http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams/courses/Fall11/HIST408D
http://elms.umd.edu
Fall 2011 |
Thursdays 1:00-3:00pm |
Taliaferro 2100 |
Description & Organization | Organization | Requirements | Grading | Class Policies | Instructional Materials | Schedule
Prof. Daryle Williams
Department of History
2125 Taliaferro Hall
(301) 405-0061
daryle@umd.edu
http://www.history.edu/Faculty/DWilliams
Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00-1:00pm and by appointment
Course Description and Objectives
HIST 408 explores the historical worlds of the South American patriot-statesman Sim—n Bol’var (1783-1830). This capstone seminar's major concern is critically situating Bol’var as: an exceptional historical figure in the exceptional Age of Revolution; as one of the hundreds of millions of Latin Americans who have struggled to make sense of liberty and revolution since the late eighteenth century; as an enduring historical touchstone for the contested politics of republicanism, revolution, and liberalism in the Americas; and, as a notable subject in the genre of historical biography.
Our primary learning objectives are fourfold:
As a senior capstone seminar, HIST 408D calls upon enrolled students to utilize fully the skills of the advanced history major.
In-class discussion will focus on the weekly readings, video screenings, and other assigned materials. One week will be set aside for a field trip to downtown Washington, DC, where we will follow a walking tour of the monument to Sim—n Bol’var and other memorials to the patriots of the Americas.
HIST 408 is a capstone seminar. The course is designed to be the culmination of the History major's career. Therefore, the course requirements are structured around the full deployment of the core elements of historical scholarship: critical analysis of primary sources, critical reading of important secondary works, mastery of a historical problem through historiography, and strong written analysis.
On September 22, each student will turn in a BOOK REVIEW of the assigned reading Sim—n Bol’var: Liberation and Disappointment. The 1000-word review will engage the problems of historical writing raised in our opening discussion about biography and history.
After three weeks of close work with Bolivar's writings, students will work in groups of three of four to prepare a TEACHING LESSON based upon one three assigned major monographs about Bolivar's world (Lasso, Helg, and D’az). Additional instructions will be distributed later in the semester.
At the end of the course, each student will be responsible for writing a fifteen-page HISTORIOGRAPHIC REVIEW essay that draws from the assigned readings. The review essay will deal with the Bol’var historiography covered throughout the semester. Additional instructions will be distributed later in the semester, including instructions related to the paper outline due the week of Thanksgiving.
There are no
examinations.
With the exception of the map exercise, all assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale, with the scale 100 through 60 corresponding to the standard letter grades of A+ through D-. A failing grade is 59 and lower.
The final grade will be determined by the following formula:
Map Exercise: Pass
First Paper: 20%
Group Presentation: 15%
Outline of Final Essay: 10%
Discussion: 15%
Final Paper 40%
Always keep in mind that active and thoughtful engagement with the assigned material and with one's colleagues is a central component of the historian's craft. A track record of active participation and engagement will favor students whose final grade falls near a borderline. Conversely, passive or absent participation can diminish the overall quality of learning and result in a lowered grade for students who choose not to engage.
Late papers will not be accepted without prior approval. With the exception of legitimate excuses, late papers may be subject to a grade penalty of up to one full grade for each day late.
Excused Absences, Religious Observances, and Accommodations for Inclement Weather
All course expectations and requirements will comply with the University's Policy on Medically Necessitated Absences as well as the USM's Policy on Religious Observances.
These policies include accommodations for illness, religious observances, participation in University activities at the request of university authorities, and compelling circumstances beyond the students' control. In requesting an excused absence, students may be required to provide appropriate documentation. Consult the appropriate policy for additional details.
Inclement weather and official University closures may require modification of course expectations and requirements. Details of any change will be posted to the ELMS website as appropriate.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students with a documented disability should speak with the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss arrangements for the appropriate academic accommodations.
Academic Integrity
Academic honesty is a foundation for learning, as outlined in the Code for Academic Integrity. The Code prohibits students from cheating on exams, the intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and plagiarism. The suspicion of academic dishonesty may result in referral to the Student Honor Council. Questions and doubts about any the expectations for any course assignment or examination should be directed to the professor.
The Honor Pledge
All students will be asked to write by hand and sign the Honor Pledge on all written assignments and examinations, unless otherwise instructed.
Electronic Devices in the Classroom
A wide variety of electronic devices (e.g., laptop and notebook computers, PDAs, smart phones) play an important role in higher-education classroom instruction. Note-taking, the retrieval of assigned texts and media, consultation with the syllabus, online discussion and debate, and other learning activities conducted via electronic devices are acceptable parts of in-class learning and engagement.
Unacceptable use of electronic devices includes online social networking, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, and voice communication with anyone outside of the classroom during regularly-scheduled class. If you bring an electronic device to the classroom, these capabilities should be disabled during class hours.
And FinallyÉ
This syllabus may be subject to change. The online syllabus, available via the course ELMS site, will always be the most up-to-date. Students will be notified in advance of important changes that could affect grading, assignments, and other course components.
