Mondays, 7pm to 9:50 am; University Hall, Room 360

Contact John Garrigus:

  1. Office: University Hall 202,
  2. Office Hours: 4pm to 6pm Mondays or Mondays and Wednesdays 1 to 3pm
  3. Office Phone: 817-272-2869
  4. BlackBoard: http://elearn.uta.edu
  5. Email: garrigus@uta.edu
  6. Website: http://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/garrigus

Description:

This colloquium surveys recent historical literature on the “Age of Atlantic Revolution”. Topics will include political and social revolutions as well as economic transformations in England, British America, France, Haiti, and selected Latin American countries.

Learning Outcomes:

After successfully completing this class, students will be able to:

  1. describe and evaluate the concept of “The Age of Atlantic Revolutions”.
  2. describe and evaluate the central issues in the historiography of this field.
  3. produce critical appraisals of course readings, orally and in writing.

Requirements:

  1. This course has no pre-requisites.
  2. You are required to visit to our class BlackBoard site to post weekly
    comments and questions. You are also responsible for viewing course announcements and other class material there. All writing will be submitted through Blackboaard

Required books

  1. Klooster, Wim. Revolutions in the Atlantic World : a Comparative History. New York: New York University Press, 2009. 9780814747889
  2. Linebaugh, Peter, and Marcus Rediker. The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000. 9780807050064
  3. Pincus, Steven C. A. 1688: The First Modern Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. 0300171439
  4. Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1992. 9780679736882
  5. Desan, Suzanne, Lynn Hunt, and William Max Nelson. The French Revolution in Global Perspective. Cornell University Press, 2013. 9780801478680 [prbk]
  6. Dubois, Laurent. Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution. Belknap Press, 2004. 0674013042
  7. Adelman, Jeremy. Sovereignty and Revolution in the Iberian Atlantic. Princeton University Press, 2006. 0691142777

Required Articles and Chapters

  1. Inikori, Joseph E. Chapters 9 & 10 in Africans and the Industrial Revolution in England : A Study in International Trade and Economic Development. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  2. Inikori, “Slavery and the Development of Industrial Capitalism in England,” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 17, no. 4 (April 1, 1987): 771–793.
  3. Reviews of Inikori (2002) in The Journal of African History, The Journal of Modern History, The Journal of Economic History, Albion, Annales, Labour/LeTravail, Journal of World History, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, The Canadian Journal of African Studies, or others.

Electronic Tools and Policies:

  1. We will use the bibliography manager Zotero [free from http://www.zotero.org] to collect and share information. Zotero, in turn, requires that you use the Firefox web browser. [free from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/]
  2. For the weekly “blog posting” assignment we’ll use our class BlackBoard page.
  3. You won’t give me “papers” but will upload all assignments to our BlackBoard page. I’ll return the work with written comments in the same way.
  4. I will post all grades to our BlackBoard page.

Grading:

At the end of the semester, students who have accumulated 900 or more points will receive a “A”; 800 to 899 is a “B”; 700 to 799 is a “C”; and 600 to 699 is “D”. Less than 600 points is a failing grade.

 
Assignment Points
Class participation 200
“Introduction” presentation 80
10 blog postings 120
3 reaction papers of 300 words 250
Final essay of 3,000 words 350
TOTAL 1000

Major assignments and Examinations:

Class Participation:

Attendence and participation in our class discussions are important parts of this collooquium. I take attendance and make notes on your participation at every class meeting. I’m not grading you on your brilliance but on your willingness to explore new ideas and offer feedback to your classmates.

Discussion board:

I expect you to post comments on our BlackBoard discussion board every week by 10pm on Sunday. You should note what were the “fuzziest” points in the reading for you and also post two or three discussion questions about the reading. You should also read and respond to the postings by other members of the class. I’ll assign a grade to these comments and they will form the basis for our in-class discussions.

