Center for Professional Development
1717 S. Chestnut Ave.
Fresno, CA 93702-4709
(800) 372-5505
http://ce.fresno.edu
Independent Study Course Syllabus
Course Number: SOC 947
Course Title: Puritan New England
 Online
X Distance Learning
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Phone number: (559) 438-8430
Email: [email protected]
Units: 3
Grade Level: 5-12
Course Description
This course will acquaint educators with the ideas and way of life followed by many early
colonists in New England. It was a society and culture that detractors mockingly called
“Puritan,” and which has had a profound influence on American life and thought down to the
present. What drove thousands of “Puritan” English men and women to seek refuge in the
American wilderness and to establish a “city on a hill,” a model Christian society for all to see?
The intellectual system that became known as “the Puritan Way” (which set many precedents for
later colonies) will be examined in its major features. New England Puritanism’s successes,
failures, and its ultimate collapse will give us a better understanding of the American sense of
mission and self-identity.
Assignments have been developed to align with Common Core State Standards for Literacy and
Writing in History/Social Science.
Course Dates
Self-paced; students may enroll at any time and take up to one year to complete assignments.
You have up to one year from the date of registration, and no less than three weeks (one week
per credit), to complete the course.
Course Materials
Course materials include the book, Puritan Christianity in America, authored by your instructor,
Allen Carden. It is your responsibility to obtain a copy of this book, through a library or
available for purchase (generally used) through Amazon.com. You will be required to rent,
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
1
purchase, borrow, or otherwise view a copy of the film The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis
and Winona Ryder (this is not the actual stage play by Arthur Miller, but the screen adaptation of
it by Miller).
Course Requirements
Students will demonstrate mastery of stated learning objectives for this course by successful
completion of a series of required assignments aligned with those learning objectives. The
following assignments are all required, and contain the maximum point values indicated below:
1. Read and respond to questions from the book: 20 points
2. Written response to questions about the film, The Crucible: 10 points
3. Written response to questions about the poem by Anne Bradstreet: 5 points
4. Role-play: Written defense of your immigration: 5 points
5. Role-play: Written attack on Puritans leaving England: 5 points
6. Travel option: Summary of sites visited: 20 points
or
Non-Travel Option: Book summary and review: 20 points
7. Lesson Plans (option A or B): 10 points
8. Report on Thanksgiving: 10 points
9. Essay on strengths and weaknesses of Puritan society: 10 points
10. Evaluation and Application: 5 points
Assignments have been designed to promote learning outcomes that are aligned with the
National content standards below.
National Content / Common Core Standards
The content and assignments in this course are designed to be in alignment with key national
curriculum standards for social studies, as most recently articulated by the National Council for
the Social Studies (NCSS Bulletin #89, 1994).
National social science curriculum standards include 10 thematic “strands,” of which this course
touches upon seven. These are:
• Culture
• Time, Continuity, and Change
• People, Places, and Environment
• Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
• Power, Authority, and Governance
• Production, Distribution, and Consumption, and
• Civic Ideals and Practices
In addition, this course has been designed to address Standard 2 of United States History
Standards for grades 5-12 as articulated by the National Center for History in the Schools.
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
2
Standard 2 deals with “how political, religious, and social institutions emerged in the English
colonies.”
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
CE 1. Demonstrate proficient written communication by articulating a clear focus, synthesizing
arguments, and utilizing standard formats in order to inform and persuade others, and present
information applicable to targeted use.
CE 2. Demonstrate comprehension of content-specific knowledge and the ability to apply it in
theoretical, personal, professional, or societal contexts.
CE 3. Reflect on their personal and professional growth and provide evidence of how such
reflection is utilized to manage personal and professional improvement.
CE 4. Apply critical thinking competencies by generating probing questions, recognizing
underlying assumptions, interpreting and evaluating relevant information, and applying their
understandings to the professional setting.
CE 5. Reflect on values that inspire high standards of professional and ethical behavior as they
pursue excellence in applying new learning to their chosen field.
CE 6. Identify information needed in order to fully understand a topic or task, organize that
information, identify the best sources of information for a given enquiry, locate and critically
evaluate sources, and accurately and effectively share that information.
Schedule of Topics and Assignments
See “Course Requirements” section above. Assignment details will be given after course
registration is completed.
