A History of American Puritan Literature

Cambridge University Press, 10/15/2020
EAN 9781108840033, ISBN10: 1108840035

Hardcover, 384 pages, 23.5 x 15.9 x 3.2 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

For generations, scholars have imagined American puritans as religious enthusiasts, fleeing persecution, finding refuge in Massachusetts, and founding 'America'. The puritans have been read as a product of New England and the origin of American exceptionalism. This History challenges the usual understanding of American puritans, offering new ways of reading their history and their literary culture. Together, an international team of authors make clear that puritan America cannot be thought of apart from Native America, and that its literature is also grounded in Britain, Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and networks that spanned the globe. Each chapter focuses on a single place, method, idea, or context to read familiar texts anew and to introduce forgotten or neglected voices and writings. A History of American Puritan Literature is a collaborative effort to create not a singular literary history, but a series of interlocked new histories of American puritan literature.

Introduction Kristina Bross and Abram Van Engen
Prologue. Pilgrims, puritans, and the origin of America Abram Van Engen
Part I. Places
1. Native America Drew Lopenzina
2. British Isles David D. Hall
3. Europe Jan Stievermann
4. Colonial North America Evan Haefeli
5. Caribbean Kristina Bross
6. Global America Michelle Burnham
Part II. Approaches
7. Theology Lisa M. Gordis
8. Aesthetics Joanne van der Woude
9. Gender Tamara Harvey
10. Race Cassander L. Smith
11. Print culture Jonathan Beecher Field
12. Ritual Matthew P. Brown
13. Manuscript culture Meredith Marie Neuman
14. Environment Timothy Sweet
15. Science Ralph Bauer
16. Millennialism Christopher Trigg
17. Postsecularism Bryce Traister
Afterword. The puritan imaginary and the puritans' world Abram Van Engen.