Who were the Puritans?
Listen to the lecture “Who were the Puritans?” in the media player below or directly on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Listen on Spotify or Apple Media.
Transcript of lecture:
As a reminder, the learning goals of the lecture are:
…for learners to be able to identify and explain one facet of the New England Puritans from this lecture that you think is important (for example, why they are called the “Puritans,” how they were different from the Pilgrims, what they ate, their professions, etc.) and provide a reason for why Cotton Mather might be a significant Puritan.
Discussion questions and forum:
- Choose Wonders of the Invisible World, Magnalia Christi Americana, or Biblia Americana (three of Mather’s most prominent works) and read some more about it on the web or in other sources. Why did you choose the work you did? What does this tell you about who Cotton Mather was? How did this work shape Puritan society or why do you think it was significant?
- Also, read some more about Cotton Mather (you find a biography here: https://matherproject.org/node/22) or another New England Puritan (for example: Increase Mather, John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, or John Danforth).
- Who is the person you have chosen, what has he/she done, and what is striking about him/her? What are some reasons it could be helpful or important to learn about him/her? How does he/she compare with Cotton Mather and what else you know about the Puritans from this lecture?
- Using whatever you do know (from this lecture and/or elsewhere), assess English people’s motives for moving to New England. Why did they do this? Was it a smart choice, and what were some of the advantages and disadvantages? Since a lot of families seemed to have moved over, how do you think parents would have explained the move to their children?
- Using whatever you do know (from this lecture and/or elsewhere), assess English people’s motives for moving to New England. Why did they do this? Was it a smart choice, and what were some of the advantages and disadvantages? Since a lot of families seemed to have moved over, how do you think parents would have explained the move to their children?
Respond to these discussion questions (or other topics of your choosing, relating to the lectures) here: