WE WILL DETERMINE THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS/STRUCTURE OF THE HONORS VARIANT OF THE COURSE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND WEEK OF CLASSES.  THESE WILL INVOLVE EITHER A LONGER, MORE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT OR ADDITIONAL COURSE READINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.

SEE THE SYLLABUS FOR THE REGULAR SECTION OF HS RS 376 FOR THE REQUIRED BOOK.

This course will primarily be run as a seminar in which we discuss the assigned readings and your research projects.  As such, your active participation in our discussions is absolutely necessary to making the course work well. 

A Note on How We Should Approach this Semester

Most generally, I am committed to the principle that my aims as an undergraduate history instructor should be to push (and to help) you to develop the skills, capacities, and modes of interpretation and understanding that will allow you to engage critically with the human past, the traces it has left, the ever-renewing knowledge we have of it, and its meanings for our present.  My role is that of a ‘coach,’ not a performer playing a show or a talking head telling you what’s what (although sometimes I will suggest my understandings of that too).  With this approach, you will without doubt learn more and develop abilities that are useful in other settings more fully than if I simply lectured and asked you to repeat that material on exams, and you will likely find what we do more interesting too. However, for this approach to work, we all need to commit ourselves to meeting the following expectations:

1.  Do the course reading (and especially the discussion reading) on a timely basis. You absolutely must complete it before the class in which we are discussing it and (if relevant) the deadline for making a related forum post (if you can finish it even earlier and thus have a bit more time to think about it, that’s even better).  At times this course will involve a significant amount of out-of-class reading.  I know that this may be a challenge for some of you, but we collectively need an ample amount of solid material to work with to make our discussions meaningful.  Also, do know that with practice you will develop your abilities to deal with larger amounts of reading in limited time frames.  If you wish, we can talk more about how to do the reading and the kinds of things you should be looking for in doing it in class.

2.  When and if relevant, respect deadlines for discussion forum posts, and whenever possible post (and respond to classmates’ posts) sooner rather than later.  While these posts do count towards your participation grade, they are not ‘homework’ that you should do to show me that you are doing the work.  Rather, they are opportunities for you to develop, share, and debate your thoughts and questions about the reading and other course material with one another.  We have to meet deadlines to give that interaction space to happen.

3.  When you are present, be present.  We should make the most of the 2 ½ hours we meet each week to engage with the course materials and learn together.  During that time, we should all be focused on that effort and not other things such as checking social media, catching up on e-mail, studying for other courses or whatever else may distract us from the matters at hand.  Doing otherwise is disrespectful to the other members of the class, including me.  As such, if you really, really need to be doing something else, just don’t come to class.

4.  Maintain a respectful, professional tone in your responses and posts, but don’t be afraid to experiment with ideas and interpretations out of fear that they may be controversial (just work on clearly expressing your reasoning).  On this note, I think our discussions will function best if we all work on the assumption that each of us is openly and forthrightly attempting to grapple with the complexities and ambiguities of our shared human past and its relationship to our present (and as such that the things we say and write are never intended to harm or to insult).  Engaging with that past often forces us to look at the many horrid and ugly things that humans have done to and thought about (and continue to do to and think about) one another, which can be a difficult and painful experience.  Frank and open discussion is the best way both to seek to understand that past and to forge civil and tolerant ways of interacting and living with it and one another in the present.

5.  Give credit where credit is due and be sure that all work you hand in is your own.  Not only does plagiarism, unauthorized use of Artificial Intelligence, or any other form of cheating defeat the whole purpose of going to university to learn and to improve one’s abilities, it undermines the basic trust any community needs to learn and work together. 

6.  Try not to be too nervous about grades.  We learn through practice, we all fall short of our aims sometimes, and we sometimes learn more from falling short than anything else.  I purposefully keep many assignments fairly open in terms of the types of topics and arguments you may develop to give you the freedom to present your ideas and sharpen your abilities, and such freedom always entails risks.  Know that I put mechanisms in place to weigh the improvement that you make over the course into the calculation of your final course grade.

7.  Keep lines of communication open.  Please know that the ways in which I structure classroom sessions and on-line discussion activities in this syllabus remain experimental and may change.  Please share your thoughts on them and feel free to suggest approaches, ways of organizing discussions (in-person or on-line), or other activities that you believe may help you and your classmates to better engage with the course material.  I cannot neglect my responsibility to set the rules for the game that is our course in ways that I believe best assure both academic rigor and fairness across the class, but you can be assured that I will value and carefully consider any suggestions you may make. More generally, if you have questions or concerns regarding any matters relating to the course, please do feel free to share them with me.  

See above on participation.  To participate regularly, you have to be present regularly.

