OBJECTIVES:
African influences are paramount throughout Latin America in myriad
venues: culture, religion, music, language. As one of the major ethnic
groups, Africans were instrumental in building and shaping Latin
America’s past and reality. They have been victims of slavery and
racism but also agents of their history and contributors to Latin
America’s development. This class will examine the role of Africans in
Latin America beginning with their arrival during the Spanish invasion
and subsequent transatlantic slave trade through their struggles for
freedom in the nineteenth century and formation of new ethnic and
national identities in the twentieth century. We will analyze primary
sources, secondary literature, and films through the lenses of gender,
class, and ethnicity to unravel the internal diversity of this group and
their complex role throughout Latin America’s history.
Course
Requirements:
ATTENDANCE: Attendance is mandatory; it will be taken each class meeting;
and it will factor into your grade (you are allowed one unexcused
absence). You should arrive
to class on time. Tardy
arrivals to class meetings will count as a 1/2 absence.
PARTICIPATION:
All students are required to contribute vocally to the class by
asking questions and offering comments throughout the length of the
course. Students must do the readings for each class and be prepared to
discuss the material. In
addition, the class will be split up into two groups (1 and 2).
Each group will have assigned readings and lead the class
discussion one day. Part of
your assignment is to assign your alternate group partner two chapters
from your readings and photocopy it for him/her. Choose a reading that
is informative and will help spark class discussion (not necessarily the
introduction or conclusion).
POSITION
PAPERS: You need to do six positions papers throughout the semester. A single-spaced, one page (or double spaced front and back)
position paper on the readings (at least four of your papers must be on
assigned readings) will be handed in at the beginning of class for the
six weeks that you choose to write the paper.
DO NOT HAND IN MORE THAN ONE PAGE.
The first couple of weeks I will provide suggestions for the
topics of your position paper. In
subsequent weeks, however, you will come up with your own
thesis/question to write about. This assignment is not a research paper
and requires no outside sources. However,
in order to write a clear analytical paper, you will find it necessary
to thoroughly read the weekly assignments.
You must write carefully, giving special attention to grammar and
style. Clarity and
organization of thought, thematic focus, and a concise, grammatically
correct structure will be the primary grading measures.
I suggest that students do a number of rewrites prior to turning
in the final version, correcting for grammar, spelling and structure.
I also encourage students to make an appointment to see a student
tutor at the Learning Center, 253 Luther Bonney (780-4228) for
assistance and feedback regarding writing assignments. Finally,
I strongly recommend that you purchase, if you have not already done so,
Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference. It will prove to be an invaluable writing
tool and I will refer you to it in my written comments on your papers.
This syllabus includes a photocopy of the revision symbols in the back
of her book for you to refer to when digesting my critiques of your
written work.
Due
Dates: You must hand in the reflection paper the same day that we will
discuss those readings. A half grade will be deducted for each day the
paper is late. The goal is
to improve your writing through the course of the semester.
Consequently, I have established three dates by which you must have
completed reflection papers:
By October
7 hand in 2 papers
By November
4 hand in 4 papers
By November
25 hand in 6 papers
RESEARCH PAPER AND
PRESENTATION: Each student will write a research paper on any aspect of
Africans or Afro-Americans in Latin America. The research paper should
be 2500-3000 words (10-12 pages) in length including footnotes. Consult The
Chicago Manual of Style for
details on how to present footnotes and bibliography. You must write
carefully, giving special attention to grammar and style.
Clarity and organization of thought, thematic focus, content, and
a concise, grammatically correct structure will be the primary grading
measures. I suggest that
students do a number of rewrites correcting for grammar, spelling and
structure. An annotated
bibliography and thesis statement is due on October 21st. If
you want to hand in a rough draft it must be submitted by November 18th.
If you receive a B or higher on your rough draft you may count
that as your final grade and forego the final version.
Student presentations of their research will begin on December 2nd.
Presentations should be between 15 to 20 minutes long, followed
by a short question and answer period. You should not read your paper
for the presentation, but rather prepare an oral version of your
findings. If you would like to reserve any instructional technology
(video or audio equipment, equipment for power point presentation, slide
projector, etc.) call 780-4280 or 780-5356. The final written product is
due on the last day of class, December 9th.
No late papers will be accepted.
A list of possible
topics follows, but you are in no way restricted to these topics.
