Putting It to Memory: Speech and Memorization in Puritan Society
Listen to the lecture “Putting It to Memory: Speech and Memorization in Puritan Society” in the media player below or directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Listen on Spotify or Apple Media.
Transcript of lecture:
Quick links to some primary sources: John Cotton’s Milk for Babes
As a reminder, the learning goals of the lecture are:
…for learners to be able to identify why memory played a crucial role in oral societies; examine a text for “oral residue”; and understand how catechisms were used in early New England
Discussion questions and forum:
- Choose a poem or another text you can think of, that might have “oral residue,” and examine it by identifying any features that may have been shaped by the importance of memory in oral societies. Was this text ever required to be memorized? Why or why not?
- Is it adequate and logically sound to inspect a written text for “oral” features inspired by memory? Why or why not? (see some of the related questions in the second to last paragraph of this lecture) What are the limitations or implications that would come with analyzing a written text for “oral residue”?
Respond to these discussion questions (or other topics of your choosing, relating to the lectures) here: