rulers who have been capable of running a country.

I want to play Devil's Advocate and say that to most of the European public, they haven't known of any other ind of society or race. It is only with reinforcement of Europe's sense of imperialism do we start to deem things as 'inferior'.

I'm curious to hear what they sounded like!

Reliant on religion.

Discusses everything about Old Peru, their customs and traditions; even dives into the Incas.

Specifically focuses on the creation myths and why things are the way they are (similar to Greek and Roman mythology).

Summary of whole text: provides insight into Mexico, the Mayan civilization, and Peru. The three territories had very little help from the Europeans or the Asiatic people, but there is slight alterations from how each civilisation ran their own nation. Regardless, these stories have been neglected for quite some time and it is up to us to release them back to the public eye.

Discusses everything about the Maya civilisation; its history, its numeral system, its mythology, etc.

Specifically focuses on origin myths.

Specifically focused on what they worshipped, why and how and how it tied into their everyday lives.

Summary: detailed account of the Mexican civilization, their origin stories, their various races and their inventions.

Summary: this volume serves as Great Britain's contribution to the new discovery of American archeology. Mexico and Peru deserve as much love and attention in research and analysis as Egypt and Syria.

Porphyry: a hard igneous rock containing crystals, usually of feldspar, in a fine-grained, typically reddish groundmass.

Purpose of publication of this volume.

Interesting how American archaeology was founded by people who were not located on the continent of America.

edifices: a building, especially a large, imposing one.

perfunctory: (of an action or gesture) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection,

Huacas: known as wak'a, it's an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind. Can also refer to natural locations, such as immense rocks, or with veneration and ritual.

Teocallis: temple of the Aztecs or other Mexican peoples, typically standing on a truncated period.

Helpful in creating argument.

I admit, I find myself thinking along these lines but I feel as though one lesson usually will not work for all classes for all time.

This presents an interesting contradiction; on one hand, teachers are expected to be prepared and knowledged enough to educate young minds but yet the profession of teaching is often looked down upon, for example the saying "those who can't do, teach."

Similar to conducting teacher research - who better yet to conduct the research than the actual teachers with experience interacting with the students?

I think with teachers, although they are required to study a certain subject or area and teach it, it is also just as important for them to continue learning in their own way, whether it's about new approaches to teaching or just about their students and their learning habits.

Teachers are some of the most hard-working individuals I know, especially now with the transition to online and hybrid learning. In order to be in this profession, you have to be dedicated to the job.

Summary: we have a long way to go, and it first starts with looking within the category and its complexity.

Summary: American Literature is this one giant, complex problem, but we have the chance to see it change and offer new insight.

Key Idea of Introduction: American Literature was once easy to define. Now, not so much. We have to consider other things including but not limited to: the origin of the author, the theme/idea of the text, and who the intended audience will be. Hypocritically, it also tries to be borderless in its definition. But how can one define the borderless-ness that classifies American Literature in the first place? It is unclear, but we are at least trying to have that discussion. In particular, women writers are being realized of their writing of universal themes. It's easy to see American Literature as this one giant, complex project.

Translation: it makes to see American Literature as a one large, complex project.

Spatial: relating to or occupying space.

Bruno Latour: French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist. Famous works: We Have Never Been Modern (1991; English translation, 1993), Laboratory Life (with Steve Woolgar, 1979) and Science in Action (1987).

Contradistinction: distinction made by contrasting the different qualities of two things.

Summary: the writer will specifically track the shifting idea of American literature over space as well as time.

Will there be a subunit in between American Literature, such as digital American Literature?

Summary: there will still be this uncomfortable tension with itself, its audience, and its ambitions.

Exigency: an urgent need or demand.

Again, why?

Great discussion question. One potential idea: people look for distractions and storylines not connected to current events (i.e. Tiger King)

Summary: this questions whether location actually matters for publication of works outside of the U.S. realm.

Jose Maria Heredia: Cuban-born poet considered by many to be the first romantic poet of the Americas and the initiator of Latin American romanticism. Famous works: Poesias (1825).

Cecilia Valdes: written by Cirilo Villaverde, published in 1882. Takes place in colonial Cuba around 1830 and focuses on the interactions of classes and races in Havana.

Cirilo Villaverde: Cuban poet, novelist, journalist and freedom fighter. Famous work: Cecilia Valdes (1882).

Why do the writers have to be on American soil to be considered an American writer? Is it necessary?

Edouard Glissant: French writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic from Martinique. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary.

Paucity: the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity.

Carlos Fuentes: Mexican novelist and essayist. Famous works: The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962), Aura (1962), Terra Nostra (1975), The Old Gringo (1985) and Christopher Unborn (1987).

Summary: after pushback from the famous male authors on their female counterparts' writings, female writers are begrudgingly let into the American Literature sanctum.

Ramona: written by Helen Hunt Jackson, published in 1884. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish–Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and hardship.

Helen Hunt Jackson: American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. Famous works: A Century of Dishonor (1881), Ramona (1884).

The Man Without a Country: short story by American writer Edward Everett Hale, first published in The Atlantic in December 1863.Plot revolves around American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend the rest of his days at sea without so much as a word of news about the United States.

