 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Dr. Charles H. Ford
Office Hours: MWF, 9-10:30 a.m.; M, 3-4 p.m.; F, 3-3:30 p.m.; T, 9:30-11 a.m.;
R, 9:30-10 a.m.
Office: C-154, Brown Hall
Electronic Mail: chford7@mail.com
Facsimile: (757) 823-2512
Telephone: (757) 823-8865; 823-8828
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course surveys the histories of Caribbean and Latin American cultures from their Native American origins through European colonization to the present. (3 semester hours.) Prerequisite: Junior or Senior classification.
REQUIRED READINGS (TEXTS TO BUY): The following books are required and are on sale in the University bookstore:
Marshall Eakin, Brazil: The Once and Future Country (St. Martin's Press, 1998).
Aline Helg, Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912 (University of North Carolina Press, 1995).
Benjamin Keen, A History of Latin America. Sixth Edition. (Houghton-Mifflin, 2000).
Miguel Leon-Portilla, The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico (Beacon Press, 1992).
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To improve analytical and writing skills through formal critiques of secondary
sources which will improve style, grammar, and insight.
2. To become familiar with the various methods and approaches of history,
especially as it relates to Caribbean and Latin American history.
3. To place the significant developments of Caribbean and Latin American history
within a global context.
4. To appreciate the painful consequences of the colonial legacies in the
Caribbean and Latin America.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Since class attendance and participation
are important in the learning process, excessive (excused and/or unexcused)
absences may result, at the instructor's discretion, in grade reduction and/or
a failing grade. Determination of absences will be based upon regular class
meetings as scheduled by the Registrar and the Vice President for Academic
Affairs. Also, attendance for the entire class period is expected unless prior
arrangements have been made with the instructor. Students are responsible
for knowing the rules of attendance and the standards of academic and personal
conduct as set forth in the University Catalog and the Student Handbook. These
rules state that if a student misses more than 20% of a class, then the student
may receive a failing grade for that class. More specifically, for this evening
class, History 365(85), this means that if you miss four or more class meetings,
then you will automatically receive a failing grade for the course, regardless
of your performance on papers and tests. On the other hand, informed participation
in class (asking good questions, answering the lecturer's questions) will
enhance your final grade for the course.
2. ASSIGNMENTS: Topics, weekly reading assignments, and paper deadlines are
listed on the last two pages of the syllabus. Follow that schedule. A weekly
reading assignment should be completed before the first lecture in which the
class will discuss that reading assignment. Three critical essays will be
assigned. Each of these essays will be based on questions coming from the
required readings. In addition, there will be seven essay examinations (including
a midterm and a final); the first test will be administered on 30 January
2002. These essay exams may include short response, identification, and/or
document analysis sections. The midterm and final exams are not cumulative
and will only emphasize information discussed since the last examination.
The standard date for the final examination will be 8 May 2002; for graduating
seniors, the final exam will be administered on 24 April 2002. For all examinations,
please bring one or two blank, "blue" books from the University
bookstore as well as a blue or black ink pen.
3. MAKEUP EXAMINATIONS: Makeup exams will be given only at the instructor's
discretion. Any situation clearly beyond a student's control which causes
him/her to miss an exam (or any other assignment) should be reported to the
instructor at the earliest possible time.
4. INCOMPLETE GRADES: Incomplete final grades for the course are given only
when the student has completed at least five of the seven tests and at least
two of the three papers by the relevant final examination date (24 April for
graduating seniors; 8 May for everyone else). Yet even if the student has
completed these minimum expectations, incomplete final grades for the course
are given only at the instructor's discretion and because of critical circumstances.
It is expected that all work should be completed as assigned.
5. GRADING: I grade according to the following formula:
Five Regular Exams 10% each = 50%
Midterm 10%
Final 10%
Three Critical Essays 10% each = 30%
Good class participation and attendance (defined by enthusiastic engagement
and three or fewer missed class meetings) will lead up to 15 extra points
added to the score of the final exam. The final exact number of added points
for good class participation and attendance is solely at the instructor's
discretion. Bad class participation and attendance (defined by four or more
missed class meetings) will result in a failing grade for the entire course,
regardless of performance on tests and papers. This disincentive to disappear
from class enforces the letter and spirit of the University Catalog and Student
Handbook as interpreted by your instructor, Dr. Charles H. Ford.
6. ACADEMIC HONESTY: The History and Geography faculty adhere to the University
Catalog guidelines regarding plagiarism, cheating, and other academically
related misconduct. Violations of these standards will result in grade reduction
and/or a failing final grade plus a recommendation for University discipline.
In particular, copying from an electronic website without appropriate attribution
is as serious a violation as lifting passages from a printed source without
citing it. Citations for this course should be in the University of Chicago/Turabian
style, the form used by professional historians. Your instructor will acquaint
you with this style of citation immediately before the assignment of the first
critical essay. If your citations fail to conform to Turabian style, then
your paper grades will be reduced accordingly.
7. DISRUPTIONS: Noise and other disruptions are unacceptable and may result
in a student's removal from class. This includes noises from beepers, watches,
and cellular telephones; beepers and cell phones should be turned off before
entering the classroom.
8. CHILDREN AND BABIES: In general, underaged and unregistered individuals
are welcome in class only if they do not distract other students and only
if there is room for them to sit in the classroom. During examinations, however,
underaged and unregistered individuals should not be present under any circumstances.
9. ABSENCE FROM FINAL EXAMINATIONS: Your instructor adheres to the University
Catalog's procedures in the event of a missed final examination. These rules
state that "if a student misses a final examination because of an emergency,
he/she should notify the instructor within 48 hours after the examination
was scheduled." (p. 31) In addition, the student needs to get an excuse
from the Dean of Students; credible documentation in writing must be shown
in order to get such an excuse. If the student does not follow the Catalog
procedures to the letter, then the student will receive a zero/F for the exam
grade, which will be factored into the final grade for the course as outlined
above in Section 5.
