The History of the Caribbean
50-516-350
M-W 1:20–2:40
Seminar Room, 429 Cooper St.
Professor Lorrin Thomas
429 Cooper St, office #100
856-225-2656
lthomas2@camden.rutgers.edu
Office hours: Mon. 3-4; Tues. 12:30-2:30; or by appt.
Course overview
In this course, we will explore the history of the Caribbean region from the time of Columbus’s
arrival in 1492 through the end of the twentieth century. Covering political, economic, social, and
cultural themes, we will examine the major developments in the Caribbean past: discovery and
conquest, colonialism and revolution, slavery and emancipation, imperialism and revolution,
migration and transnationalism. You will develop a clear understanding not only of the events and
issues that have shaped the history of the Caribbean, but also of why and how the history of this
region has unfolded in its particular ways. This advanced history course is reading-intensive (with up
to 150 pages of reading assigned per week) and there are four major writing assignments (but no
exams!).
Learning goals
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Explain and assess the importance of major historical forces that shaped three phases of Caribbean
history:
I. the colonial era (c.1500-1800)
II. the “long 19th century,” during which slavery slowly declined, followed by the early 20th century,
marked by U.S. imperialsim (c. 1800-1940)
III. postwar struggles for sovereignty (c. 1945-2000)
• Demonstrate a clear sense of the main historical actors in each period, including (depending on the
era) governors and plantation owners, pirates and enslaved people, capitalists and sharecroppers,
revolutionaries and defenders of empire
• Understand how historians piece together their sense of the past from a wide range of sources, and
how to analyze and interpret documents from the 16th through the 20th century
• Assess the distinctive value of different genres of sources that contribute to our understanding of the
past: travelers’ accounts and plantation owners’ record books; political speeches and policy
statements; news media reports and academic books and articles; novels, films, and song lyrics
• Show off your skills in communicating historical interpretation and analysis in writing. After each
of the three units of study, you will write a 6-8 page essay answering a series of questions about that
unit, incorporating insights from many of the assigned readings. You will also write a book review of
the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao that analyzes the role of historical interpretation in
the novel.
Required Readings
BOOKS
Higman, A Concise History of the Caribbean
Edwidge Danticat, The Farming of Bones
Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
OTHER REQUIRED READINGS
Many of required readings are articles or book chapters that you must download from the online
course reserves through the Robeson Library homepage (click on “Find Reserves,” then follow
prompts; these readings are marked with an asterisk* on the syllabus).
Films
SCREENED DURING FREE PERIOD, 12:15-1:15; OPTIONAL BUT STRONGLY RECOMMENDED*
Wed. 9/17 and Mon. 9/22 Last Supper
Wed. 10/21, Soy Cuba
Wed. 11/18 and Mon. 11/23 In the Time of the Butterflies
* bonus points will be given on Unit essays for inclusion of film analysis. If you cannot attend screenings, see
me about borrowing the DVD.
Course Requirements
Attendance and participation: 20%
Each week, roughly half of our class time will be spent on discussion, which means that you must be
prepared to participate, having completed and thought about the reading.
Unit essays (3, at 20% each): 60%
For each of the three units of the course, you will craft a 1500-1800 word essay responding to the
central questions raised in the Unit Review, which you will receive prior to beginning each unit.
Due via email by 5 p.m. on October 9, November 6, and December 18
Book review, historical analysis of The Brief Wondrous Life: 20%
An essay analyzing how historical context shapes the central issues addressed in The Brief Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao, and b) what the novel can teach historians about its major themes and time period.
Length is 1500-2000 words. I will post complete instructions on Sakai by Oct. 5.
