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MWF, 10-10:50 a.m.
The Atlantic World, 1400-1850:
Office Hours: M, W, F, 1-3 p.m.; Th 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Goals and Approach: In this course we will explore the movement of people, ideas, and material goods between societies in Africa, Europe and the Americas between 1400 and 1850. The ongoing ties between these regions created what historians call the Atlantic world and in this course we will be exploring what linked the diverse cultures of the Atlantic world and how they became connected. The course begins with the birth of the Atlantic world in the 15th century. In this century the Portuguese navigators like Vasco da Gama cracked the wind code of the Atlantic, making possible a more regular contact between African and European cultures. Portuguese and Spanish exploration of the African coast and then the Americas soon led to the colonization of Latin America. Contacts between the Spanish and Portuguese side also changed life in Africa as well. Having examined these early interactions, we will look at the 17th-century efforts of the Dutch, English and French to establish colonies in North America and the Caribbean. Our study of this history will introduce us to the complex relationships between Europeans, Native Americans and Africans in the Americas, all of whom found themselves living in a world that was not the home they had known. Next the course looks at the long-term influence of the slave trade on African societies in the 17th and 18th centuries and the impact of Atlantic world migration on Europe in the same period. Finally we will consider the changing world of the 18th and first several decades of the 19th century, with its more regular commercial relations, larger European migrations, increasingly marginalized Native Americans, and intensified Atlantic slave trade. Through this course you will learn to think in an integrative way about the histories of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, a valuable skill in an increasingly interconnected world. It is also my aim that each of you will improve your writing and discussion skills; your capacity for critical thought and analysis; and your ability to read insightfully. Specific Objectives of the Course: This course will provide you with
opportunities to improve in the following three areas of intellectual
endeavor: Contextual Knowledge: Historical Thinking: Historical Research Skills:
The heart of the class-room environment (for me) rests in
respect, enthusiasm, and openness. This may sound general, so I will
elaborate. Enthusiasm means a persistent willingness to tackle
the problems that come up in the readings and assignments for each
week. It does not mean that everyone always has to show up happy and
cheerful, but readiness to make a contribution to class is a must. Respect
in the classroom means valuing each person's participation, not because
their ideas are the best (although you might think so), but because
they are trying to make a contribution to the group. Openness
lies in the freedom for people to express their thoughts and opinions,
which includes scope for debate and disagreement with me or anyone
else. The closer we approach this ideal environment, the more the
classroom will be an effective space for clarifying, making manageable
and even experimenting with the issues confronted in the course. This
ideal may not always be achievable, but in my view we should always
strive for it. Dramatic deviations from the ideal ought to be avoidable
and I will be particularly hard on persons whose behavior makes it
difficult for others to learn. Personal attacks, for example, will not
be tolerated in the classroom. Requirements: Of course there are requirements. Every course has them.
Course-work consists of four elements: participation in discussion,
informal writings, formal writings, and an essay examinations. Participation: a. Preparation: In order to understand what I
have to say and participate in class discussions and other activities
you will need to do the assigned readings. Please budget time to
complete readings for the day in which they appear in the assignment
and reading schedule. The readings are in two forms, which are listed
below. Secondary Source Readings: Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook, Of Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance: A Case of Transatlantic Bigamy (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1992). John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). Paul E. Lovejoy and Nicholas Rogers, eds., Free and
Unfree Labour in the Making of the Atlantic World (Frank Cass
Publications, 1995). Primary Source Readings: The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, edited and with an introduction by Miguel Leon-Portilla (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992). Stedman’s Surinam: Life in an Eighteenth-Century Slave Society, edited by Richard Price and Sally Price (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 1992). Primary Source Selections in Paper and Web-Based Form: These readings will be noted in the syllabus with **. Should the reading not be in the public domain, I will indicate this with a ***. This means that downloading the reading may violate U.S. copyright laws. Most important for an overview of the issues we discuss will be the secondary source readings. For the in-class assignments and the take-home assignments, the primary source readings will be crucial. All of the above items are required for the course and may be purchased at the campus bookstore, with the exception of on-line readings and paper readings, the latter of which I will usually distribute in class; in some cases I may have to have the CU Print Shop produce these readings, in which case they will be available to you at reproduction cost at the Print Shop. Please note, any reading assignments listed below that are not in one of the books you purchase will be available on-line or in paper form. Some readings in paper form will be available in the CU library reserve. I will give notice of this in class. b. Discussion: This may seem like a small thing and something unrelated to the real stuff (passing the exams and hammering out the papers). I cannot stress enough, however, that participation in discussion will count in your grade and that effective participation almost always improves performance in the pressure situations. I will gauge participation on a daily basis with a check, check-plus, check-minus system. c. Informal Writings: Occasionally I may assign short writing exercises to help focus our discussions. The emphasis will vary from paper to paper. Informal writing will also be graded with a check, check-plus, check-minus system and include comments. d. In-Class Source Analytical Essay: At the beginning of week five of the course you will write an in-class, source-based analytical essay for me based on the first cultural encounter we analyze: the Spaniards and the Native Americans of the Caribbean and South America. This essay will serve as preparation for your first essay and will also count towards your participation mark in the course, being worth 5% of your total grade. e. Credit for Participation: I will count each
day you show up in class and each informal writing as one participation
measurement for which you can receive up to 10 points. In
addition your in-class source-based analytical essay is worth
approximately 9 more measurements To have a fair shot at an A in
participation you must have a minimum of 48 measurements or a potential
to recieve 480 points. If you have less than 48 measurements,
then your participation grade will naturally suffer.
