WOH 4264 Empire and
Imperialism

Lectures 5th period (11:45-12:35):
T [WM 0100]

R [Flint 105]

Sections Fridays 4th, 6th, 7th pers.

oct



Professor Harland-Jacobs
 Keene-Flint 219, 392-0271 x 256
harlandj@ufl.edu
Tues 1:00-2:00, Thurs 12:45-1:45, and by appt.
Teaching assistants:

Jon Scholl (jscholl@ufl.edu) and Chris Woolley (cwoolley@ufl.edu)



This course website is updated regularly. Check it at least once a week.

 

Course description
Pick up any contemporary newspaper, turn on a cable news show, or pull up a political blog, and you will most likely find people deploying the terms "empire" or "imperialism." American political discourse is abuzz with heated debates about the existence of a contemporary American Empire.  European countries wrestle with the impact of migration from formerly colonized countries.  Imperialism figures centrally into any discussion of globalization, nationalism, and international relations.  It behooves us as informed and engaged citizens to grasp the historical and contemporary significance of imperialism and to study the particular empires that have shaped the modern world.

This course offers an introduction to the empires and imperialism of western Europe from the classical period through the age of decolonization.  Rather than attempting to survey every development in every empire, it focuses on three key themes: 1) contact, exchange, and interconnection; 2) power, resistance, and critique; 3) ideologies. We will define key terms like "empire" and "colony", examine various kinds and forms of empires, and consider imperial power in its multiple guises. Finally, the course asks students to think about the legacies of European imperialism in the contemporary world and to take a position in the debate over whether the United States has been and is currently an imperial power.


Attendance policy and expectations
Students are expected to attend class regularly and arrive for lecture or section promptly.  If you are late, you may come in during the announcements.  But please do not disturb the class if lecture has started.  Attendance is mandatory for all sections.  Final grades will be lowered by a third of a grade for each unexcused absence.

Please keep electronic distractions to a minimum. While you may feel perfectly comfortable multi-tasking in lectures, it is disturbing to the instructor and to those around you. If your behavior proves distracting, you will be asked to leave.

History classes are most rewarding when students interact with the texts, each other, and the instructor on a sustained basis. Readings provide the raw material for class discussion, where much of the learning takes place.  Effective class participation is therefore essential. Students can expect a respectful atmosphere in which to express their opinions.

Late work will not be accepted without penalty.  Please make every effort to apprise the instructor of adverse circumstances that affect your ability to attend class or complete assignments on time.  Official documentation is required to excuse an absence and to schedule make-up assignments.

In writing papers, be certain to give proper credit whenever you use words, phrases, ideas, arguments, and conclusions drawn from someone else’s work.  Failure to give credit by quoting and/or footnoting is PLAGIARISM and is unacceptable. Please review the University’s honesty policy at www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/.

Please do not hesitate to contact the instructor during the semester if you have any individual concerns or issues that need to be discussed. Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office (www.dso.ufl.edu/drp/).  The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation.


Course materials   (books are available at Gator Textbooks, 3501 SW 2nd Ave., Suite D 374-4500)
  • Anthony Pagden, Peoples and Empires: A Short History of European Migration, Exploration, and Conquest, from Greece to the Present (New York: Modern Library, 2003)
  • Geoffrey Symcox and Blair Sullivan, eds., Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies (Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2005)

  • Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants (Vintage, 1993)

  • The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: or Gustavus Vassa, the African (Modern Library Classics edition)

  • Kushwant Singh, Train to Pakistan (1956)

  • Reserves (ares) (students are required to print or take extensive notes on each document or article on e-reserves and bring it to the appropriate lecture or discussion)

  • Mary Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 5th edition  (Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007) [strongly recommended]


Assignments

Paper 1 (Jan 29): write a 5-7-page paper on the documents in Symcox and Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies. Topics and guidelines.