Course Readings

The book should be available at the Almost Corner Bookshop (Via del Moro, 45) or directly from the publishers' websites in eBook form.  You also may be able to find copies of it through the STAND Book Fundraiser sale at the beginning of the semester.  All course readings provide the basis for our classroom and on-line discussions. You must read and think about those assigned for a particular class period and/or the deadline for making a related forum post.  Otherwise, you will be unable to participate adequately and your participation grade will suffer. You should also bring this material to class on the days that we are discussing it.

Important Course Policies

All assignments should be handed in as hard copies in class and electronically through the Moodle portal for the assignment--I encourage you to double-check on the Moodle to be sure that work has been submitted after you believe you have done so.  If for some reason it is not working, send them to me as e-mail attachments. 

All late work will suffer a grade penalty. No late work will be accepted following the final examination.

Any documented case of academic dishonesty on any assignment will result in a failing grade for the assignment in question and may also result in a failing grade for the course as a whole, regardless of the assignment's weight in terms of the final course grade. Please remember that, as the University's policy states, "Plagiarism can be deliberate or negligent; students are responsible for ensuring that any work submitted with their name on it is properly referenced."  If you have questions about how to cite material properly, refer to the appropriate sections of the MLA Style Manual or Chicago Manual of Style--if you have questions as to whether particular pieces of material should be cited, ask me. Note that submitting work that you have previously submitted (or plan to submit) for credit in another course is also a form of academic dishonesty, unless you obtain explicit approval from both instructors to do so. For this course, no such double submission is allowed. Please note that your papers are to be submitted to turnitin.com to check their content for plagiarism.  I am setting up the turintin submission options so that you can see the similarity reports the service generates and resubmit your papers up until the due date.

Academic Honesty Policy—Generative Artificial Intelligence Update

The University’s Academic Integrity policies were recently updated to include “[t]he unauthorized use of generative AI” as one of the forms that academic dishonesty can take.  In light of this change, here are the policies for this course regarding generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT). The use of generative AI for the direct composition of course assignments (e.g., papers and exam essays) is not permitted.  Simply put, your papers and essays should not include text generated by Artificial Intelligence unless that text is placed in quotation marks and identified as such.  Any papers handed in that appear to contain unauthorized AI generated text (as detected by detection software or otherwise) will not receive a grade and cannot be used to fulfill course requirements.  As the detection software can produce 'false positives,' in such cases you will be allowed to write an additional reaction paper or revised draft to fulfill those requirements.  Depending on the specifics of the individual cases, a late penalty may be applied to additional papers handed in for these reasons.

Other uses of AI (e.g., as “idea generators,” bibliographic or source-finding assistants, etc.) are discouraged as they may limit the fuller development of the skills, capacities, and habits of mind that constitute some of the primary aims and benefits of university education, but do not necessarily fall into the category of “unauthorized use.”  If you do use generative AI in any of these or other manners, however, you must identify that you have done so explicitly in the paper or exam essay in question. 

Similarly, I strongly discourage you from using advanced grammar and style correctors (e.g., Grammarly).  While I will regularly note errors in terms of style, grammar, and so forth in your writing, my doing so does not significantly affect the grade you receive for assignments so long as your thought, the general arrangement of your argument, and your points are clear (and you push yourself to improve over time).  Using AI-based correction software can prevent you from receiving such feedback and as such keep you from being able to develop your writing skills.  In the case that you do still make use of such software, you must explicitly identify that you did so and hand in a copy of what you wrote before having the software "fix" it.  If you do not do this and either the University's detection software or my reading of the piece suggests a likelihood that it was produced by generative AI, the work will not be counted towards completing course requirements (see above).

 
Office Hours, Scheduling Appointments, E-mail Guidance, and So Forth

My drop-in office hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 9:45 a.m..  I am also available by appointment--to set one up, simply e-mail me or ask me just after class.  My office is on the Frohring/ex-Tiber Roof.

Please know that I do not normally respond to e-mails during the weekend or after 6:30 p.m. (but feel free to write me whenever you wish--I'll respond as soon as I can the next week or the next day).  We all need to set aside time to work on other things, disconnect, recharge, and 'stay human.'  I encourage you to do the same in ways that work with your schedule and try to do what I can to provide you with as much flexibility as possible in structuring out-of-class activities.



Course Schedule (Please note that the following is subject to change--any updates will be made directly to the course Moodle page.)