You may, however, want to restrict your topic to a certain time
period or country:
The role of Afro-Latin
American (ALA) women
Oral history/oral
tradition in ALA communities
ALA political leaders
Indigenous people and
ALA
Middle Passage
Slavery (single
country or comparative case)
Rebellions/resistance
ALA art, music, dance,
literature, culture
African influences in
LA
ALA religions
Identities/Ethnicities/
Race Mixing of ALA
ALA intellectuals
Historiography of ALA
ALA in independence
movements
Public Health of ALA
ALA and economic
development
ALA social structures
Latin American
influences in Africa
****A NOTE ON AN HONOR
CODE****
I will assume that you are
familiar with the Student Academic Integrity Policy and understand
precisely what it entails, especially regarding plagiarism and cheating.
I will also assume that you know the potential consequences of
violation of the integrity policy.
I take it seriously and I expect you to do so also.
FINAL
NOTE: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a
disability, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.
Furthermore, if at any point in the semester you encounter
difficulty with the course or feel you could be performing at a higher
level, consult me.
LATIN
AMERICAN TRAVEL MONEY: Students should be aware that there is a Latin
American Student Travel fund. This fund has provided grants, which have helped USM students
travel to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba.
For information see the International Programs office in 101
Payson-Smith.
In
addition a study abroad program to the Dominican Republic is run through
USM during the winter break. Students
interested in this program should see me or the history department for
further information. Alternatively,
you can contact Anne B. Keith, Associate Professor of Nursing, College
of Nursing, 228 Masterton, Portland, 780-4138.
She will ask you for a letter of intent with as much information
as possible. Participants
are selected on a first come first serve basis.
Grade
Distribution:
Class attendance and
participation 20%
Position Papers
30% (5% each)
Annotated Bibliography
10%
Research Paper
30%
Research Presentation
10%
Required
Texts:
Conrad, Robert Children
of God’s Fire: Documentary History of Black Slavery in Brazil.
Princeton University Press, 1994.
Davis, Darien. Slavery
and Beyond: The African Impact on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 1995.
Thornton, John. Africa
and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Each
student will select one book of the following books:
Castillo Bueno, Maria
de los Reyes. Reyita: The Life of a Black Cuban Woman in the Twentieth Century.
Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.
Prince, Mary. The
History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave. Related by Herself. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997 (Edited by Moira Ferguson).
Recommended
Hacker,
Diana, A Writer’s Reference, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999.
Klein, Hebert. African
Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1986.
Montejo, Esteban
(Miguel Barnet). Biography of a Runaway Slave. Curbstone Press, 1997.
On
Reserve
Querino,
Manuel Raimundo. “The African Contribution to Brazilian
Civilization,” Translated by Bradford Burns. (Tempe: Center for Latin
American Studies Arizona State University, 1978).
The following journals
may be helpful:
The
Afro-Hispanic Review
Wadabagei:
A Journal of the Caribbean and Its Diaspora
The
Journal of Afro-Latin American Studies and Literatures
History
in Africa
Research in African
Literatures
Journal
of African History
Journal of Black
Studies
A Scholarly Journal on
Black Women
Race
and Class
American
Historical Review
Americas:
A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History
Ethnohistory
Journal
of Latin American Studies
Hispanic
American Historical Review
Latin
American Research Review
Journal
of Negro History
The following general
texts may be helpful:
Ed. Arlene Torres and
Norman E. Whitten, Jr., Blackness
in Latin America and the Caribbean: Social Dynamics and Cultural
Transformations (1998)
Ed. Darlene Clark Hine
and Jacqueline McLeod, Crossing
Boundaries: Comparative History of Black People in Diaspora (1999)
Leslie Rout, The
African Experience in Spanish America: 1502 to the Present Day
(1976)
Ed. Manuel Moreno
Fraginals, Africa in Latin America: Essays on History, Culture, and Socialization
(1977)
Franklin Knight, The
African Dimension of Latin America (MacMillan, 1974)
Richard Jackson, Black
Literature and Humanism in Latin America (Georgia, 1988)
Anne Pescatello, The
African in Latin America (1975)
The following websites
may be helpful:
www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/
--Smithsonian initiative, although Africa is main focus, info on slave
trade and African influences in Americas
www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/latam/africania.html—“Choosing
a Color for the Cosmic
Race: African Americans and National Identities in Central America.”
Has textual and visual materials to reframe historical debates
while offering fresh perspectives and emperical evidence
Course
assignments are found on the Themes page, please follow link
above/below.