20%
Tests (Feb 25, Apr 9): The tests will be based on events, terms, and concepts covered in lectures, Pagden's Peoples and Empires, and Osterhammel's "Colonial Epochs".  They will consist of matching questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, and questions that ask you to put events in chronological order.  Please consult the study guide for key terms and sample questions.
 30%
Participation: We will be grading participation according to a point system; it is based on attendance and level of engagement in the discussion.  For each Friday section, you will receive points as follow:
3 points: sustained engagement
2 points: limited contribution
1 point: in attendance but no contribution; limited contribution but tardy
0 points: absent
At the end of the semester,we will average your points and assign grades based on the spread between 0 and 3.		 20%

Active reading assignment

Choose one of the following two options (you must inform your TA of your choice by Jan 12):

A) Reading journal (Jan 22, Feb 19, April 16): prior to every section, write a thoughtful response (of at least one substantial paragraph) to the week's reading. Also compose one discussion question. You may keep either an electronic journal or a handwritten journal in a composition notebook. And you may take one week off during the semester. In-text (parentetical citations) or footnotes are acceptable for this assignment.

B) Three 2-page reaction papers (on Equiano (3%); Schivelbusch (3%); Singh (3%)) due in sections the week the reading is being discussed. In-text (parentetical citations) or footnotes are acceptable for this assignment.

9%

Exit essay (Apr 20): in a 7-8-page, typewritten (12 pt font, double spaced, 1" margins) essay respond to the following question:

Discuss the history and current state of American imperialism in light of the empires studied in this class.

Please draw on the course materials as well as at least one outside scholarly source. Use footnotes, and include a bibliography.

Examples of scholary secondary sources include:

Amy Kaplan and Donald Pease, Cultures of United States Imperialism (1994)

Walter Lafeber, The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860-1989 (1998)

Thomas Heitala, Manifest Design: American Exceptionalim and Empire (2003)

Andrew Bacevich (ed), The Imperial Tense (2003)

Charles Maier, Among Empires: American Ascendancy and its Predecessors (2006)

William A Williams, Empire as a Way of Life... (2006)

Walter Nugent, Habits of Empire: A History of American Expansionism (2009)

+ various works on the United States in the Philippines, including Julian Go (ed), The American Colonial State in the Philippines (2003), and the Caribbean


20%
Entrance and exit survey (required by the Center for European Studies) [link] 1%



Schedule

Week_1 Pagden reading: Preface, Chronology, and Introduction
Jan 5 course introduction
Jan 7

key terms/ overview

Jan 8

Sections:

Jurgen Osterhammel, "Colonal Epochs" in Osterhammel, Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview (Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1999 (1995)): 23-38 [ARES]

Week_2 Pagden reading: Chaps 1, 2, 3
Jan 12

classical precedents: Greece

Inform TA of your choice for the active reading assignment.

Jan 14

classical precedents: Rome

Jan 15

Sections:

Pagden chapters + Susan P. Mattern, "Epilogue: Carthage Must Be Destroyed," in Rome and the Enemy: Imperial Strategy in the Principate (Berkeley, 1999): 211-22 [ARES]

Extra credit: using the on-line databases ECCO and Empire Online (available through the database section of the library catalog), find a primary source in which the author draws on or refers to the Roman Empire in his discussion of a contemporary empire. Provide a complete citation and a 1-2-page description.

Week_3 Pagden reading: Chap 4
Jan 19

island laboratories

Jan 21 empire by sea
Jan 22

Sections:

John R. Gillis, "Islands in the Making of Atlantic Civilization" in Islands of the Mind: How the Human Imagination Created the Atlantic World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004): 83-100 [ARES]

Discoverers' Web: we will discuss this website in sections. To facilitate the discussion, please do one or both of the following:
a) spend some time assessing the site: what does it cover? how is it organized and what are its biases? what are its strengths? how could it be improved?

b) choose an explorer from the ancient, medieval, or age of discovery sections (or early explorers in the North and South America sections) and identify an interesting aspect of his life to share with the class.

Reading journal due [note: you do not have to submit a journal if you have chosen the reaction paper option.]