Informal writing(s), class discussion, and the in-class essay will be
worth 25% of the final grade. And, if you look at the breakdown
of grading in the course, you will notice that no other portions of the
course are, individually, worth more. NO PAPERS MAY BE SUBMITTED VIA E-MAIL!!! Late Informal Writings: No late informal writings will be accepted, so don't ask. Remember, though, that your participation grade is a composite of your performance inclass, your in-class analytical essay and your performance on informal writings. As long as you manage to achieve atotal of 48 measurements, it will not matter to me how you do so. Although I will obviously keep track of what you do by way of participation I would advise you to remain aware of where you stand for yourself so that you know whether or not you are achieving the necessary minimum level of participation. Missed Examinations:Make-ups for the final examination will be allowed only under extraordinary circumstances and the nature of any make-up final given will be determined at my discretion. Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the representation of the work of another as your own. In all of the writing you do for this course you must make clear to me which ideas in a paper are your own and which come from someone else. This is especially important for any formal essays you write. In these such essays you must cite all primary and secondary sources you use in accordance with the proper conventions. I will provide a sheet explaining the basics of citation before any formal essays come due. If for some reason you do not receive a copy of this handout, do not assume you will be exempt from following its guidelines as it will be available on the online syllabus. In cases of plagiarism, the Department of History andGovernment at CU follows the plagiarism policy in the2000-2001 "Student Handbook," pp. 207-211. Please heed this warning.
Please Note: The Syllabus is Subject to Change if that Becomes Advisable or Necessary! Week 1 Africans and Europeans before the Atlantic World Introduction. (8/20) Defining the Atlantic World and Its Importance. (8/22) Spain, Portugal, and West Africa in the Opening of the
Atlantic World to Europeans I. (8/24) Week 2 The Coming of the Atlantic World Spain, Portugal, and West Africa in the Opening of the
Atlantic World to Europeans II. (8/27)
Week 3 The Spanish in the Caribbean, c.1492-1520 No Class (9/3) Columbus and the First Spanish Settlements in the Caribbean.
(9/5) Later Settlement in the Caribbean and the First Moves to the
Mainland. (9/7) Week 4 The Spanish and the Americas in the 16th C. I Cortes and the Aztecs I: What the Europeans Thought. (9/10) Cortes and the Aztecs III: Aztec Society. (9/14) Week 5 The Spanish and the Americas in the 16th C. II Convocation: No Class (9/17) Cortes and the Aztecs IV: The Invasion of the Aztec Empire
from the Aztec View. (9/19) Cortes and the Aztecs V: The Fall of the Aztec Empire. (9/21)
The Creation of Spanish Peru. (9/24) The Creation of Spanish Peru. (9/26) The Impact of the "New" World on Society in Spain. (9/28) Week 7 The Beginnings of the Transatlantic Slave Trade I The Impact of the "New" World on Society in Spain. (10/1) What Europeans Were Learning of Africa in the 16th Century.
(10/3)
The Rise of the Slave Trade in Africa. (10/8) The Role of Slaves and the Slave Trade in Africa and the
Spanish Americas, c. 1520-1700 (10/10) Read: Thornton, Africa
and Africans, 129 -151; Lovejoy and Rogers, Unfree Labour,
11-35. Week 9 The Northern Europeans Enter the Atlantic World Dramatizing the Slave Trade. (10/15) Early Northern European Settlements in the Americas: An Overview. (10/17) Fall Break (10/19) Week 10 European Societies and Migration during the 17th and 18th C. Finding European Labor for Caribbean and North American
European Settlements, 1600-1700.(10/22) Finding European Labor for Caribbean and North American
European Settlements, 1700-1800. (10/24) Read: Lovejoy and
Rogers, Unfree Labour, 102-113. Placing the Caribbean and North America in Context. (10/26) Week 11 Africa and Migration during the 17th and 18th C. Changes in European Society as a Result of Atlantic World Migration: Conclusion. (10/29) The Impact of Migration in the Atlantic World on Everyday Life
in West Africa I. (10/31) The Impact of Migration in the Atlantic World on Everyday Life
II. (11/2) Week 12 Intercultural Relations in North America: Colonies and Mother Countries Again/Europeans, Africans and Native Americans. The Massachusetts Bay Colony. (11/5) Africans in American Societies. (11/7) Colonial Identities in North America. (11/9)
Slave Revolts and Runaway Slave Communities. (11/12) Paper Draft Discussion. (11/14) Freed Slave Narratives. (11/16) Read: Thomas Bluett, Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon, the High Priest of Boonda in Africa.** or selection from: The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by himself.
Introducing Stedman. (11/18) Thanksgiving: No Class (11/21-11/23)
The Failure of Surinam I. (11/26) The Failure of Surinam II. (11/28) The Failure of Surinam III. (11/30)
Africa, the Abolition Movement in Europe and the Persistence
of Slavery in the Americas. (12/5) Read: Lovejoy and Rogers, Unfree
Labour, 150-220. Black Tars, European Sailors, Sojourners, and Others. (12/3) The Displacement of Native American Groups in the Americas.
(12/7) Pick Up: Questions
for Final Examination. Week 17 Finals Day. (12/13) Take: Final Examination |