Evidence of Learning
In evaluating your work, the instructor will look for
• evidence of mastery of learning objectives through students’ reflective writing
assignments
• evidence of thoughtful analysis of learning objectives through ability to make practical
application of the material in lesson plans
• evidence of the ability to synthesize large amounts of material in written and video forms
and distill the essence of the material using critical thinking skills demonstrated in
student’s written assignments
• evidence of discernment in identifying significant weaknesses and strengths in Puritan
culture in written responses
• evidence of understanding of the impact of Puritanism on current American values,
religion, and culture
Grading Policies and Rubrics
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
3
It is possible to earn a maximum of 100 points by completing these assignments. The final
course grade will be determined as follows:
90 - 100 points = A
80 - 89 points = B
Below 80 points is not considered acceptable passing work. Students requesting a letter grade
must earn a grade of “A” or “B” to receive credit for the course. Students selecting a “Credit /
No Credit option must earn at least 80 points to receive “Credit.”
•
•
•
The discernment between an A or a B is at the discretion of the instructor based on the
quality of work submitted when judged against the rubric (see below).
Coursework falling short of a quality equaling a B or a Credit Grade will be returned with
further instructions.
All assignments must be completed in order to receive a grade. In addition, all
assignments are expected to reflect the quality that teacher-training institutions require of
professional educators. If completed assignments do not meet this standard, students will
be notified with further instructions from the instructor.
A detailed rubric for each assignment will be included in the syllabus received after
registration is completed.
Grading Options
Course participants have the option of requesting a letter grade or a credit/no credit when
submitting the online grade form. Students will submit grade form when coursework has been
completed.
Instructor/Student Contact
A minimum of three contacts between the instructor and student is required as part of the course
assignments. Email (see instructor contact information above) is the preferred means of contact.
Contact #1 should be made when the student receives and has looked over the course materials.
Instructor prompt for contact #1: Have you received all of the course materials, and do you
understand what is expected for successful completion of the course? Contact #2 should be
made when the student is approximately half-way through the assignments. Instructor prompt for
contact #2: Are there any questions or concerns you have about the course material and
assignments so far? What has been of most benefit to you in the course to this point? Contact
#3 should be made when the student has completed all assignments and is ready to send them to
the instructor for grading. Instructor prompt for contact #3: Have you completed all
assignments, and requested online grading? Are there any questions or concerns you have at
this point?
References/ Resources
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
4
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
of secondary works on American Puritanism
Armstrong, Nancy, and Tennenhouse, Leonard. The Imaginary Puritan: Literature, Intellectual
labor, and the Origins of Personal Life. Berkeley: U. of California Press, 1992.
Bercovitch, Sacvan. The American Jeremiad. Madison: U. of Wisconsin Press, 1978.
Bercovitch, Sacvan. The Puritan origins of the American Self. New Haven: Yale U. Press,
1975.
Bremer, Francis, ed. Puritanism: Transatlantic Perspectives on a Seventeenth-Century AngloAmerican Faith. Boston: Northeastern U. Press, 1980.
Brown, Richard D. and Tager, Jack. Massachusetts: A Concise History. Amherst, MA: U. of
Massachusetts Press, 2000.
Bush, Sargent. The Writings of Thomas Hooker: Spiritual Adventure in Two Worlds. Madison:
U. of Wisconsin Press, 1980.
Carden, Allen. Puritan Christianity in America: Religion and Life in Seventeenth-Century
Massachusetts. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990.
Carroll, Peter N. Puritansim and the Wilderness: The Intellectual Significance of the New
England Frontier, 1629-1700. New York: Columbia U. Press, 1969.
Cohen, Charles L. God’s Caress: The Psychology of Puritan Religious Experience. New York:
Oxford U. Press, 1986.
Cooper, James F. Tenacious of Their Liberties: The Congregationalists in Colonial
Massachusetts. New York: Oxford U. Press, 1999.
Daly, Robert. God’s Altar: The World and the Flesh in Puritan Poetry. Berkeley: U. of
California Press, 1978.
Daniels, Bruce C. Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Delbanco, Andrew. The Puritan Ordeal. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1989.
Demos, John. A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony. New York: Oxford U.
Press, 1970.
Demos, John. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England. New
York: Oxford U. Press, 1982.
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
5
Elliott, Emory. Power and the Pulpit in Puritan New England. Princeton: Princeton U. Press,
1975.
Foster, Stephen. Their Solitary Way: The Puritan Social Ethic in the First Century of Settlement
in New England. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1971.
Gura, Philip F. A Glimpse of Sion’s Glory: Puritan Radicalism in New England, 1620-1660.
Middletown, CT: Wesleyan U. Press, 1984.
Hall, David D. The Faithful Shepherd: A History of the New England Ministry in the
Seventeenth Century. Chapel Hill, NC: U. of North Carolina Press, 1972.
Hall, David D. Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Beliefs in Early New
England. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1989.
