Entering the Conversation

1. Write an essay in which you assess the effectiveness of the jeremiads in this Conversation. You might begin by discussing the effectiveness of jeremiads in general. In what ways can they be tools that encourage civility, engagement, and personal growth?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Write an essay in which you assess the effectiveness of the jeremiads in this Conversation. You might begin by discussing the effectiveness of jeremiads in general. In what ways can they be tools that encourage civility, engagement, and personal growth?
2. Write an essay in which you examine the rhetorical moves that the jeremiads in this Conversation share.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Write an essay in which you examine the rhetorical moves that the jeremiads in this Conversation share.
3. In his essay “With God on His Side,” Gary Wills notes that the “dynamics of the jeremiad move from rebuke to reform.” Write an essay in which you trace and analyze that path in at least three of the pieces included here. Be sure to look for other patterns that connect (or separate) the speeches.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - In his essay “With God on His Side,” Gary Wills notes that the “dynamics of the jeremiad move from rebuke to reform.” Write an essay in which you trace and analyze that path in at least three of the pieces included here. Be sure to look for other patterns that connect (or separate) the speeches.
4. Michael Tomasky, writing in American Prospect, says that the jeremiad is effective when it is based not on religious faith but on “faith in America and its potential to do good.” Conversely, American historian George McKenna suggests that it works when it “shock[s] the congregation into recognizing the enormity of their sin…but also…remind[s] them that God chastens those he loves.” What do you think? Is the nonreligious jeremiad as powerful as the jeremiad that evokes God? Write an essay in which you examine that question.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Michael Tomasky, writing in American Prospect, says that the jeremiad is effective when it is based not on religious faith but on “faith in America and its potential to do good.” Conversely, American historian George McKenna suggests that it works when it “shock[s] the congregation into recognizing the enormity of their sin…but also…remind[s] them that God chastens those he loves.” What do you think? Is the nonreligious jeremiad as powerful as the jeremiad that evokes God? Write an essay in which you examine that question.
5. Defend, challenge, or qualify the assertion that the American jeremiad remains a central component to the rhetoric of public life.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - Defend, challenge, or qualify the assertion that the American jeremiad remains a central component to the rhetoric of public life.
6. It has been argued that the “city upon the hill” of Winthrop’s speech given on the Arabella was the beginning of America’s “corporate identity” (as Sacvan Bercovitch calls it): its view of itself as separate and distinct from human history. Find other examples, either explicit or implicit, in modern public discourse of the idea of America as a city on a hill. In what ways do they argue for American exceptionalism? Do they have other purposes as well? How do they express them? Write a roundtable discussion that includes Winthrop and Reagan from this Conversation along with at least two other writers who have alluded to the city on the hill.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - It has been argued that the “city upon the hill” of Winthrop’s speech given on the Arabella was the beginning of America’s “corporate identity” (as Sacvan Bercovitch calls it): its view of itself as separate and distinct from human history. Find other examples, either explicit or implicit, in modern public discourse of the idea of America as a city on a hill. In what ways do they argue for American exceptionalism? Do they have other purposes as well? How do they express them? Write a roundtable discussion that includes Winthrop and Reagan from this Conversation along with at least two other writers who have alluded to the city on the hill.
7. In his essay “American Jeremiad: A Manifesto,” Wen Stephenson suggests that The Great Gatsby, Thoreau’s Walden, the lyrics of Bob Dylan, and poetry by the Beats are all examples of jeremiads. Choose one of these works or another work that you think fills the qualifications of a jeremiad and write an essay explaining why. Refer to at least three of the examples in this Conversation to support your analysis.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Entering the Conversation: - In his essay “American Jeremiad: A Manifesto,” Wen Stephenson suggests that The Great Gatsby, Thoreau’s Walden, the lyrics of Bob Dylan, and poetry by the Beats are all examples of jeremiads. Choose one of these works or another work that you think fills the qualifications of a jeremiad and write an essay explaining why. Refer to at least three of the examples in this Conversation to support your analysis.