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Pre-requisites:
Normally H16A & H17C (but may not apply
to non-history majors)
Prof. Verene A. Shepherd
Instruction
Format:
Lectures (2 per week, Mon. &
Tues. 5-6 in IFLT)
+ tutorials (one per week per student)
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Tentative
Lecture Topics/Schedule:
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(Modifications are likely
as the semester progresses, but changes will be announced in
good time. See the detailed booklist for the full references
of supportive readings for each lecture)
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| Week
1: |
Lec.
1: Introduction to H20F (explanation of course
material, course format & rationale, tutorial structure,
reading list etc)
Lec. 2: Introduction contd: The geography
& societies of H20F (what the colonizers would have
seen; introduction to the geographical and social landscape
of the territories that form the focus of the course,
highlighting the diverse ethnic and physical composition
of territories and the pan-Caribbean nature of the course)
Supportive Readings: F. Knight, ed., UNESCO General History
of the Caribbean Vol. 3, chaps. 2 & 4; Arthur Stinchcombe,
Sugar Island Slavery; D. Watts, The West Indies. |
| Week
2: |
Lec.
3: Overview of historiographical problems in
Caribbean History. The idea of discourse/counter-discourse/discourses
(In this lecture, we will contend with the questions:
what is Caribbean History? What is the difference between
history, literature and myth? Why are there contested
versions of Caribbean History and what are some of the
contested versions of Caribbean History? - e.g. the textual
invention of the indigenous peoples, rationale for colonization,
gender roles in colonization & settlement, etc.) Supportive
Readings: P.C. Emmer, ed., UNESCO General History of the
Caribbean, Vol. 2; B.W. Higman, Writing West Indian Histories;
G. Lewis, Main Currents in Caribbean Thought; J. Osterhammel,
Colonialism; V. Shepherd & H. Beckles, eds., Caribbean
Slavery in the Atlantic World
Lec. 4: Historiographical problems, continued
(We take up from where we left off in lecture 3) Readings:
as for lecture 3 |
| Week
3: |
Lec.
5: Those writing/ re-writing/righting Caribbean
pre-emancipation history (This will consist of an introduction
to the major authors and their areas of interest and will
take the form of a slide presentation) Supportive Reading:
B. W. Higman, ed., UNESCO General History of the Caribbean
Vol. 6; Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean Slavery in the
Atlantic World.
Lecture 6: Those writing Caribbean
history contd, highlighting some of the major debates
they have generated (e.g. over the ‘discovery’
thesis, the reasons for colonization, the fate of the
indigenous peoples, the pre-plantation economies, the
rise of slavery & resistance). Supportive Reading:
as for lecture 4 + Gavin Menzies, 1421
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| Week
4: |
Lecture
7: Representations of the Trade in African Captives:
1st documentary on “Britain’s Slave Trade”
Lecture 8: Representations of the trade
and slavery: 2nd documentary on “Britain’s
Slave Trade”) |
| Week
5: |
Lecture
9: Questions raised/debates generated by the
2 documentaries (e.g.
traditional vs revisionist representations of those involved
in the trade, sources of
captives, ethnicities, the economics of slavery in the
Caribbean & slavery and capitalist globalization ).
Supportive Readings: V. Shepherd & H. Beckles., eds.,
Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, Sections 1, 1V,
V, V11, 1X and XV11.
Lecture 10: The impact of slavery on
Caribbean economies (essentially a quantitative study
of Caribbean economies, looking at the % of enslaved involved
in sugar and other activities; exports; trading arrangements,
etc). Supportive Readings: S. Drescher & S. Engerman,
eds., Encyclopaedia of World Slavery; F. Knight, ed.,
UNESCO General History of the Caribbean, Vol. 3, chaps.
