Aperçu des sections

  • Course Description and Contents

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    • Objectives

      By the end of the semester, the students should have been introduced to the main characteristics and constituting events of Pre-Columbian and Colonial America (  to 1776). They should be able to identify the main geographic components of the USA and some main social features. Students should also have acquired basic knowledge on the Native Americans, the first settlements, and the subsequent colonial period, up to 1776.

      Contents (tentative)

      1. US Geography: An Overview

      2. Social and Ideological Features

      3. Pre-Columbian America: The Natives

      4. Discoveries and Explorations

      5. The First Settlements

      6. Colonial America I

      7. Colonial America II

      8. From Colonial Discontent to Revolution

  • Lecture 1: US Geography: An Overview

    Objectives:

    By the end of the lecture, the students should be able to identify the main geographic regions of the United States, its climatic regions, and its most important rivers.

    • The geographic regions of the United States of America




    •                                                                                                          Major lakes and rivers



  • Section 2

  • Pre-Colonial America: The Native Americans

    Who were the peoples who used to live in the Americas before the coming of the Europeans?

    What were their origins and how did they live?

    The aim of the lecture is to provide students with knowledge about the "First Peoples" or the "First Nations", those original inhabitants of the American continent.

  • Contact and Explorations

    What was the role of European powers in the conquest and exploration of the New World?

    Who were the explorers who landed the New World and what routes did they go through? What lands did they explore and claim possession on behalf of their respective monarchs?

    The lecture aims at providing students with basic knowledge on the main European explorers of the late 15th century and 16th century.

  • The First English Settlements

  • Plymouth Bay Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony (1620 and 1630)

    Who were the Puritans and why did they decide to leave Europe (England) and migrate and settle the New World? What kind of society did they want to establish?

    The aim of the lecture is to provide students with somebasic knowledge on the Pilgrim Fathers and the creation of the Plymouth Bay Colony; and on the Puritans and the founding of the Massachussetts Bay Colony.

  • The Thirteen English Colonies of North America (1607-1776)

    What were the 13 English colonies of North America? How did they come into being?

    This lecture briefly introduces these 13 colonies.