Required Readings
Bol’var, Sim—n. El Libertador: Writings of Sim—n Bol’var. David Bushnell, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. [ISBN: 978-0195144819]
Bushnell, David. Sim—n Bol’var: Liberation and Disappointment. New York: Longman, 2003. [ISBN: 978-0321156679]
Carrera Damas, Germ‡n, "The Hidden Legacy of Sim—n Bol’var," in Sim—n Bol’var: Essays on the Life and Legacy of the Liberator. David Bushnell and Lester D. Langley, eds. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008; 159-75. [ISBN: 978-0742556195]
Collier, Simon, "Nationality, Nationalism, and Supranationalism in the Writings of Simon Bolivar," Hispanic American Historical Review vol. 63, no. 1 (1983): 37-64.
Diaz, Arlene. Female Citizens, Patriarchs, and the Law in Venezuela. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. [ISBN: 978-0803266407]
Ellis, Joseph, "Get A Life! Reflections on Biography and History," Historically Speaking: The Bulletin of the Historical Society vol. V, no 5 (May/June 2004): online. [http://www.bu.edu/historic/hs/mayjune04.html#7]
Garc’a M‡rquez, Gabriel. The General in His Labyrinth. New York: Vintage, 2003. [ISBN: 978-1400034703]
Helg, Aline. Liberty and Equality in Caribbean Colombia, 1770-1835. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. [ISBN: 978-0807855409]
Lasso, Marixa. Myths of Harmony: Race and Republicanism during the Age of Revolution, Colombia, 1795-1831. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007. [ISBN: 978-0822959656]
Lynch, John. Sim—n Bol’var: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. [ISBN: 978-0300126044]
Monte—n, Michael, "Biography and Latin American History," Latin American Research Review vol. 40, no. 2 (2005): 193-206. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3662808]
Murray, Pamela S., "Of Love and Politics: Reassessing Manuela S‡enz and Sim—n Bol’var, 1822–1830," History Compass vol. 5, no. 1 (January 2007): 227–250. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2006.00374.x]
Townsend, Camilla, "'Half My Body Free, the Other Half Enslaved': The Politics of the Slaves of Guayaquil at the End of the Colonial Era," Colonial Latin American Review no. 7: vol. 1 (June 1998): 105-124. [DOI: 10.1080/10609169885034]
Various, "Roundtable: Historians and Biography,Ó American Historical Review vol. 114, no. 3 (June 2009). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.2009.114.issue-3]
Nonprint Media
Bol’var (Betty Kaplan dir., [1983] 2010) [PN1992.8.F5 B655 2010]
Bol’var Soy Yo (Jorge Al’ Triana, dir., 2002) [PN1997.2.B62 2004]
The Price of Freedom (1991) [DP48.B87 1991 pt.4]
Availability of Instructional Materials
Assigned materials can be obtained in a variety of ways, described below:
All assigned texts and nonprint media will be available through the University Libraries, the University Book Center, and/or the e-book vendor of your choice. Some texts may also be available through online digitization projects like Google Books. Some documentaries and motion pictures may be available via services such as Netflix and iTunes.
The course ELMS site will have links to articles and book chapters placed on reserves. If the link in ELMS is not available or non-operational, full-text journal articles can be accessed, read, and downloaded free-of-charge through the University Libraries' ResearchPort.
The Reserves Desk at McKeldin Library will hold assigned monographs on two-hour reserves. It is important that class participants coordinate their reading schedules so that anyone wishing to use the Course Reserves copy has an opportunity to access the book before class.
There is no expectation that any student purchase all of the assigned books. What is required is close familiarity with the assigned materials.
Accessing Instructional Materials on ELMS:
September 1 |
Course Introduction |
September 8 |
Ellis, Monte—n, and selected texts from AHR Forum on Biography |
September 15 |
Bushnell, Sim—n Bol’var: Liberation and Disappointment (all) |
September 22 |
Bolivar, El Libertador, Jamaica Letter |
September 29 |
Bolivar, El Libertador, Angostura Address |
October 6 |
Bolivar, El Libertador, Bolivian Constiution (1826) and Decrees on Indian Rights, Lands, and Tribute (1820-1828) |
October 13 |
No Class |
October 20 |
Helg, Liberty and Equality in Caribbean Colombia |
October 27 |
Lasso, Myths of Harmony |
October 29 |
Field Trip: Monuments to Bolivar
and the Liberators |
November 3 |
D’az, Female Citizens, Patriarchs, and the Law in Venezuela |
November 10 |
Townsend,
"'Half My Body Free, the Other Half Enslaved' |
November 17 |
NO CLASS |
November 21-22 |
Individual meetings to discuss final paper Outline due |
November 24 |
Thanksgiving Break |
December 1 |
Garcia Marquez, The General in His Labyrinth |
December 8 |
Rescheduled: Monuments to Bolivar
and the Liberators Carrera
Damas, "The Hidden Legacy of Simón Bolívar" |
| December 19 | Final Paper Due |
HIST 408D Homepage | Email: Professor Williams