Essay from the Book Changes in the Land by William Cronon. Due Aug. 10th of 2015

Changes in the land.Instructions Writing/CHANGES IN THE LAND WRITING INSTRUCTIONS.txt

�July 17, 2015 Instructions for Changes in the Land Is due on Aug 6th of 2015 IMPORTANT: ONLY IF YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK and HAVE THE BOOK. Book Name: Changes In The Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon. ISBN-10: 0-8090-0158-6 TOPIC: 1. Your opening paragraph should briefly address these two questions: In general, what is this book about? What is Cronon's thesis? 2. When Europeans first arrived in New England, what did they find? What were the most important ways the New England environment differed from that of Europe? In what ways did they find that environment to be of value to them? 3. Explain how the New England enviroment-plants, animals, climate, topography- accounted for the diversity found in the indian tribes that lived there? For example, how does it explain why northern New England tribes differed from those in southern New England? What were those differences? In what ways did the New England enviroment shape or influence the development of the lifestyle and society of the tribes that lived there? How did Indians shape and manipulate the environment to fit their lifestyles? 4. Describe the respective roles of men and women in Indian society. 5. The Indian view of property and land possession differed significantly from that of Europeans. Briefly discuss how the indians viewed property and the possession of land. HOw did the European's views on those subjects lead them to be critical of the indian way of life and to justify their taking of Indian land? 6. Discuss the impact of European diseases on Indian populations and society. Why were the indians so susceptile to these discases? In what ways did diseases change and devastatc Indian society? 7. How did the European conquest of New England dramatically alter its environment? In particular, discuss how the European demand for certain plant and animal products change the character of the enviroment. How did European farming practices affect New England's environment? Your discussion should include two key example cited by Cronon. 8. What did you think of the book? Would you recommend it? Why or why not? Writing Instructions 1. Use the above questions/ Topics as your paper outline and answer them in the order they are presented. 2. Use some common sense in how much you write for each topic. Some topics will require more extensive coverage than others. 3. Although I don't grade in terms of the length of the paper, under most circumstances I would expect a paper somewhere within the range of 4-5 pages. As a general rule, it is better to write more than less. 4. The paper must be typed using a stardard word processing program, double-spaced using normal-sized fronts ( 11 or 12) and margins. 5. The best grades will go to papers that have discussed each topic/question completely, are well-orginized and well-written and follow directions. Points wil be deducted for excessive grammatical and/or typographical errors so be sure that you proofread before turning it in. 6. Be careful about plagiarism. If you quote anything from the book, use quotation marks and cite the page number. If you use other sources, identify those sources and use quotation marks and page numbers as appropriate. Failure to do this could result in a grade of 0 for the assigment or, in serious cases, failure of the course. 7. Make and keep a copy of your paper. 8. You don't need a separate title page, but on the first page of this paper you should put your name and the author and title of the book. 9. Papers are due Thursday, August 6th of 2015. You may bring them to class that day or send them to my email account. One letter grade will be deducted for each calendar day that the paper is late. Failure to turn in this paper will result in failure of the course.