J. Pablo Silva  
Fall Semester 2006
History 105. Cultural Encounters in History

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Syllabus

Week 2: September 4
Week 3: September 11
Week 4: September 18
Week 5: September 25
Week 6: October 2
Week 7: October 9
Week 8: October 23
Week 9: October 30
Week 10: November 6
Week 11: November 13
Week 12: November 20
Week 13: November 27
Week 14: December 4

Required Texts

Assignments

Exams

Grading

 

 

Encounter 1. The Spanish in America (weeks 1-3)
Friday, 25 August
Why Study History?
  Introduction to the Course.
Read Columbus, "Letter to Santangel." On Blackboard
.
   
Monday, 28 August
What did the Spanish Crown Want?
  "Instructions for the Government of the Indies." Handout.
"Decree on Indian Labor." Handout.
   
Wednesday, 30 August
What went wrong with the Plan?
  Antonio Montesinos, "Advent Sermon." Handout.
"Royal Response to the Sermon of Montesinos." Handout.
   
Friday, 1September
How did the Crown adapt?
  Palacios Rubios, "The Requirement." On Blackboard.
The Laws of Burgos
. On Blackboard
.
"The General Repartimiento of 1514." Handout.

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Week 2
Monday, 4 September
Who were the players in the Conquest of Mexico?
  Victors and Vanquished, pp. 1-99.
   
Wednesday, 6 September
How did Cortes Proceed?
  Victors and Vanquished, pp. 100-181.
   
Friday, 8 September
How did Cortes succeed?
  Victors and Vanquished, pp. 182-243.

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Week 3
Monday, 11 September
How did the Spaniards Conquer?
  Las Casas, Entire.
   
Wednesday, 13 September
How did the Crown React?
  "The New Laws." On Blackboard.
   
Friday, 15 September
Did the Crown Get What it Wanted?
  Lopez de Gomora, "The Viceroy Announces the New Laws." On Blackboard.
Pizarro, "Letter to Pedro de Valdivia." On Blackboard.
Garcilaso de la Vega, "The Death of Pizarro." On Blackboard.
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Encounter 2. The African Slave Trade (weeks 4-6)
Week 4  
Monday, 18 September
Why was there a slave trade?
  "Labor Demand in the Americas." Handout.
   
Wednesday, 20 September
How did the Slave Trade Work?
  E-Reserves Documents:
Job Ben Solomon, pp. 1-9.
Letters of Philip Quaque, pp. 10-12.
John Barbot's description of Guinea, pp. 21-29.
Royal Africa Company Minutes, p. 30.
The Voyage of John Atkins, pp. 31-37.
Francis Moore's Travels in Africa.
Letter of Captain Phelps, p. 47.
MOVIE: Africans in America. On reserve in Burling.
   
Thursday, 21 September Short Paper Due.
   
Friday, 22 September
How did the Slavers see the Trade?
  E-reserves documents:
William Snelgrave's Account of Guinea, pp. 38-43.
Letter on board the Prince of Orange, p. 47.
Letters of Henry Laurens, pp. 48-9.
Letter of Richard Brew, p. 50.
Voyage of John Hawkins, pp. 51-52.
News Items, 1759, p. 54.
Letter of William Bull, p. 54.
Letter of William Claiborne, p. 55.
Tables on the Slave Trade, p. 56.

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Week 5  
Monday, 25 September
How do Historians view the trade?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Intro and Chaps. 1-2.
   
Wednesday, 27 September
How did the Africans in Africa view Slavery?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Chaps. 3 & 4.
   
Friday, 29 September
How did Africans Slaves React to the New World?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Chaps. 5 & 6.

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Week 6  
Monday, 2 October
What happened to African Culture?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Chaps. 7 & 8.
   
Wednesday, 4 October
How did Africans adapt?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Chaps. 9 & 10.
   
Friday, 6 October
Did the story change in the 18th Century?
  Thornton, Africa and Africans, Chap. 11.