Introduction Presentations:

At the meeting before we start a new book or article, one student will make a presentation of approximately 15 minutes about the upcoming author. This should be a kind of intellectual biography, which I will grade on your research and presentation skills. What articles and books has she published? When and where did he attend graduate school? Which scholars or ideas have most influenced her? What special tools or perspectives does he generally bring to his work? I’m happy to give you pointers if you have trouble finding material.

Brief Reaction Papers:

  • Due via Blackboard upload after class before 11:59pm
  • Mon 2-03; Mon 2-24; Mon 3-24
  • A reaction paper is at least 300 words long. In it you describe the thesis of the book and, as specifically and thoughtfully as you can, how it affected your understanding of the Age of Revolution.

Final Essay:

At the end of this semester you’ll turn in an interpretive essay of about 3,000 words, roughly 10 pages, about the question – What is the Age of Revolution? Is it a useful concept? Why or why not? How would you define or describe that Age? .

Attendance Policy:

I take attendance every day and factor this into your class participation grade.

Academic Integrity:

All students enrolled in this course are expected to adhere to the UT Arlington Honor Code:

I pledge, on my honor, to uphold UT Arlington’s tradition of academic integrity, a tradition that values hard work and honest effort in the pursuit of academic excellence.

I promise that I will submit only work that I personally create or contribute to group collaborations, and I will appropriately reference any work from other sources. I will follow the highest standards of integrity and uphold the spirit of the Honor Code.

UT Arlington faculty members may employ the Honor Code as they see fit in their courses, including (but not limited to) having students acknowledge the honor code as part of an examination or requiring students to incorporate the honor code into any work submitted. Per UT System Regents’ Rule 50101, §2.2, suspected violations of university’s standards for academic integrity (including the Honor Code) will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. Violators will be disciplined in accordance with University policy, which may result in the student’s suspension or expulsion from the University.

Garrigus Statement on Plagiarism:

I realize that you may not clearly understand what plagiarism is depending on your previous academic experiences. Please ask me for clarification if you have any questions after reading the following paragraph.

Plagiarism occurs when you present someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Avoid plagiarism in all class assignments, including on-line discussion boards as well as more traditional papers and projects. When you  copy paragraphs, sentences, and phrases from someone else, from the Internet, from encyclopedias, or from other works you are committing plagiarism. What you may not realize is that paraphrasing (copying a sentence and changing a few key words) is also plagiarism. Avoid plagiarism by always explaining ideas in your own language. If you must reproduce someone else’s words, use quotation marks and give that writer credit in a footnote or endnote.

Drop Policy:

Students may drop or swap (adding and dropping a class concurrently) classes through self-service in MyMav from the beginning of the registration period through the late registration period. After  the late registration period, students must see their academic advisor to drop a class or withdraw. Undeclared students must see an advisor in the University Advising Center. Drops can continue  through a point two-thirds of the way through the term or session. It is the student’s responsibility to officially withdraw if they do not plan to attend after registering. Students will not be automatically dropped for non-attendance. Repayment of certain types of financial aid administered through the University may be required as the result of dropping classes or withdrawing. Contact the Financial Aid Office for more information.

Americans With Disabilities Act:

The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of all federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All instructors at UT Arlington are required by law to provide “reasonable accommodations” to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Any student requiring an accommodation for this course must provide the instructor with official documentation in the form of a letter certified by the staff in the Office for Students with Disabilities, University Hall 102. Only those students who have officially documented a need for an accommodation will have their request honored. Information regarding diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining disability-based academic accommodations can be found at http://www.uta.edu/disability or by calling the Office for Students with Disabilities at (817) 272-3364.

Student Support Services:

UT Arlington provides a variety of resources and programs designed to help students develop academic skills, deal with personal situations, and better understand concepts and information related to their courses. Resources include tutoring, major-based learning centers, developmental education, advising and and mentoring, personal counseling, and federally funded programs. For individualized referrals, students may visit the reception desk at University College (Ransom Hall), call the Maverick Resource Hotline at 817-272-6107, send a message to resources@uta.edu, or view the information at http://www.uta.edu/resources.