1/21 Introductions—Revolutions and Comparative History

1/23 Setting the Stage—The World’s First World War and the Crisis of Empire
Klooster, 1-11 (Ch. 1); Gould, "Revolution and Counter-Revolution," 214-227, Recommended 227-231


PART ONE:  NORTH AMERICA

1/28 Origins—Imperial Reorganization and British Political Culture
Klooster, 12-17 (First Section of Chapter 2); Breen, “An Empire of Goods,” 467-499

1/30 Dynamics and Ideology—Patrician Leadership, Plebian Support?
Klooster, 17-44 (Second through Next-to-the-Last Section of Chapter 2); Linebaugh and Rediker, “A Motley Crew in the American Revolution,” in Linebaugh and Rediker, The Many Headed Hydra, 211-247


2/4 Founding Mothers—Women in the Revolution
Gundersen, “Independence, Citizenship, and the American Revolution,” 59-77; “Sarah Osborn Recollects Her Experiences in the Revolutionary War, 1837;” “Abigail Adams and John Adams Debate Women’s Rights;" “Eliza Wilkinson on Women and War”    

2/6 “Empire of Liberty”—The View from “Indian Country”
Calloway, “‘We Have Always Been the Frontier’: The American Revolution in Shawnee Country,” 39-52; “The War for Independence Through Seneca Eyes: Mary Jemison Views the Revolution, 1775–7;” “Jefferson's Confidential Letter to Congress;” Read a few of the speeches in Jefferson, “Indian Addresses”


2/11 American Freedom, American Slavery—Afro-Americans and the Revolution
Klooster, 45-48 (Last Section of Chapter 2);  Crow, “Slave Rebelliousness and Social Conflict in North Carolina, 1775 to 1802,” 79-102; “Proclamation of the Earl of Dunmore;” “Blacks Petition Against Taxation Without Representation March 14, 1780;”  Benjamin Banneker, “Letter to Jefferson”
Living the Revolutions Research Plan and Preliminary Bibliography Due
                                                                                                                           
2/13 Aftermath—Inheriting the Revolution
Appleby, “The American Heritage: The Heirs and the Disinherited,” 798-813; Compare the “Constitution of the United States” with at least one Revolutionary era state constitution


PART TWO:  FRANCE AND EUROPE 

2/18 Origins—Imperial Reorganization, Fiscal Crisis, and Demands for Reform
Klooster, 49-55 (First Section of Chapter 3); Shovlin, "Toward a Reinterpretation of Revolutionary Antinobilism: The Political Economy of Honor in the Old Regime;" Sieyes, "What is the Third Estate?"

2/20  Dynamics—From Constitutional Monarchy to the Terror and Beyond
Klooster, 55-90 (Second Section to End of Chapter 3); Hunt, "The Rhetoric of Revolution," 19-51; "Terror is the Order of the Day;" First Draft of Background Research Paper Due

2/25 Meanings?—Rights, Revolution, and Rationalization
Review Klooster, 55-90 (Second Section to End of Chapter 3); “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen;” "Constitution of 1793;" Explore French Revolutionary Songs; "The French Revolutionary Calendar"

2/27 Citoyennes—Women and the Revolution
Desan, “‘War Between Brothers and Sisters’: Inheritance Law and Gender Politics in Revolutionary France,” 597-634; "Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King;" Wollstonecraft, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman;" Olympe de Gouges, "The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (September 1791);" "Discussion of Women’s Political Clubs and Their Suppression, October 1793"  

2/28 UNIVERSITY MAKE-UP DAY (FRIDAY) Regeneration?--Jews and the Revolution
Lindemann, Esau's Tears, 40-50; Vital, A People Apart, 42-62; Zalkind-Hourwitz, "Vindication of the Jews (1789);" Clermont-Tonnerre, "Speech on Religious Minorities and Questionable Professions;" Abbé Maury, "Speech;" "Admission of Jews to Rights of Citizenship"

3/4 Aftermath--Napoleonic Europe
"The Napoleonic Experience" (Liberty, Equality Fraternity Website) http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap9a.html (be sure to read all of this web chapter--there are four pages);  Cole, "Playing Muslim," 125-143; Primary Sources on Napoleon

PART THREE:  SAINT DOMINGUE/HAITI AND THE CARIBBEAN

3/6 Origins—Sugar Island Slavery, Racial Discrimination, and Colonial Complaints
Klooster, 91-99 (First and Second Sections of Chapter 4);  Garrigus, "Saint Domingue's Free People of Color and the Tools of Revolution" in Geggus and Fiering, eds., The World of the Haitian Revolution, 49-64; "Voodoo, 1786;" Moreau de Saint-Méry, “On ‘Race’ in Saint Domingue;” Final Draft of Background Research Paper Due

3/11 and 3/13 SPRING BREAK

3/18 Dynamics—From Rich Whites to Poor Whites to Free People of Color to Slaves
Klooster, 99-119 (Third through Next-to-the-Last Section of Chapter 4); Fick, “Dilemmas of Emancipation: From the Saint Domingue Insurrections of 1791 to the Emerging Haitian State;" Dalmas, "History of the Revolution of Saint Domingue," 89-93
Recommended: Thornton, “African Soldiers in the Haitian Revolution” in Shepherd and Beckles, eds., Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, 933-945
 
