For this final exam/paper in our class on the history of the Caribbean, I’m asking you to reflect back on all four books we have read this semester, as well as class lectures, films and your two PowerPoint projects.  I’d like you to do this by re-considering Jamaica Kincaid’s essay about the relationship between Antiguans and outsiders.

 Specifically, I’d like you to write an essay of approximately 1,800 words [roughly 6 double-spaced pages] that adopts as its thesis one of the three template sentences listed below. See the grading grid below for specific requirements.

 1. Kincaid is surely right about _________ because recent research and published documents on Thomas Thistlewood, the Haitian Revolution, and twentieth-century vodou show that _____________.

2. Whereas Kincaid is surely right that _____________________, recent research and published documents on Thomas Thistlewood, the Haitian Revolution, and twentieth-century vodou convince me that __________________________ instead.

3.  I disagree with Kincaid’s view that _________________, because, as recent research and published documents on Thomas Thistlewood, the Haitian Revolution, and twentieth-century vodou prove, _______________________. 

Instructions: To read my embedded comments in older versions of Microsoft WORD, click “View” and “Comments” on the menu. In Word 2003 and after, click “View” and then “Print Layout View”.  I highlighted [in green] words and phrases that contain obvious errors; ask me if you have trouble figuring out what the mistake is!

On your Mama Lola paper I said you should improve:

Your second PowerPoint projects are graded, and you’ll find my comment sheet and grading grid in your WebCT. sorry to use that system, but UTA regulations say I can’t use regular email to send you grades. If you need to contact me, though, please use my regular email and NOT webct.

As long as you’re in WebCT — go ahead and check out your grades in the gradebook. Make sure I have everything there that you’ve turned in!

Dear class,

Some folks have just reminded me that by pushing back our Mama Lola paper [worth 15% of the grade] to next Tuesday, I’m violating the UTA rule about not having any major assignments [more than 10%] due in the last week before finals.

So I think we’ll shift the Mama Lola deadline back yet again, but give everyone the advantageous option of turning the Mama Lola paper in early:
Option 1. The official due date for both Mama Lola and A Small Place paper will be 12/13 before 10:30 am. Together they will constitute the final exam and be worth 32% of the grade. Personally, I think that is too much weight to be based on a single day’s submission.
Option 2 , for those who would like feedback, would be to turn the Mama Lola paper in early. For anyone who submits the Mama Lola paper before Thursday 12/6 at 10pm [note that the old deadline was 12/4], I will promise to return the graded paper with full comments before the following Monday. That means you will have some extra input from me about writing that would help you write the final Small Place paper. But this is just a “turn-it-in-early” option.

Let me know what questions you have, if any, when we meet on Tuesday 12/4. We’re still having our graded discussion on A Small Place on Thursday 12/6. Really, this is a ‘test prep’ session and the ‘graded’ part is there to encourage you to think over the book and the semester before class in order to get the most out of the session.

Even though no one wanted to talk about it in class, I know that some people still are confused about what I’m looking for on the PowerPoint assignment. This is NOT to be a collection of images about poverty, or music, or tourism in the Caribbean. Instead, you are analyzing a website by looking at one particular image. Here’s my advice. Continue reading →

The paper on Karen McCarthy Brown’s book Mama Lola is due on December 4, instead of November 13.  As before, you don’t need to turn the paper in until the afternoon of that day. We’ll talk about the paper in class, so be sure to come, even if you haven’t finished it!

You should include this sentence [with blanks filled in] as your thesis:

“Some people say ________ about ________, but Karen Brown says _____________.” I encourage you to talk about vodou but you can fill in the blanks with anything that makes sense to you.

Extra credit opportunity: get out the graded version of your Haitian Revolution  paper. Copy the grading grid and comments I made and paste them into the top of your Mama Lola paper. I’ll use that to help grade this paper, so you’re saving me some time!

If you weren’t in class — here’s the good news [see title] I realized that a number of people were choosing primary sources based on the amount of factual information they contained –names, dates, events. For this reason,  a lot of people were writing on Thomas Clarkson’s document, because he gives a mini history of the revolution. But that isn’t the point!

You DO need to read a mini-history of the revolution — that is what the introduction is for! The primary source documents are your chance to uncover the hidden meanings behind events. They don’t make that much sense if you read them to see “what happened.” Where they do make sense is if you read them to see why people acted, the motivations and explanations they attach to their actions.

With that in mind, we had a discussion and came up with a short list of sources that would be especially good to use. You can certainly use any primary source you want! But with these, you are sure to find something interesting to write about.

Section 1: how the revolution gets started

• Julien Raimond’s Observations: tells us about motivations of free people of color (so do Vincent Ogé’s letters, or the free colored address to the French National Assembly)
• Martinique rebels of 1789: tells us about slaves’ vision, their use of “nation”, their awareness of change
• Letter from Jean François and Biassou in 1791:
• Sonthonax abolishes slavery

Section 2: defending and prolonging the dream of the revolution

• Toussaint’s “Refutation of the 8 assertions” — shows how St Domingue’s leaders saw themselves as part of the Revolution; saw the future
• Polverel’s plantation policies: shows how French leaders envisioned keeping the plantation system going
• Council of 500: shows France enacting its new constitution to include Saint Domingue

Section 3: France changes its mind about Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue

• Bonaparte’s instructions to Leclerc
• Cangé’s letter to Delpech
• Haitian Declaration of Independence

If you weren’t in class today, I wanted you to know that we spent about half of the period discussing the PowerPoint assignment. By the way, it is due on Tuesday October 16 — that’s a change that came out of our discussion. A lot of people in the class assumed that I wanted you to create a PowerPoint file with pictures from the Caribbean about a theme. Actually, that is NOT what I want. Continue reading →

Write an essay based on historical documents answering the question: “Why did the Haitian Revolution succeed in permanently defeating slavery?” I think it will take you about 1,500 words to write such an essay. The historical documents should come from Slave Revolution in the Caribbean: 1789-1804.

Specifically, you should write about three documents, of your choosing. One must come from pp. 63-132 — these are the sections entitled “The Revolution Begins, 1789-1791″ and “From Slave Revolution to Emancipation, 1791-1794″. The second should come from pages 133-156, which is the section entitled “Defining Emancipation, 1794-1798″. And the third document should come from pages 167-196, which is the section entitled “War and Independence”.

The syllabus says the paper is due on October 18, but I would like you to take a little more time — it will be due on Tuesday, October 23. Watch this post for another “grading grid” and be sure to review my comments on your Thistlewood paper. I will look at those comments when I grade this essay — I’m looking for improvement!

This is a brief screencast video I put together to illustrate some of the very basic PowerPoint techniques that give some people trouble. Please tell me if anything is unclear or if you have additional questions!

A number of people have asked me how to cite the page numbers from the Burnard book: “Do I want footnotes or are parentheses all right?” Normally in a history class I would ask for footnotes, but since this is not a research paper, all you need to do is put the page numbers in parentheses.

Now if you do use outside sources [besides class books and lectures] then you not only need footnotes but you should also have a bibliography page.

For more specific ideas on what I want, here’s the grading rubric I will use: