Bledsoe County, Tennessee: Day One

Well, I made it to Pikeville, TN in one piece. This is some beautiful country. The drive from Chattanooga airport to Pikeville was magnificent.

I am working with some wonderful people here who have shown me some good old fashioned Southern hospitality. I have even met a few transplanted northerners!

I am lecturing in the morning on colonial America. Anthony Napoli of Gilder-Lehrman is spending the afternoon teaching the students the “Historical Habits of the Mind” through the use of primary documents. (I am listening to him now–he is excellent!)

Here is my schedule:

Day 1, Lecture 1: “What is Colonial History?”
Day 1, Lecture 2: “The Indians New World”
Day 2, Lecture 1: “Slavery in Two Southern Societies” (Chesapeake and Carolinas)
Day 2, Lecture 2: The Colonial North: “City on a Hill” and “Holy Experiment”
Day 3 Lecture: “From Colonials to Provincials: The Colonies on the Eve of the Revolution”

We have also had some great discussions of The Way of Improvement Leads Home. I am deeply flattered how many people closely read the book. One teacher worked up a Power Point presentation connecting Fithian’s story to contemporary music. I have yet to see it, but when I do it may be worth its own blog entry!