Course Description
On the cultural and economic history of eighteenth-century capitalism, the course draws together accounts of overseas European empires with contemporary discourses of colonialism and political economy, covering virtually the whole century from the 1714 appearance of Bernard Mandeville's "Fable of the Bees" to Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798.
Athena Title
EMPIRE POL ECON
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will generally learn to think critically and historically about the development of modern capitalism, in this case in the context of the eighteenth century. By emphasizing themes of crisis, anxiety, novelty and instability in contemporary texts, the course opens up the sense of contingency and dynamism in this earlier stage of capitalism, highlighting its historical rather than “natural” development in a global context. Readings will be challenging and diverse, among them Daniel Defoe’s "Robinson Crusoe," Bernard Mandeville’s "Fable of the Bees," Voltaire, Diderot, John Law, Turgot, Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations," the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, Max Weber’s "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" and "The Black Jacobins" by C. L. R. James, together with recent historical work on the period. Students will develop both close-reading and historicist approaches and will be strongly encouraged to pursue interests in Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese colonial history alongside our collective focus on Anglo-French. The course is centered around a substantial semester-long research project broken down into a series of assignments, from initial topic statement and preliminary bibliography through a critical review essay to the final research paper. Students develop broad knowledge of the period—tested in a mid-term exam— as well as verbal, research, close-reading and writing skills through intensive classroom discussion and the larger research project itself.
Topical Outline
1. Eighteenth-Century Capitalism 2. Piracy and Privateering 3. The Adventure: Daniel Defoe and Beyond 4. Slavery, the Slave Trade and Caribbean Plantation Society 5. Origins of Political Economy 6. Gambling 7. Money 8. Labor and Consumption 9. The Atlantic World 10. Financial Scandals, Schemes and Bubbles: South Sea to John Law 11. Mercantilism and Free Trade: Turgot and Smith 12. Colonial Contact between Peoples 13. Anti-Colonial Resistance 14. Haitian Slave Revolt 15. Exploration and Enlightenment