Colonial Worlds
HIST 280
Scarboro
Fall 2010
Office: | HM 306 |
E-mail: | cristoferscarboro@kings.edu |
Phone: | (570) 208-5900 ex. 5637 |
Class Schedule: | M/W/F 10:00 (H-M 301) |
Office Hours: | M/W
12:00-2:00; T/Th 10:00-12:00 |
Moodle Site: | http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=625 |
I. Description:
Colonialism and its resistance is the subject of this course. We will investigate the processes (political, military, economic, cultural and ideological) that enabled the western powers to hold sway over much of the world in the modern era and the manner in which colonized people resisted, transformed and found solaces in this domination. Special attention will be paid to the British and French colonial projects of the 19th and 20th centuries.
B. General Learning Outcomes for the Student:
In addition to the more content-related objectives described above, this course has some general liberal-learning goals of developing academic skills. It is expected that successful completion of this course will help you improve your ability to: manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles; to understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated; to frame questions so as to more clearly clarify a problem topic or issue; to compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position; to organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in written form; to obtain practice in selecting and presenting information and arguments within a restricted environment, especially the limitations of time in exams
Malek Alloula, Colonial Harem, University of Minnesota Press, 1986
Franz Fanon, Black Skins White Masks, Grove Press, Revised Ed., 2008
Jamaica Kincaid, A Small Place, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1st
ed. 2000
Rudyard Kipling, Kim, Penguin Classics, 1987
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children: A
Novel, Random House, 2006
William Shakespeare, The Tempest, CreateSpace, 2010
Other Readings will be available on the course moodle site <<http://kings.mrooms2.net/course/view.php?id=625>>.
B. Course Films
Ousmane Sembene, Mandabi, 1968
Pontecorvo, Battle of Algiers, 1966
F. Written Assignments:
The primary written assignment in this class is a 10-12 paper on the topic of colonialism that incorporates both primary and secondary sources. Much of this work will be done collaboratively within a group. On the first day of class you will chose three other people with whom you will be working closely together both in researching your paper and in preparing and presenting your final group project. Each of your individual papers will be on the same general topic. Your individual papers will all contribute to the final project so you should be sure to closely collaborate with your peers. Your paper will be written in several steps much of it collaboratively:
1) As a group you will meet with me either Sept. 13th or 14th to chose your topics and lay the foundation for the rest of the semester’s group work.
2) On Monday September, 27th you will turn in a group bibliography of secondary sources. This will consist of a minimum of 50 sources and be the basis of your first draft of the paper your historiographical essay.
3) The historiographical essay is due on Monday October 11th. This essay (which will be incorporated into your final paper) will synthesize the historical scholarship on your topic against which you will situate your own readings of your primary sources. This essay will need to be a minimum of 5 pages. Besides a hard copy for me turned in in class, you will need to e-mail copies to each member of your group.
4) On October, 18th your group will critique one another’s historiographical essays in an in-class workshop.
5) On Monday, October 25th your group will turn in a group bibliography of primary sources. This will consist of a minimum of 20 sources and be the basis of the second draft of the paper.
6) On Monday, November 8th you will turn in your second rough draft of your paper which will focus on interpreting and integrating primary sources within the framework of your historiographical understanding. This draft should be unique (that is not include sections from your historiograohical essay) and a minimum of 5 pages. Besides a hard copy for me turned in in class, you will need to e-mail copies to each member of your group.
7) On Monday, November 15th your group will critique one another’s second drafts in an in-class workshop.
8) Your final paper of 10-12 pages is due the last day of class December 10th
G. Final Group Presentation and Group Work
Each group will be responsible for a final presentation during the last weeks of the semester. These presentations should present the findings of the group in an integrated and coherent manner and present a clear thesis supported by collected evidence (both primary and secondary sources). Your project will be allotted for 20-25 minutes with a question and answer session to follow. You project should be multi-media and can include power-point images, music and video clips.
You will also be responsible for grading your group mates’ performance during your work together this semester. Ten percent of your final grade will consist of your group mates’ assessment of your work.
H. Exams:
This class will also require a two examinations (a midterm due on November 1st and a final exam during finals week). These examinations will be take-home and consist of several essay questions focusing on class readings, lectures and discussions.
G. Leading Class Discussion and Participation
As well as providing you with the methodological and analytical tools for engaging in historical thinking, this class will ask you to actively take part in a larger conversation of historical issues within the class. I expect this class to allow us to delve deeply into the historical topics of each week’s readings. To that end you need to make sure that you arrive to class on time ready to discuss the weekly readings, having carefully read and thought over the material. You must take an active role in the class discussions. Thus a portion of your grade will depend on your in-class performance and presence.
As part of this class participation, prior to each class discussion you will be responsible for turning in a written description (no more than a paragraph) of the thesis of the class readings. These will collected at the beginning of class and no late assignments will be accepted.
In a class of this nature it goes without saying that a classroom environment in which everyone feels comfortable is essential. You should treat your fellow classmates with respect, listen carefully to their comments and respond to them in a polite manner.
