Title The Caribbean Basin to c.1800 (Ralph Woodward, Tulane)
8/93 HISTORY 678
Caribbean Basin I
COURSE OUTLINE
I. INSTRUCTOR Professor R. L. Woodward, Jr.
Office: Hebert 118. Telephone: (504)862-8616, FAX(504)862-8739
Office Hours: 9-11, MWF
II. REQUIRED READING:
F. Knight, THE CARIBBEAN: GENESIS OF A FRAGMENTED NATIONALISM, 2d ed.
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1990).
R. L. Woodward, CENTRAL AMERICA: A NATION DIVIDED, 2d ed. (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1985).
S. Mintz, SWEETNESS & POWER: THE PLACE OF SUGAR IN MODERN HISTORY (New
York: Penguin, 1985).
M. L. Wortman, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY IN CENTRAL AMERICA, 1680-1840 (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1982).
Thomas Gage, TRAVELS IN THE NEW WORLD (Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1958).
RECOMMENDED, especially for graduate students, Murdo MacLeod, SPANISH
CENTRAL AMERICA (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973)
(out of print).
III. LECTURE OUTLINE
MID-TERM EXAMINATION - Tuesday, 15 October 1991
Read Knight, CARIBBEAN, pp. 1-119; Woodward, CENTRAL
AMERICA 1-60; Gage, TRAVELS.
J. The French Corsairs, 1522-1570
K. The English Sea Dogs, 1462-1604
L. The Dutch Sea Beggars, 1595-1648
M. The Buccaneers 1640-1680
N. Piracy, 1670-1720
O. The Intercolonial Wars, 1689-1763
P. Slavery and the 18th-Century Rise of the British and French Sugar
Colonies.
Q. The Bourbon Reforms in the Caribbean Basin
R. The Caribbean and the American Revolution
S. The Caribbean and the French (and Haitian) Revolution
T. The Caribbean and the Spanish-American Wars for Independence
U. The Emergence of a Caribbean Culture
FINAL EXAMINATION, Saturday, 14 December, 9 a.m.
Read: Knight, CARIBBEAN, pp. 120-222; Woodward, CENTRAL
AMERICA, pp. 61-91; Wortman, GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY; Mintz,
SWEETNESS & POWER
IV. TERM PAPER: Each student should select a topic relating to the history
of the Caribbean Basin before 1821. It is advisable to select this topic
in consultation with your instructor, but in any case you should explain
the topic in a paragraph or two, submitted on or before Thursday, 12
September. A bibliography of works you intend to use in your study should
be turned in by 15 October and an outline of your paper by 12 November.
The paper is due on the last day of classes. While there is no minimum or
maximum length for the papers, since the topic you choose will determine
to some degree the length, this paper should be approached as if it were
an article for a scholarly journal. An average length would be about 20
pages. All papers should be typewritten, double-spaced. They should be
carefully documented in standard historical form (See Kate Turabian, A
MANUAL FOR WRITERS OF TERM PAPERS, THESES, AND DISSERTATIONS, latest
edition), with footnotes or endnotes indicating the sources of all your
information, not merely the sources of quotations. Normally, this means a
note at the conclusion of each paragraph, indicating the sources of
information in that paragraph.
V. EXAMINATIONS & GRADES: There will be mid-term and a final examination in
this course. Exams will require students to write perceptive essays on
historical topics, incorporating information and interpretations from both
the reading assignments and the lectures. Final grades will be based 30%
on the paper, 30% on the mid-term, and 40% on the final exam.
VI. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS. Graduate students will be
asked to write one bibliographical essay on the mid-term exam and the
final exam, in which they discuss the historical literature on a topic
rather than the topic itself. This means that they need to familiarize
themselves with the historical literature of the Caribbean Basin. The
bibliographical essays in Knight and Woodward should be helpful in
preparing for this requirement, as well as spending time browsing in the
Latin American Library.
Information provider:
Unit: H-Net program at UIC History Department
Email: H-Net@uicvm.uic.edu
Posted: 31 Aug 1994