Electronic Communication Policy:

UT Arlington has adopted MavMail as its official means to communicate with students about important deadlines and events, as well as to transact university-related business regarding financial aid, tuition, grades, graduation, etc. All students are assigned a MavMail account and are responsible for checking the inbox regularly. There is no additional charge to students for using this account, which remains active even after graduation. Information about activating and using MavMail is available at http://www.uta.edu/oit/cs/email/mavmail.php.

Student Feedback Survey:

At the end of each term, students enrolled in classes categorized as “lecture,” “seminar,” or “laboratory” shall be directed to complete an online Student Feedback Survey (SFS). Instructions on how to access the SFS for this course will be sent directly to each student through MavMail approximately 10 days before the end of the term. Each student’s feedback enters the SFS database anonymously and is aggregated with that of other students enrolled in the course. UT Arlington’s effort to solicit, gather, tabulate, and publish student feedback is required by state law; students are strongly urged to participate. For more information, visit http://www.uta.edu/sfs.

Final Review Week:

A period of five class days prior to the first day of final examinations in the long sessions shall be designated as Final Review Week. The purpose of this week is to allow students sufficient time to prepare for final examinations. During this week, there shall be no scheduled activities such as required field trips or performances; and no instructor shall assign any themes, research problems or exercises of similar scope that have a completion date during or following this week unless specified in the class syllabus. During Final Review Week, an instructor shall not give any examinations constituting 10% or more of the final grade, except makeup tests and laboratory examinations. In addition, no instructor shall give any portion of the final examination during Final Review Week. During this week, classes are held as scheduled. In addition, instructors are not required to limit content to topics that have been previously covered; they may introduce new concepts as appropriate.

Emergency Exit Procedures:

Should we experience an emergency event that requires us to vacate the building, students should exit the room and move toward the nearest exit, which is located just outside our classroom door. When exiting the building during an emergency, one should never take an elevator but should use the stairwells. Faculty members and instructional staff will assist students in selecting the safest route for evacuation and will make arrangements to assist handicapped individuals.

Class Schedule:

 
Week Date “Introduction” Assignments Reading to be Discussed on Blackboard and in Class
1 M 1-13 Introduce Klooster: Garrigus Palmer, chapters 1 and 9
M 1-20 MLK Day: no classes at UTA Klooster, chapters 1-6
2 M 1-27 Introduce L&R: _____________ L&R, Intro, chapters 1-5
3 M 2-03 Introduce Pincus: __________ L&R, Chs 6-10, Conclusion; reaction paper due after class; 11:59pm
4 M 2-10 No class Start reading Pincus
5 M 2-17 Pincus, Introduction and Chs. 1-9
6 M 2-24 Introduce Inikori: ___________ Pincus, Chs. 10-15; reaction paper due after class; 11:59pm
7 M 3-03 Introduce Wood: ___________ 1. Inikori, “Slavery and the Development of Industrial Capitalism”; Chapter 9 and 10 in Inikori (2002) [about 70 pp]; read at least one review of Inikori (2002)in (suggested) The Journal of African History, The Journal of Modern History, The Journal of Economic History, Albion, Annales, Labour/LeTravail, Journal of World History, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, The Canadian Journal of African Studies or others.
8 M 3-10 Spring Break
9 M 3-17 Introduce Desan: ______________ Wood, Introduction and Chs. 1-10
10 M 3-24 Introduce Hunt: ______________ Wood, Chs. 11-19; reaction paper due after class; 11:59 pm
11 M 3-31 Desan, Introduction and Chs. 1-5
12 M 4-07 Introduce Dubois: _____________ Desan, Chs. 6-11
13 M 4-14 Introduce Adelman: ____________ Dubois, entire
14 M 4-21 Introduce Adelman: _________ Adelman, Intro and Chs. 1-4
15 M 4-28 Discussion of final essay Adelman, Chs. 5-9 and Afterword

All procedures and policies in this course are subject to change in the event of unforeseen circumstances.