3/20 Meanings?—Political Ideology in a Multicultural Revolutionary Society
Thornton, "'I Am the Subject of the King of Congo': African Political Ideology and the Haitian Revolution;" Jean François and Biassou, "Letters to the Commissioners," 99-102; Sonthonax, "Decree of General Liberty," 120-125; "Insurgent Responses to Emancipation," 125-128; Louverture, “Dictatorial Proclamation” (1801); “Haitian Declaration of Independence;” Living the Revolutions Character Report (1-2 Crossroads) Due


3/25 From Slave to Citoyenne—Women in the Revolution
Colwill, "'Fetes de l'Hymen, Fetes de la Liberté': Marriage, Manhood and Emancipation in Revolutionary Saint-Domingue" in Geggus and Fiering, eds., The World of the Haitian Revolution, 125-155; Recommended:  Moitt, “Slave Women and Resistance in the French Caribbean,” in Gaspar and Hine, eds.,  More Than Chattel, 239-258

3/27 Aftermath—Race, Freedom, and Independence in Haiti and Beyond
Klooster, 119-125 (Last Section of Chapter 4)
Girard, Haiti, 59-68; Dubois, Haiti: The Aftershocks of History, 52-68; 84-88; 104-118; “Haitian Constitution of 1805” 


PART FOUR:  LATIN AMERICA

4/1 Origins—Criollo Fears and the Threats from Below
Klooster, 126-137 ((First and Second Sections of Chapter 5); Serulnikov, “Disputed Images of Colonialism,” 189-226; “José de Galvez’s Decrees for the King’s Subjects in Mexico (1769, 1778),” in Mills, Taylor, and Graham, eds., Colonial Latin America, 316-319

4/3 Dynamics—European Upsets and Conservative Revolutions?
Klooster, 137-168 (Second Section to End of Chapter 5); Adelman, "Iberian Passages", 59-82; Bolívar, “Proclamation to the People of Venezuela, 15 June 1813;” “The Plan of Iguala and Other Documents on Mexican Independence;” “José María Morelos’s ‘Sentiments of the Nation,’” in Mills, Taylor, and Graham, eds., Colonial Latin America, 397-400; “The Argentine Declaration of Independence,” in Mills, Taylor, and Graham, eds., Colonial Latin America, 401-402; Living the Revolutions Character Report (1-2 Crossroads) Due
 

4/8 Participants, Victims, Martyrs—Women and Latin American Independence
Brewster, “Women and the Spanish-American Wars of Independence: An Overview,” 20-35

4/10 Indios—Independence?
Platt, “Simón Bolívar, the Sun of Justice and the Amerindian Virgin: Andean Conceptions of the Patria in Nineteenth-Century Potosi,” 159-185; Bolívar, “Decrees on Indian Rights, Lands, and Tribute,” in Bolívar, El Libertador, 184-190; Recommended: Archer “The Indian Insurgents of Mezcala Island on the Lake Chapala Front, 1812-1816,” 84-128, in Schroeder, ed.,  Native Resistance and the Pax Colonial in New Spain; Living the Revolutions Character Report (1-2 Crossroads) Due

4/15 Slaves and Castas—Liberty and Equality?
Review Klooster, 159-168 (Last Section of Chapter 5); Blanchard, "The Language of Liberation: Slave Voices in the Wars of Independence," 499-523; Bolívar, “Decree for the Emancipation of the Slaves,” in Bolívar, El Libertador, 177-178; Bolívar, “ Letter to General Francisco de Paula Santander: On Slave Recruitment,” in Bolívar, El Libertador, 182-183 

4/17  TBA


4/22 Aftermath—Heroes on Horseback?
Wolf and Hansen, “Caudillo Politics: A Structural Analysis,” 170-179; Bolívar, “The Bolivian Constitution,” in Bolívar, El Libertador, 54-66; Bolívar, “Manifesto Justifying the Dictatorship;” “Manifesto Concerning the Installation of the Constituent Congress, the End of the Dictatorship, and Announcing the End of His Political Career,” and "Letter to General Juan José Flores," in Bolívar, El Libertador, 140-149; Annotated Biography Flowchart Due

PART FIVE—COMPARISONS, LEGACIES, EXPERIENCES

4/24 Comparing Revolutions and Legacies
Klooster, 169-187 (Chapter 6);  Trouillot, “An Unthinkable History,” in Trouillot, Silencing the Past, 70-107


4/29 Experiences:  Reminiscences from Living the Revolutions
Living the Revolutions Historical Fiction “Memoir” Due

Final Exam Date TBA (Final Exams Week is from 5/5 to 5/9)