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Mindsets
Mindsets reflect prevailing views of a people during a historical era. History influences literature. To better understand the literature from a particular place and time, one can consider the answers to the following mindset questions:
What was the view of deity?
That is, what was of supreme or supernatural importance, what did they esteem or worship, in what higher power or powers, if any, did they believe?
What was the view of people?
That is, how did they respect people, did they have varying classes, did they respect rights among people, did they see people as more important than or having dominion over other entities (plants, animals)?
What was the view of society?
That is, how did they organize tribes, governments, nations?
What was the view of nature/environment?
That is, how did they revere, respect, control, use, or exploit their natural surroundings?
What was the view of international status?
That is, how did they see their place in the world and time.
It is important to remember that although the mindsets as defined here, represent the prevailing view only as evident in the period's culture; surely a variety of views exist at any given time, even ones in direct contrast to the prevailing ones.
Click on the items below to go directly to mindset information for a particular period.
American Mindsets studied in Freshman English
Colonial - Puritan Period 1600-1760
Revolutionary - Constitutional1760- 1860
Civil War Period 1860 - 1865
Expansion Period 1800-1900
British Mindsets studied in British Literature (not yet online)
Anglo-Saxon Period 499 - 1066
Medieval Period 1066 - 1500
English Renaissance 1500 - 1650
NeoClassical Period 1650 - 1750
Romantic Period 1750 - 1920
Modern Period 1920 - 1965
Postmodern Period 1965 --
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