Week_4 Pagden reading: Chap 5
Jan 26

Columbus and the early Spanish Empire: Reconquesta, encomienda, Treaty of Tordesillas, Requerimiento, the Fleet system, B. de las Casas, Columbian exchange

Jan 28

Cortes; Spanish-Dutch relations: Hernan Cortes, VOC, New Holland

Jan 29

Sections:

Symcox and Sullivan, Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies

Primary source paper due [topics and guidelines]

Week_5 Pagden reading: Chaps 6 and 7
Feb 2

England's westward enterprise

Richard Hakluyt, "Discourse of Western Planting"
Feb 4 the Dutch empire and the consumer revolution
Feb 5

Sections:

Schivelbusch, Tastes of Paradise

Reaction paper due [note: you do not have to submit a reaction paper if you have chosen the reading journal option.]
Week_6 Pagden reading: Chap 8
Feb 9

The slave trade

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade [extra credit assignment due Mar 26]
Feb 11

The new world plantation complex

Code Noir
Feb 12

Sections:

Equiano, The Interesting Narrative [read all the chapter headings to get a sense of the narrative as a whole; read the following chapters closely: 1, 2, 3, 5, 12; read the account of his baptism in Chap 4, the account of how he got his freedom in Chap 6, the account of going to the North Pole in Chap 9, and the account of his conversion to Christianity in Chap 10]

Jennifer Howard, "Unraveling the Narrative," Chronicle of Higher Education, 9 Sept 2005 [ARES]

Reaction paper due

Week_7
Feb 16

imperial rivalries
Feb 18 problems of confessional governance
Feb 19

Sections:

Royal Proclamation of 1763
James Grant to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations (1764)
Quebec Act (1774)

Reading journal due. Note: in lieu of a journal entry for today, please complete the following worksheet and bring it to sections with your journal on Friday.

Week_8 Pagden reading: Chap 9
Feb 23 the Cook voyages
Feb 25 Test 1 [study guide]
Feb 26

Sections:

P. J. Marshall and Glyndwr Williams, "'Enlarging the Sphere of Contemplation': The Exploration of the Pacific 1760-1800" in The Great Map of Mankind: Perceptions of New Worlds in the Age of Enlightenment [ARES]

Week_9
Mar 2 Atlantic revolutions/ abolition
Mar 4 imperial trusteeship
Mar 5

sections cancelled

Week_10
Mar 6-14 Spring Break
Week_11 Pagden reading: Chap 10
Mar 16 imperialism, labor, and the global economy of the early 19th century
Mar 18 the French in North Africa
Mar 19

Sections:

Richard Drayton, "The Collaboration of Labour: Slaves, Empires, and Globalizations in the Atlantic World, ca. 1600-1850" in A. G . Hopkins, Globalization in World History (Norton, 2002): 99-115. [ARES]

Treaty of Nanking

documents on Napoleon's empire:
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Decree of the Directory and Napoleon's Proclamation to the Egyptians
Imperial Catachism, 1806
Week_12
Mar 23 alternative visions: 1857
Mar 25

high imperialism

Mar 26

Sections:

Catherine Hall, "Imperial Man: Edward Eyre in Australasia and the West Indies" in Daunton and Halpern, Empires and Others [ARES]

Thomas Carlyle [bio], "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question" (1849) [text] -- skim just to get a sense of his tone

Kipling, The White Man's Burden and Recessional

Atlantic slave trade database extra credit assignment due
Week_13 Pagden reading: Chap 11
Mar 30 empires, nationalism, and global war
Apr 1 decolonization: India/Pakistan
Apr 2

Sections:

Singh, Train to Pakistan

Reaction paper due

Optional extra credit assignment: submit a 3-4-page reaction paper in which you discuss what this novel can tell us about the end of empire in South Asia and, more generally, the uses of novels in studying history

Week_14
Apr 6 decolonization: Algeria
Apr 8 Film: The Battle of Algiers
Apr 9

Sections: Test 2 [study guide]

NOTE: students in Chris' 6th period section will be taking the test in Turlington 2318.

Week_15
Apr 13 the United States and the world
Apr 15 Afghanistan
Apr 16

Sections:

Victor Davis Hanson, "A Funny Sort of Empire: Are Americans really so imperial?" National Review Online, 27 Nov 2002
Niall Ferguson, Collosus: The Price of America's Empire, introdution [ares]
Bernard Porter, "British and American 'Imperialisms' Compared," History News Network, 26 June 2006
Michael Hunt, "Empire, Hegemony, and the U.S. Policy Mess," History News Network, 21 May 2007

Reading journal due

Week_16
Apr 20

wrap up

Paper 2 due