2& 3; R. Sheridan, The Development of the Plantations
to 1750; Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean Slavery in
the Atlantic World, Sections 1V, V1 and V111; Shepherd,
ed., Slavery Without Sugar
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| Week
6: |
Lecture
11: The socio-political impact of slavery (In
this lecture we review the
evolution of Caribbean societies and the ways in which
slavery altered the ethnic composition and character of
Caribbean societies. We look at white and free-coloured
society and the socio-economic and political roles each
class/’race’ played in Caribbean pre-1834
history. We also consider the debates generated over Caribbean
societies – e.g. creolization, hybridity, plural
society thesis). Supportive Reading: E. [K]. Brathwaite,
The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica; S. Drescher
& S. Engerman, eds., Encyclopaedia of World Slavery;
F. Knight, ed., UNESCO General History of the Caribbean
Vol. 3, chaps. 2, 4, 8; Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean
Slavery in the Atlantic World, Sections1X & X; V.
Shepherd & G. Richards, eds., Questioning Creole.
Lecture 12: In-course test (adequate
notice will be given if there is any
change to this date)
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| Week
7: |
Lecture
13: The economy of the enslaved (In this lecture
we consider how the
enslaved carved out/negotiated economic niches for themselves
and protected such niches). Supportive Readings: S. Drescher
& S. Engerman, eds., Encyclopaedia of World Slavery;
F. Knight, ed., UNESCO General History of the Caribbean,
Vol. 3, chap. 3; Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean Slavery
in the Atlantic World Section X1; M. Turner, ed., Chattel
Slaves into Wage Slaves
Lecture 14: Talking back: the voices
of the “subaltern” (The main question here
is how the enslaved represented their own experiences
of slavery. What sources exist to enable the student
of history to gain access to the ‘voices’
of the enslaved? We will also consider the problems
and pitfalls of “ventriloquism”). Supportive
Reading: Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean Slavery in
the Atlantic World, Section X111
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| Week
8: |
Lecture
15: The culture of enslaved peoples (In this
lecture we consider the
cultural life of the enslaved, including religious beliefs
and folk culture). Supportive Readings: E [K]. Brathwaite,
The Development of Creole Society; F. Knight, ed., UNESCO
General History of the Caribbean, Vol. 3, chap. 9; Shepherd/Beckles,
eds., Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, Section
X1.
Lecture 16: The cultural legacy of
enslaved peoples (This lecture combines
history and contemporary society, examining the issue
of retention). Guest Lecturer or Video
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| Week
9: |
Lecture
17: The disintegration of the slave systems (In
this lecture, we begin a series of discussions on the
ending of the slave systems. We begin with one representation
of the story – the 3rd documentary, “Britain’s
Slave Trade”
Lecture 18: Gaps in the Documentary
of Abolition: Gender discourses (In this lecture we
review the field of resistance studies and highlight
the contribution of the fairly new field of gender studies).
Supportive Readings: Shepherd/Beckles, eds., Caribbean
Slavery in the Atlantic World Sections X and XV1; V.
Shepherd, et. al. eds., Engendering History.
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| Week
10: |
Lecture
19: The anti-slavery story: the perspective of
enslaved rebels (In this lecture we make use of the trial
records of enslaved anti-slavery activists in order to
compare the ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’
accounts of the reasons for resistance). Supportive Readings:
; H. Beckles, Black Rebellion in Barbados; V. Shepherd
& A. Reid, “Rebel Voices”, Jamaica Journal
Vol. 27
Lecture 20: Emancipation in the French
and Spanish territories (A comparative assessment of
the abolition process in the British, French and Spanish
Caribbean). Supportive Readings: H. Beckles, Natural
Rebels; R. Blackburn, The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery;
S. Drescher & S. Engerman, eds., Encyclopaedia of
World Slavery;CLR James, The Black Jacobins; Shepherd/Beckles,
eds., Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, Sections
XV, XV1 & XV11
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| Week
11: |
Lecture
21: Emancipation and anti-slavery discourses
in the metropoles (In this lecture, we compare the local
and external anti-slavery discourses, looking, for example,
at the role of women in England in the abolition movement).
Supportive Readings: R. Blackburn, The Overthrow of Colonial
Slavery; S. Drescher & S. Engerman, eds., Encyclopaedia
of World Slavery; C. Midgley, Women Against Slavery; E.
Williams, Capitalism & Slavery
Lecture 22: Review & Evaluation
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