H. Grading:
It is your responsibility to understand why you have achieved a certain grade, and what steps you can take to maintain or improve your grade. You should consult with the instructor during office hours or by appointment before and after exams and written assignments.
For your protection, in case of errors in record keeping, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade.
Your final grade will be based on the following percentages
100-95 |
A |
94-92 |
A- |
91-89 |
B+ |
88-85 |
B |
84-83 |
B- |
82-80 |
C+ |
79-77 |
C |
76-73 |
C- |
72-70 |
D |
69< |
F |
Your grade distribution for class assignments is as follows:
Midterm |
15% |
Final |
15% |
Bibliography (Secondary) |
5% |
Bibliography (Primary) |
5% |
Historiographical Draft |
10% |
Second Draft |
10% |
Final Paper |
20% |
Class Participation |
10% |
Group Grade |
10% |
I. Academic Integrity:
The Department of History adheres to guidelines on academic integrity outlined in the Student Conduct Code in the Student Handbook:
http://www.kings.edu/student_handbook/studentregulations_rights/conductcode.htm
Cheating and plagiarism will be penalized in accord with the penalties and procedures indicated in that source. All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the definition of these infractions of academic honesty.
J. Absences:
I will regularly take attendance in this class. Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official. You should consult with the professor about making up missed work in advance or as soon as possible after your return. Other absences are unexcused and will lower the class participation portion of your grade. After any absence, you are responsible for requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments from me or borrowing notes from other students. If you miss an exam, contact me as possible. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.
K. Dissabilities:
King’s College and I will make every effort to accommodate students with a bona-fide disability that impacts on their ability to learn the course material. Please meet with me privately so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help in the learning process.
IV. Course Schedule
Introduction
Monday, August 30th
Colonialism and
Modernity
Wednesday, September 1st
Pre-Industrial
Colonialism: Spain in the new World
Friday, September 3rd
Colonialism and
“Terra Nullius”
Wednesday, September 8th
Discussion:
Shakespeare, The Tempest
Friday, September 10th
No Class: Group
Meetings
Monday, September 13th
Discussion:
“Knowing the Oriental”
Wednesday, September 15th
Reading: Said,
Orientalism,
Capitalism and Colonialism: The Rise of John Company
Friday, September 17th
Monday, September 20th
The Invention of
Race
Wednesday, September 22nd
Discussion:
Colonialism and its “Forms of Knowledge”
Friday, September 24th
Reading: Bernard Cohn, Colonialism and its forms of Knowledge, (selections) <<Course Moodle Site>>
Prelude to the Post Colonial, Part I: Haiti: Violence and Silence
Monday, September 27th
***Group
Bibliography of Secondary Sources Due***
Discussion: Prelude
to the Post-Colonial, Part II: Haiti and Revolution
Wednesday, September 29th
**Discussants:
Prelude to the Post-Colonial, Part III: Sepoy Rebellion / 1st War for Independence
Friday, October 1st
Discussion: Mimicry
Monday, October 4th
Reading: Babha, Of
Mimicry and Man
Reading: Orwell,
Shooting an Elephant
Discussion:
Colonial Representations
Wednesday, October 6th
Reading: Kipling,
Kim
Friday, October 8th
Discussion:
Capturing the “Oriental”
Monday, October 11th
Reading: Alloula,
Colonial Harem
Wednesday, October 13th
Workshop:
Historiography
Monday, October 18th
Discussion: Journey
to the “Mountains of the Moon”
Speke, Journey of the Discovery of the Nile: "Introduction"; "London to Zanzibar" and "Palace Uganda" <<http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Speke/nile.htm>>
Friday, October 22nd
Discussion: Tintin
Monday, October 25th
Reading: Hergé,
Tintin in the Congo
***Group
Bibliography Primary Source Due***
“Kill the Indian,
Save the Man”
Wednesday, October 27th
The Challenge of Nationalism
Friday, October 29th
Colonialism and "Double Consciousness"
Monday, November 1st
***Midterm Exam
Due***
Discussion: Black Skins, White
Masks
Wednesday, November 3rd
Friday, November 5th
Film: Pontecorvo,
Battle of Algiers
Satyagraha
Monday, November 8th
Black Man’s Burden
Black Man’s Burden,
Part II
Friday, November 12th
**Discussants
Workshop: Primary Sources and Synthesis
Monday, November 15th
Discussion: “Colo-Mentality”
Wednesday, November 17th
Recording: Fela Kuti
Discussion: Post-Colonialism
and Violence
Friday, November 19th
Reading, Kincaid, A
Small Place
Class Presentations
Monday, November 22nd
Class Presentation
Monday, November 29th
Class Presentation
Wednesday, December 1st
Class Presentation
Friday, December 3rd
Class Presentation
Monday, December 6th
Class Presentation
Wednesday, December 8th
Discussion: The Perils and Possibilities of Post-Colonialism
Friday, December 10th
Reading: Rushdie,
Midnight’s Children
***Final Paper
Due***