Jafee Seminar, the Third Day

"Expanding the Public Sphere: The Village Enlightenment of
New England, 1770-1810" was the title for the third session by
David Jafee, Professor of Bard College, New York. The way he
presented the rural New England during the Enlightenment
period was quite interesting focusing not narrowly on just
intellectual activities but business as well as social activities
taking evidences from material cultural objects, such as cabinets,
pianos, and globes. Discussion afterward was stimulating having
specialists attended from the Japanese Association of Early
Americanists. His arguments were mostly persuasive but there's
one point I could not agree with -- his interpretation of a
church's role in a community. It is true that ministrial
authority declined in the late 18th century due to revivalistic
Evangelical movements and appearances of new venues for knowledge
such as libraries and inexpensive reading materials. Local churches,
however, changed to the direction of democratization as it's
seen in the rapid growth of Methodists and Baptists. So,
adjustments to Enlightenment came to both religious and
secular spheres.







ICU intellectuals:
Prof. Onishi and
Prof. Morimoto









Kenryu with his mentor










The Red Sox Nation (right)


The Rising Generation of the Early Americanists (below)