Prof. Alice Nash                                                                                                      Spring 2007
UMass History Dept.

Hist 393I – Indigenous Women

Guidelines for Assignment 4
Memoir of Catharine Brown

Due April 3, 2007
(4-5 pages)

Sources

Rufus Anderson, Memoir of Catharine Brown, a Christian Indian of the Cherokee Nation (Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1831).

Theda Perdue, “Catharine Brown: Cherokee Convert to Christianity,” pp. 77-91 in Theda Perdue, ed., Sifters: Native American Women's Lives (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).

Assignment

Address ALL of the following in your paper:

  • Give a brief summary of the life and significance of Catharine Brown, based on your reading of the Memoir .
  • Focusing on your assigned chapter of the Memoir, make a table with three columns and list a) Facts, b) Evidence that suggests the author's bias, c) questions that arise where you don't know enough to evaluate the text.
  • Reflect on this; no need to comment on every item on the table, but discuss key points that illustrate the benefits and potential pitfalls of working with the Memoir as a primary source. Did you become aware of any of your own unstated assumptions or biases in working through this exercise? If so, please explain.
  • Evaluate Theda Perdue's use of this chapter in her biographical essay on Catharine Brown.

Assigned Chapters

Chapter 1 - Her History Until She Entered The Mission School At Brainerd

1. Mariah Lyons
2 . Danielle Nelson
3. Loren Fields
4. Abigail Haines

2 - From Her Entering The School At Brainerd, Until Her Removal By Her Parents

1. Angela Bruns
2. Abbey Capobianco
3. Rebecca Isaacs
4. Katie Burbage

3 - From Her Return To Brainerd, Until She Takes Charge Of A School At Creek-Path

1. Katie MacDonald
2. Jamie Mason
3. Zoë Kantor
4. _________________________

4 - From Her Taking Charge Of A School At Creek-Path, Until Her Sickness

1. Corey Chenevert
2. Norm Earnest
3. _________________________
4. _________________________

5 - Her Sickness And Death

1. Jenna Wilbur
2. Devon Fitzgerald
3. _________________________
4. _________________________

6 - Her Character

1. Sara Smedberg
2. Hope Finch
3. Jonathan Moore
4. _________________________

7 - Appendix

1. Matt Eisenman
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________