1-94                             HISTORY 679                                  
                               Caribbean Basin II                               
                                 COURSE OUTLINE                                 

I. INSTRUCTOR: Professor R. L. Woodward, Jr.

           Office:  Hebert 118.  Telephone:  (504) 862-8616; FAX(504) 862-8739  
           Office Hours: 9-11, Tuesdays & Thursdays                             
           Class Meetings:  Tuesdays & Thursdays 11-12:15                       
                                                                                
      This course deals with the history of the circum-Caribbean region since   

about 1800. This area includes the Caribbean islands, Central America, the Guianas, Venezuela, and Colombia, although relatively little attention is given to the South American parts of the region. The course will focus primarily on Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. The course will include both lecture and discussion sessions, with considerable emphasis on historical writing.

II. REQUIRED READING:

                          By the Mid-Term Examination:                          
      F. Knight, THE CARIBBEAN:  GENESIS OF A FRAGMENTED NATIONALISM, 2d ed.    
           (1990), pp. 120-274.=20                                              
      R. L. Woodward, CENTRAL AMERICA, A NATION DIVIDED, 2d ed., pp. 92-223 (pp.
           1-91 optional).                                                      
      Leslie Bethell, editor, CENTRAL AMERICA SINCE INDEPENDENCE (1991),        
 pp.1-67.                                                                       
      Louis A. Perez, CUBA, BETWEEN REFORM AND REVOLUTION (1988), pp.70-188     
           (pp. 1-69 optional).                                                 
                            By the Final Examination:                           
      Bethell, CENTRAL AMERICA SINCE INDEPENDENCE, pp. 68-326.                  
      Woodward, CENTRAL AMERICA, pp. 224-83.                                    
      Jules Benjamin, THE UNITED STATES & THE ORIGINS OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION   
           (1991).                                                              
      Knight, THE CARIBBEAN, pp. 275-331.                                       
      Knut Walter, THE REGIME OF ANASTASIO SOMOZA (1993).                       
      Robert Williams, EXPORT AGRICULTURE AND THE CRISIS IN CENTRAL AMERICA     
           (1987).                                                              
      Perez, CUBA, pp. 189-381.                                                 
      James Dunkerley, THE PACIFICATION OF CENTRAL AMERICA (1994).              
      RECOMMENDED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS:  James Dunkerley, POWER IN THE ISTHMUS  
           (1988).                                                              

III. Lecture Topics:

1. Introduction and hypotheses for the course.
2. Ethnic and cultural backgrounds to Caribbean history. Geography and

   review of 16th-18th centuries.

3. Expectations and Achievements of the Age of Revolution (1775-1825).
4. The Aftermath of Revolution on the Island of Hispaniola
5. Continuing Colonial Areas: Cuba & Puerto Rico; British, French, & Dutch

   West Indies.

6. The United Provinces of the Center of America.
7. Conservative caudillos in the Caribbean Basin.
8. Manifest Destiny in Middle America, 1823-1865.
9. The Liberal Reforma.
10. The Search for and Interoceanic Canal, 1848-1914.

11. Cuban Independence.

MID-TERM EXAMINATION (Tuesday, 1 March 1994) 12. The "Liberal" heritage in the Caribbean Basin in the 20th century. 13. The Roosevelt Corollary and US intervention in the Caribbean, 1898-1934. 14. The Sandino Revolt, the Somoza dynasty, and the "Dictators' League" in

Central America. 15. Social Revolution in the Caribbean Basin, 1945-1994: The Challenge to

Liberalism. 16. The "Democratic Left": Venezuela and COsta Rica, 1945-1994. 17. "Ten Years of Spring" in Guatemala, 1944-54, and aftermath. 18. The Cuban Revolution of Fidel Castro. 19. Panama and the Canal, 1904-2000. 20. Continuing Colonial Areas & their Independence (Non-Spanish Caribbean). 21. The Dominican Intervention of 1965 and its aftermath. 22. Sandinismo and the Nicaraguan Revolution. 23. Class Struggle in El Salvador. 24. Colombia and the "Drug Wars." 25. Democratic Militarism in Honduras. 26. Conclusions.

IV. TERM PAPER: Each student will write a research paper on a topic within the scope of the course, to be selected in consultation with the instructor. The paper should be thought of as a scholarly article, about 15-30 pages (typed, double-spaced) in length (or about 5,000 words), including notes and bibliography. The paper must be carefully documented with endnotes or footnotes and a bibliography indicating the sources of all information within the paper. In general, this means a note at the end of each paragraph indicating the source(s) of information in that paragraph. Exceptions would be introductory and concluding paragraphs containing the author's own observations, remarks as to methodological approach (although reference to other works is also appropriate here), or conclusions drawn from the evidence presented. Quotations should be used sparingly, but when used a note should identify clearly the source. In addition, good writing dictates that it be clear in the text who is being quoted and why. Notes, either at the bottom of each page or at the end of the paper, should be numbered consecutively. Notes and bibliography should follow standard form for historical articles, a guide for which is Kate Turabian, A MANUAL FOR WRITERS OF TERM PAPERS, THESES AND DISSERTATIONS. For examples of this sort of historical writings see any issue of the HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY, AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, OR JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY.

Topics must be selected by 1 February and a tentative outline submitted by Thursday, 10 February. An outline of your paper is due by 1 March and the paper must be turned in by Tuesday, 15 March. This paper will be returned to you and a revised, final version must be submitted to the instructor no later than the last day of classes. This course fulfills the writing requirement for undergraduates.

V. EXAMINATIONS & GRADING:

1. EXAMINATIONS: There will be mid-term and a final examination. The mid-term will consist of two essay questions based on your reading assignments and the lectures. The final examination will consist of three essays based on the reading assignments and the lectures.
2. GRADES: Final Grades for the course will be computed according to the following percentages:

   Mid-term exam = 30% Term Paper = 30% Final Exam = 40%

3. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: In addition to reading the assigned reading, graduate students should become familiar with the historical literature of the Caribbean Basin. They should, therefore, try to familiarize themselves with as much of the historiography of 19th- and 20th- century Caribbean Basin as possible. In part this can be done by reading major works and articles and by paying attention to the footnotes, but they should supplement this reading by browsing in the Latin American Library, reading book reviews, and by studying bibliographical and historiographical essays, especially those mentioned in the assigned reading. They should also become familiar with the HANDBOOK OF LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES. Especially useful for this requirement are the pertinent sections of the CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA.

Information provider:
Unit: H-Net program at UIC History Department Email: H-Net@uicvm.uic.edu
Posted: 31 Aug 1994