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Encounter 4. The Chinese in America (weeks 7-8)
Week 7  
Monday, 9 October
EXAM
   
Wednesday, 11 October
Why did the Chinese Migrate?
  Cook, excerpt on e-reserve
Friday, 13 October
Why did the Chinese Migrate?
 

Maps, pp. 1-4, e-reserve.
Spence, pp. 210-215, e-reserve.

Congressional Record documents, e-reserve. (4 pages total)
Articles from Harper's Weekly, e-reserve. (6 pages total)

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Fall Break, 18 October to 26 October

Week 8  
Monday, 23 October
Why go to America.
  Takaki, Strangers, pp. 21-42, 79-131, Packet.
Yung, Unbound Feet, pp. 1-4, 15-51, Packet. 
   
Wednesday, 25 October
How did the Missionaries View the Prostitutes?
  Yung, documents, pp. 1-8, Packet. 
Cameron documents, pp. 377-383, 327-331, Packet.
   
Friday, 27 October
How do Historians view the Missionaries?
  Pascoe, "Gender Systems," e-reserve.

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Encounter 4. Poles in Chicago (weeks 9-11)
Week 9  
Monday, 30 October
How was the immigrant experience different in Chicago?
  Pacyga, pp. 1-81.
   
Wednesday, 1November
What makes the Poles different from the Chinese?
  Pacyga, pp. 111-157.
   
Thursday, 2 November
   
Friday, 3 November
Why was it a Jungle?
  Sinclair, The Jungle, On Blackboard. .
Barrett, "Life," On e-reserve.
Katzauskis, "From Lithuania to the Chicago Stockyards," On Blackboard
. 

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Week 10  
Monday, 6 November
Do Workers Have a Culture?
  Pacyga, pp. 158-205.
Poole, "The Meat Strike,"
On Blackboard.
Stewart, "The Influence of Trade Unions," On Blackboard
.
McDowell, "The Struggle for an American Standard of Living," pp. 62-66.
 
   
Wednesday, 8 November
Did it Help that They weren't African Americans?
  Pacyga, pp. 206-227, 238-257.
Spear, "Black Chicago," On e-reserves.
   
Friday, 10 November
How did Ethnic Identity Affect Class Identity?
  Grossman, Land of Hope, On e-reserves.
Crisis Documents, On e-reserves.
McDowell, "Prejudice," pp. 24-38.

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Encounter 5. Apartheid South Africa (weeks 11-14)
Week 11  
Monday, 13 November
What is the American Nation?
  Barret, "Americanization," JStor Article.
   
Wednesday, 15 November
What was Apartheid?
  Sparks, The Mind of South Africa, pp. 147-182, 195-202, 208-213, 217-229, Handout.
   
Friday, 17 November
White versus white?
  Courtenay, The Power of One, pp. 19-51, Handout.

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Week 12  
Monday, 20 November
Black versus Black?
  Mathabane, Kaffir Boy, introduction through p. 62.
   
Wednesday, 22 November
Did people internalize the system?
  Mathabane, Kaffir Boy, pp. 86-141.
   
Friday, 24 November
Thanksgiving Break, No Class

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Week 13  
Monday, 27 November
Did the System Work?
  Mathabane, Kaffir Boy, pp. 170-204, 216-223, 249-271, 328-335.
   
Wednesday, 29 November
What kind of Culture did Apartheid Produce?
  Malan, My Traitor's Heart, pp. 5-81.
   
Friday, 1December
What does Culture Tell Us?
  Malan, My Traitor's Heart, pp. 148-191.

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Week 14  
Monday, 4 De cember
What is African Culture?
  Malan, My Traitor's Heart, pp. 283-349.
   
Wednesday, 6 December
Can the New South Africa Leave the Culture of Race Behind?
  Preamble and Bill of Rights to the South African Constitution, e-reserve.
   
Friday, 8 December
Reconciliation?
  MOVIE: "Facing the Truth," Viewing time to be determined. Paper Due.
Thursday, 14 December
Final Exam, 2 pm

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Last Modified: December 5, 2006