Hambrick-Stowe, Charles E. The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in
Seventeenth-Century New England. Chapel Hill, NC: U.of North Carolina Press, 1982.
Hill, Francis. The Salem Witch Trials Reader. New York: De Capo Press, 2000.
Howard, Leon, ed. Essays on Puritans and Puritanism. Albuquerque: U. of New Mexico Press,
1989.
Jones, James William. The Shattered Synthesis: New England Puritanism Before the Great
Awakening. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 1973.
Knight, Janice. Orthodoxies in Massachusetts: Rereading American Puritanism. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard U. Press, 1994.
Lepore, Jill. The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origin of American Identity.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1999.
Leverenz, David. The Language of Puritan Feeling: An Exploration in Literature, Psychology,
and Social History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U. Press, 1980.
Lockridge, Kenneth. A New England Town: The First Hundred Years. New York, 1970.
Miller, Perry. Errand Into the Wilderness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1956.
Miller, Perry. The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U.
Press, 1954.
Miller, Perry, Orthodoxy in Massachusetts. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1933.
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
6
Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop. Boston: Little, Brown,
1958.
Morgan, Edmund S. Roger Williams: The Church and the State.
Press, 1988.
New York: New York U.
Morgan, Edmund S. Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan Idea. New York: New York U.
Press, 1963.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. Builders of the Bay Colony. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1930.
Pope, Robert G. The Half-Way Covenant: Church Membership in Puritan New England.
Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 1969.
Rutman, Darrett. American Puritanism: Faith and Practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1970.
Rutman, Darrett. Winthrop’s Boston. Chapel Hill, NC: U. of North Caroline Press, 1965.
Scheick, William J. Design in American Puritan Literature. Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky,
1992.
Shea, Daniel. Spiritual Autobiography in Early America. Madison: U.of Wisconsin Press, 1989.
Stout, Harry S. The New England Soul: Preaching and Religious Culture in Colonial New
England. New York: Oxford U. Press, 1986.
Vaughn, Alden T. and Bremer, Francis J., eds. Puritan New England; Essays on Religion,
Society, and Culture. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1977.
Ziff, Larzer. Puritanism in America: New Culture in a New World. New York: Viking Press,
1973.
Final Course Grade and Transcripts
When all work for the course has been completed, students will need to logon to the Center for
Professional Development website (http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd) to “Submit Grade Form”. Once the
instructor fills out the grade form online, students may log back in to request their Grade Report
as well as order transcripts online. Please allow at least two weeks for the final grade to be
posted. For more information see the Independent Studies Policies and Procedures that were
sent to you when you received your course materials, or in your online course. They are
available, also at http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd - under General Information > CPD Policies.
Plagiarism and Academic Honesty
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
7
All people participating in the educational process at Fresno Pacific University are expected to
pursue honesty and integrity in all aspects of their academic work. Academic dishonesty,
including plagiarism, will be handled according to the procedures set forth in the Fresno Pacific
University Catalogue. URL http://www.fresno.edu.
FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Student Learning Outcomes Oral Communication: Students will exhibit clear, engaging, and
confident oral communication – in both individual and group settings – and will critically
evaluate content and delivery components.
Written Communication: Students will demonstrate proficient written communication by
articulating a clear focus, synthesizing arguments, and utilizing standard formats in order to
inform and persuade others.
Content Knowledge: Students will demonstrate comprehension of content-specific knowledge
and the ability to apply it in theoretical, personal, professional, or societal contexts.
Reflection: Students will reflect on their personal and professional growth and provide evidence
of how such reflection is utilized to manage personal and vocational improvement.
Critical Thinking: Students will apply critical thinking competencies by generating probing
questions, recognizing underlying assumptions, interpreting and evaluating relevant information,
and applying their understandings to new situations.
Moral Reasoning: Students will identify and apply moral reasoning and ethical decision-making
skills, and articulate the norms and principles underlying a Christian world-view.
Service: Students will demonstrate service and reconciliation as a way of leadership.
Cultural and Global Perspective: Students will identify personal, cultural, and global
perspectives and will employ these perspectives to evaluate complex systems.
Quantitative Reasoning: Students will accurately compute calculations and symbolic operations
and explain their use in a field of study.
Information Literacy: Students will identify information needed in order to fully understand a
topic or task, explain how that information is organized, identify the best sources of information
for a given enquiry, locate and critically evaluate sources, and accurately and effectively share
that information.
Course Number and Title: SOC 947 Puritan New England
Instructor: Allen Carden, Ph.D.
Date of Revision 4/6/16
To register for courses go to http://ce.fresno.edu/cpd and log in
8