10. REPORTING FINAL GRADES: Reporting final grades for the course over the
telephone, facsimile, and/or Internet violates the Federal Privacy Act of
1974. Therefore, your instructor does not report final grades for the course
over the telephone, facsimile, and/or Internet. In addition, posting final
grades for the course publicly violates the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. Therefore,
your instructor does not post final grades for the course in a public place.
11. COMPUTER LITERACY: This course assumes that students have e-mail addresses
and that they have access to (and are familiar with using) word processing
programs such as Microsoft Word and/or Corel Word Perfect. Course announcements
may be transmitted electronically; questions about assignments may be efficiently
handled through e-mail. In addition, this course assumes that students have
access to (and are familiar with using) Internet websites, which your instructor
may underscore in order to supplement required printed assignments.
12. POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS TO SYLLABI: Your instructor, Charles H. Ford, retains
the right to change or to revise this syllabus and/or course calendar at his
discretion. Attend class in order to be aware of any syllabi changes.
13. SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS: Any student with documented and certified special
needs regarding their ability to participate successfully in this course should
inform your instructor of these special needs during the first two weeks of
class. Once informed of these special needs, your instructor will make any
reasonable accommodation in order to foster the success of any student with
documented and certified special needs. In general, disabled (whether physically,
mentally, and/or academically) students should contact Ms. Beverly B. Harris
at the Disabled Student Services Office, Room 309, Godwin Student Center,
(757) 823-8173.
14. TAPE RECORDING OF CLASS: In order for students to take better notes from
lectures and/or discussions, your instructor welcomes the use of tape recorders
to supplement handwritten and/or typed notes. Nevertheless, tape recording
should not be a substitute for attendance or engagement; a student must be
present during the entire class period in order to be able to record excerpts
of the class and/or the entire session. Abuse of tape recording privileges
will result in such privileges being taken away from that student and/or students.
COURSE CALENDAR
CARIBBEAN AND LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
16 January Ancient America
Keen, Chapter 1
23 January The Iberian and West African Worlds in the Fifteenth Century
Keen, Chapter 2
30 January FIRST EXAM ON CHAPTERS 1 & 2
Iberian Exploration and the Caribbean Experiment; the Conquest of Mexico --
Keen, Chapter 3
FIRST PAPER (ON BROKEN SPEARS) ASSIGNED
BEGIN READING BROKEN SPEARS
Film, Cabeza da Vaca (1993)
6 February The Conquest of Peru; Imperial Organization and Administration;
Labor and Slavery in Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean
Keen, Chapter 4 & 5
Handout from 30 January - Julio Cesar Pino, "Teaching the History of
Race in Latin America," Perspectives: American Historical Association
Newsletter, October 1997, pp.1, 22-25.
Film, Quilombo (1984)
13 February FIRST PAPER (ON BROKEN SPEARS) DUE
Colonial Brazil; The Making of the British, French, and Dutch Sugar Colonies
-- Keen, Chapter 6
BEGIN READING EAKIN/ SECOND PAPER ASSIGNED
Films, The Mission (1986); Xica (1976)
20 February SECOND EXAM ON CHAPTERS 3 - 6
The Bourbon Reforms and Spanish America; The Caribbean of 1776
Keen, Chapter 7
27 February The Wars of Independence in Latin America; the Haitian Revolution;
The Coming of Emancipation in the West Indies
Keen, Chapter 8
6 March MIDTERM EXAM ON CHAPTERS 7 & 8
Dictators and Revolutions in Latin America, 1820-1870; The Caribbean After
Emancipation
Keen, Chapter 9
Film, Camilla (1984)
13 March SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS
20 March The New Colonialism of the Late Nineteenth Century
Keen, Chapters 10 & 11
SECOND PAPER (ON EAKIN) DUE
BEGIN READING HELG/ THIRD PAPER ASSIGNED
27 March The Mexican Revolution and Its Consequences
Keen, Chapter 12
Films, Rivera: Portrait of an Artist, The Frescoes of Diego Rivera
(1986); Kahlo: Portrait of an Artist, Frida Kahlo (1983)
FOURTH EXAM ON CHAPTERS 10-12
3 April The Cuban Revolution and Its Consequences
Keen, Chapter 17
10 April FIFTH EXAM ON CHAPTER 17
Disillusionment in Argentina and Chile
Keen, Chapters 13 & 14
Film, The Official Story (1985)
17 April Republican Brazil
Keen, Chapter 15
Review Eakin; Film, Amazon: The Invisible People (1998)
Handout from April 10 - Duncan Green, Faces of Latin America
(London: The Latin American Bureau, Second Edition, 1997), 38-55.
THIRD PAPER (ON HELG) DUE
24 April SIXTH EXAM ON CHAPTERS 13, 14 & 15
Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador in the Twentieth Century; Venezuela and Colombia
in the Twentieth Century
Keen, Chapters 16 & 19
1 May Central America After Independence; United States-Latin American Relations;
The Flowering of Latin American Culture in the Twentieth Century
Keen, Chapters 18, 20 & 21
Handout from April 24 -- Marc Cooper, "The Heartland's Raw Deal: How
Meatpacking is Creating a New Immigrant Class," The Nation, 3 February
1997, pp.11-17.
Film, The Silence of Neto (1998)
8 May FINAL EXAMINATION ON CHAPTERS 16, 18, 19, 20 & 21
at 4:00 p.m.
*********************************************************