Course Description
The islands and Caribbean periphery from pre-Columbian times to the present. European intrusion and settlement, plantation societies and economies, slavery and slave rebellion, nineteenth- and twentieth-century political and economic developments, and United States policy. Approximately one-third of the course will focus on the period after World War II.
Athena Title
THE CARIBBEAN AREA
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course is intended to familiarize students with the broad contours of the Atlantic system from the 16th century to the present. Caribbean experiences ranging from conquest, to the development of plantations, to the collapse of slavery and decolonization are placed in the context of the history of the Americas and, when appropriate, these are also compared and contrasted to US patterns. The principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which past societies and peoples have defined the relationships between community and individual needs and goals, and between ethical norms and decision-making. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
1. Colonial Encounters: Indigenous and European Societies 2. African Societies and Enslavement 3. Pirates, Buccaneers, and Maroons 4. Plantations and Labor Regimes 5. The Birth of African American Cultures 6. Slaveholding Societies 7. Resistance v. Accommodation? 8. The Haitian Revolution 9. Abolition and Emancipation 10. Modern Peasantries 11. Migrations 12. Race Relations in the Contemporary Caribbean 13. Decolonization Struggles
Syllabus