History 494/712: Rebels and Revolutionaries in the
Atlantic World, 1750-1850
Description:
History 712 will examine the many different revolutions and
uprisings the spread across the Atlantic World during the period from the
mid-18th to the mid-19th century. We will begin by investigating the
revolutionary traditions that preceded this "Age of Revolution." Then we
will explore some of the larger revolutions and popular uprisings during the
era: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, The Haitian Revolution, the
slave uprisings that followed the Haitian Revolution, the revolutions and
independence movements in Latin America, and the attempted revolution by Native
Americans in the new United States. Given the breadth of topics we are
going to coverage, the object is not gain an exhaustive understanding of any one
revolution, but rather to explore the similarities and connections between them
all. In what ways were these movements similar to one another? How did
they differ? What do those similarities and differences have to tell us
about the revolutionary Atlantic? What connections existed between the
different Revolutions? To what extent did the revolutionaries inspire one
another? Can we trade ideas, actions, and individuals across the Atlantic?
What do those connections tell us about the process of revolution and the
intended and unintended consequences of revolutionaries?
Format:
The course will be run as a reading intensive
seminar. We’ll begin each topic by all reading a book in common (the list
below). Then for the second week on a particular topic, each of you will branch
out in a different direction within that broad topic. The choice of direction
will be up to you. For example, for the French Revolution, we’ll all read Lynn
Hunt’s document collection. The following week you can pick some aspect of the
French Revolution to delve into more deeply: it may be the question of
citizenship, it may be "The Terror," it may be Napoleon, it may be how the
revolution dealt with issues of race or gender. The choice is yours, but we’ll
all be reading in different directions. For these classes, we'll come
together and each of you will report on the aspect of the revolution you
studied. The goal is to put all these pieces together to see if we can fit
them into a broader portrait.
Readings:
The following books will be available for purchase at the campus
bookstore:
1) Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker, The Many Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic (Beacon Press, 2001) ISBN 0807050075
2) Edward Countryman, The American Revolution: Revised Edition (Hill & Wang, 2003, Revised Ed.) ISBN 080902562
3) Lynn Hunt, The French Revolution and Human Rights (Bedford St. Martins, 1996) ISBN 031210802
4) C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Overture and the San Domingo Revolution (Vintage, 1989, 2nd ed.) ISBN 06972467
5) Richard Graham, Independence in Latin America: A Comparative Approach (McGraw Hill, 1994, 2nd ed.) ISBN: 0-07-024008-6
6) Gregory Evans Dowd, A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity, 1745-1815 (Johns Hopkins, 1993) ISBN 0801846099
Requirements:
Participation:
100 points
Postings:
220 points (11 postings, 20 points for each posting)
Research Paper: 100 points
Presentation:
30 points
Final Paper:
50 points
Total Points
500 points
At the end of the semester:
450-500 points will be an A
400-449 points will be a B
350-399 points will be a C
300-349 points will be a D
Below 300 points will be an F
Participation:
The participation grade will be based on attendance and active participation
in classroom discussion.
Postings:
The
grade for postings on the reading assignments will depend on the quality of your
written submissions to the Blackboard Discussion Board. There will be
ELEVEN posting assignments throughout
the semester. Each posting will be worth twenty points. Each posting will
be a review of the book to be discussed for that week's class. For each
review, you should provide a general recap of the books main arguments and then
provide an ANALYSIS of the book: Was the argument convincing? What were the
book's strengths and weaknesses? How does the book help us to understand
revolutions or resistance? How does it mesh with the other things we have been
learning this semester? You should back you analysis with specific examples and
quotes from the book that demonstrate your points. Remember: I do not want just
a description of what the book said, I want you to reflect on the book's
effectiveness, its persuasiveness, and how it fits into the broader picture. You must make your posting by the BEGINNING of class.
A Note on Blackboard: Students enrolled in this course must have an active email account and access to the Internet. HIST 494/712 uses Blackboard On-line software. This means that you will have access to course materials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Internet. Most assignments will be submitted on-line at the Blackboard course website. As a UMBC student, you have a personal email account and access to the Internet and through the many on-campus computer labs (locations, hours, etc.). You can also access Blackboard off campus through a personal account or from the UMBC dial-up. Getting started on Blackboard: Your registration with the UMBC Registrar for HIST 494/712 will make you eligible to enroll in Blackboard. To gain entrance to discussion boards and course material, you MUST enroll in the on-line version of HIST 494/712 on the course Blackboard site in order to have full access. BEFORE you do anything else, enroll in the course on-line by going to: http://blackboard.umbc.edu
Research Paper:
Each student will complete a research paper that examines a particular
revolution or uprising in more depth or examines some comparative aspect of
several different revolutions or uprisings. The paper may be based on
primary or secondary sources. Those wishing to do a primary source
research paper must consult with me first. If you opt to use secondary
sources, your paper must use at least FIVE different scholarly books (no
encyclopedias or textbooks). The paper should strive to make some kind of
over-arching argument based on the books you read. Do not simply give me a
descriptive recap of the five books you read. I want you to analyze the
books at develop an analytical angle, not tell me what the books said. The
papers should be at least ten pages in length.
Presentation:
Each student create a ten to fifteen minute presentation based on their
research paper. I will grade presentations based on clarity, organization,
creativity, and effort.
Final Paper:
Each student will write a final paper (about ten pages) that compares and
contrasts the different revolutions and rebellions we have studied this
semester. The objective of the paper is to take a step back and reflect on
the insights you have gained over the semester and the conclusions you have
drawn about rebels and revolutionaries in the Atlantic World..
Class Schedule:
January 29: Introduction:
Catalysts: The Enlightenment; The Seven Years War; Popular Revolutionary
Traditions
February 5:
Revolutionary Traditions Before 1776
Reading: Linebaugh and Rediker, The Many Headed Hydra: The Hidden History of
the Revolutionary
Atlantic
February 12: The
American Revolution
Reading: Countryman, The American Revolution
February 19: The American Revolution: Outcome
February 26: The French Revolution
Reading: Hunt, The French Revolution and Human Rights
March 4: The
French Revolution: Origins and Outcome
March 11: The
Haitian Revolution
Reading: James, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Overture and the San
Domingo Revolution
March 18: The
Reverberations of the Haitian Revolution
March 25: SPRING BREAK
April 1:
Latin American Revolutions
Reading: Graham,
Independence in
Latin America: A Comparative Approach
April 8: Latin
America: Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela
April 15: Revolutions in Native
America:
Readings:
Dowd, A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity,
1745-1815
April 22: Revolutionary Leaders:
Washington, Jefferson, Robespierre, Bonaparte, L'Overture, Bolivar, Tenskwatawa,
and Tecumseh
April 29: Presentations
May 6: Presentations