First Contacts I: Native Americans Meet Europeans | National Humanities Center

Humanities in Class: Webinar Series

First Contacts I: Native Americans Meet Europeans

American History; Thirteen Colonies; Indigenous Americans; Age of Exploration

Kathleen DuVal (Fellow, 2008–09)

October 1, 2015

The first contacts between Europeans and Native Americans brought dramatic change to the Old World and the New. What did Native Americans think of the first Europeans they encountered? What constitutes a first encounter? What did the earliest contacts predict for the future? How did first contacts differ based on particular circumstances? And finally, why did first contacts matter so much? This two-part webinar series will seek to answer those questions and others. Readings will come from a variety of sources, including the Native American oral tradition, Norse sagas, and letters of European explorers.


Subjects

History / American History / Thirteen Colonies / Indigenous Americans / Age of Exploration /