Hale: short for Edward Everett Hale, American author, historian, and Unitarian minister. Famous works: The Man Without a Country (1863).

Napoleonic period: refers to Napoleonic era. Classified as the fourth and final period of the French Revolution, with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etate, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (1799 - 1815).

Annotation missing - can't clarify.

William Ticknor: American publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and a founder of the publishing house Ticknor and Fields.

William Dean Howells: American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters".

Leo Tolstoy: Russian writer said to be one of the greatest authors of all time. Famous works: Family Happiness (1859), War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1877), The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), and Hadji Murad (1912).

Victor Hugo: French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. Famous works: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), Les Miserables (1862).

Connection: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell as a dramatized and romantasized view of the South pre-, during and post-Civil War.

V. S. Naipaul: Indo-Trinidadian-born British writer of works of fiction and nonfiction in English. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad, his bleaker novels of alienation in the wider world, and his vigilant chronicles of life and travels. He wrote in prose that was widely admired, but his views sometimes aroused controversy. He published more than thirty books over fifty years.

Translation: women are so focused on wanting to have sex, they don't have the mental stamina to write decent books for the public to read.

Jacques Lacan: French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Probably leaning towards male vs. female.

Frank Norris: American journalist and novelist during the Progressive Era, whose fiction was predominantly in the naturalist genre. Famous works: McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (1899), The Octopus: A Story of California (1901) and The Pit (1903).

What if the dime novels and sensationalist novels were written as a way to placate the public and provide entertainment? (Modern - think Reality TV.)

Summary: the name American Literature may be tarnished with the publication of "cheap" novels written to entertain and not to inform.

The Scarlet Letter: written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Plot revolves around a woman named Hester who conceives a daughter out of wedlock and is forced to wear a scarlet A on her dress, signifying her as an adultress - she struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

The Lamplighter: written by Maria Susanna Cummins, published in 1854. Plot revolves around Gertrude Flint, an abandoned and mistreated orphan rescued by Trueman Flint, a lamplighter, from her abusive guardian. Gertrude is lovingly raised and taught virtues and religious faith. She becomes a moralistic woman. In adulthood, she is rewarded for her long suffering with marriage to a childhood friend.

Maria Susanna Cummins: American novelist. Famous works: The Lamplighter (1854).

Is this inferiority complex part of why seldom womem were accepted in the American Literature genre?

Dime novels: cheap, popular novels, typically a melodramatic romance or adventure story.

Translation: the fear of American Literature being no more was increased by the discovery of women writers pre-Civil War and a public who thoroughly enjoyed reading those particular texts.

Voracious: having a very eager approach to an activity.

Proliferation: rapid increase in numbers.

Exacerbated make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.

Summary: Can the idea of American Literature be a myth? Is our crumbling political structure helping us realize there is no defined America?

This would be a great discussion question - whether the idea of American Literature is a myth.

Charles Brockden Brown: American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period. Regarded by scholars as the most important American novelist before James Fenimore Cooper.

stymied: prevented or hindered the progress of.

Summary: we are now starting to shift from how we are talking about American Literature.

Why is it such a challenge?

Translation: addressing what American Literature is and means to the public is a surefire sign of it lasting and making a better impact.

Dynamism: the quality of being characterized by vigorious activity and progress.

Purveyors: person who sells or deals in particular goods.

Sounds like imperialism.

Summary: Scholars liked to keep the definition of American Literature short and simple and accepted by the public that mattered (white). That way, there can be only one presentation - the proper American presentation.

Referring to whitewashing?

Replete: filled or well-supplied with something.

Henry David Thoreau: American essayist, poet, and philosopher. Famous works: essay "Civil Disobedience" (1849), Walden (1854).

Zora Neale Hurston: American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. Famous works: Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937).

Harriet Beecher Stowe: American abolitionist and author. Famous works: Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).

Summary: where is American Literature is just as important and as confusing as what is American Literature.

Ralph Ellison: American novelist, literary critic, and scholar. Famous works: Invisible Man (1952), Shadow and Act (1964), Going to the Territory (1986).

William Faulkner: American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi. Famous works: The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), A Fable (1954), The Reivers (1962).

Benjamin Franklin: American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was also a leading writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.

Why are Humanities the thing that can bring down this structure? Is there some systemic oppression going on against thinkers?

Interesting how STEM (really Science and Engineering) is priority around the world, with humanities being near the end.

Parse: analyze (a sentence) into its parts and describe their syntactic roles.

Summary: to other countries, American Literature isn't a sense of pride but a subject to study.

Initially, I was about to ask something revolving American Literature, but then I realized the U.S. has similar topics of study such as Spanish Literature, English Literature, Chinese Literature - it's all purely academic.

Pragmatism: philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected.

Summary of section in this quote.

Porous: having minute spaces or holes through which liquid or air may pass.

Richard Wright: American author of novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially related to the plight of African Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, who suffered discrimination and violence in the South and the North. Literary critics believe his work helped change race relations in the United States in the mid-20th century.

Gloria Anzaldua: American scholar of Chicana cultural theory, feminist theory, and queer theory. Famous work: Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987), (her life growing up on the Mexico–Texas border and incorporated her lifelong experiences of social and cultural marginalization into her work).