Due via email on December 4
CLASS AND READING SCHEDULE
Week 1: Introduction: Place, Power, and Identity in the Caribbean
Sept. 2
UNIT I: ROGUE COLONIALISM
Week 2: “Discovery,” Conquest, and Extermination
Sept. 8
[class meets on TUESDAY THIS WEEK]
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 2, 33-51
Columbus, “Letter on the New World” *
Sept. 9
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 3, 52-80
Week 3: Pirates, Governors, and Everybody Else
Sept. 14
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 3, 81-96 and ch. 4, 97-122
Sept. 16
READING:
A. Exquemelin, Bucaniers of America, excerpt *
Dutch West India Company Instructions *
Rev. Francis Borland, “History of Darien [Panama]” *
Week 4: The Plantation System and Slavery
Sept. 21
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 4, 122-140
Sept. 23
READING:
Mintz, “Power,” pp. 151-186 *
John, “Plantation Slave Mortality in Trinidad”*
Week 5
Slavery, Marronage, Rebellion, and Revolution
Sept. 28
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 5, 141-153
Moitt, Sugar, Slavery, and Marronage in the French Caribbean *
Sept. 30
READING:
Fick, “The St. Domingue Slave Revolution and the Unfolding of Independence, 1791-1804” *
UNIT II: FREEDOM AND IMPERIALISM IN THE MODERN ERA
Week 6
The Long 19th Century: Abolition, Emancipation, and Manifest Destiny
Oct. 5
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 5, 153-195
Lecture today on abolition and emancipation; then on
Oct. 7
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 6, 196-204
“The Independent Party of Color” and “A Survivor” in The Cuba Reader *
'The Roosevelt Corollary Asserts U.S. Police Power over the Western Hemisphere” *
Platt Amendment*
Begin Danticat, The Farming of Bones
Friday Oct. 9: UNIT I paper due via email, 5 p.m.
Week 7
The United States and Puerto Rico
Oct. 12
READING:
García, “I Am the Other: Puerto Rico in the Eyes of North Americans, 1898” *
Oct. 14
READING:
Luis Muñoz Rivera speech; Luis Muñoz Marín speech *
Continue Danticat, The Farming of Bones
Week 8
The Dominican Republic and Haiti After U.S. Occupation
Oct. 19
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 6, 204-233
Oct. 21
READING:
Danticat, The Farming of Bones
Week 9
20th Century Nationalisms
Oct. 26
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 234-250
Gen. Smedley Butler, War is a Racket *
Oct. 28
READING:
C. Wright Mills, Listen, Yankee!, “Note to the Reader” and chs. 1-2 *
UNIT III: REVOLUTION, NATIONALISM, AND CULTURE AFTER 1950
Week 10 The Cuban Revolution
Nov. 2
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 251-259
Zeuske, “The Long Cuban Revolution”*
Nov. 4
READING:
C. Wright Mills, Listen, Yankee!, chapters 5, 8 *
Cuba Reader excerpts*
Friday, Nov. 6: UNIT II paper due via email, 5 p.m.
Week 11 The Problem of Sovereignty and the Politics of Race
Nov. 9
READING:
Fanon, “The Negro and Language,” in Black Skin, White Masks *
Begin Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Nov. 11
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 259-275
Lux, “Black Power in the Caribbean” *
Keep reading Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Week 12 The Sixties’ Radicalisms: Jamaica
Nov. 16
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 284-298; 307-314
Bogues, “Black Power, Decolonization, and Caribbean Politics” *
Nov. 18
READING: Michael Manley, “First Directions” and “Postscript” in The Politics of Change *
Keep reading Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Week 13 Dictators, Refugees, and Migrations: the Dominican Republic
Nov. 23
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 275-284; 299-307
Hoffnung-Garskof, A Tale of Two Cities, excerpt *
Nov. 25
NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 14 Dictators, Refugees, and Migrations: Haiti
Nov. 30
READING:
Portes and Stepick, City on the Edge, excerpt *
Dec. 2
READING:
Pierre-Charles and Low, “The Democratic Revolution in Haiti” *
Wilentz,The Rainy Season, excerpt *
Friday Dec. 4: Oscar Wao review due via email, 5 p.m.
Week 15:
Dec. 7
Transnational Politics and Culture
READING:
Higman, A Concise History, ch. 7, 315-326 and ch. 8, 327-332
Derby, “Gringo Chickens with Worms” *
Dec. 9
READING:
Marshall, “Bling-Bling for Rastafari: How Jamaicans Deal with Hip Hop” *
Friday, Dec. 18: Unit III paper due via email, 5 p.m.