Classroom instruction will include both lectures and seminar discussions. Lectures will provide instruction on weekly topics with opportunities for student inquiry and discussion. Seminars will encourage active class participation in the analysis of assigned primary and secondary readings. Classroom instruction may also include student presentations on specific readings and/or topics, and other types of student-led activities. Classroom instruction may also include tutorials and workshops on transferrable skills, including research methods, academic citation practice, and presentation skills
1. What is the Atlantic World?
2. The Iberian Empires, Indigenous Peoples, and the Making of the Atlantic World
3. Imperial Rivalry I: The Origins of the Dutch, English, and French Empires
4. Christian Missionaries, Indigenous Peoples, and Cultural Exchange
5. Trade, Labour, and Slavery
6. Voluntary Migration and the Emergence of Creole Cultures
7. Ecological Transformations
8. Gender and the Development of Colonial Societies
9. Imperial Rivalry II: Warfare in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century
10. The Age of Revolution I: France, the United States, and Haiti
12. The Age of Revolution II: Latin America and Canada
13. The Abolition of Slavery and the Unmaking of the Atlantic World
14. Course Conclusion
At the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to demonstrate historical thinking skills, research skills, critical thinking skills and communication skills by:
1. Locating, examining, assessing, and evaluating a range of primary sources and secondary scholarly literature critically and analytically (reading history).
2. Constructing historical arguments, taking historical perspectives, and interpreting historical problems through different types of writing assignments of varying length (writing history).
3. Participating in active and informed historical debate independently and cooperatively through classroom discussion and presentation (discussing history).
4. Independently and cooperatively investigating the ways that history is created, preserved and disseminated through public memory and commemoration, oral history, community engagement, and other forms of popular visual and written expressions about the past (applying history)
Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College student evaluation policy. Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans. There will be at least three separate assessments, which may include a combination of midterm and final exams; research essays; primary document analysis assignments and essays; quizzes; map tests; in-class and online written assignments; seminar presentations; student assignment portfolios; group projects; creative projects; class participation.
The value of each assessment and evaluation, expressed as a percentage of the final grade, will be listed in the course outline distributed to students at the beginning of the term. Specific evaluation criteria will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
Participation 15%
Reading Analyses 10%
Primary Document Analyses 15%
Seminar Presentation 10%
Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography 10%
Research Essay 25%
Final Examination 15%
Textbooks and Course Readers will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
An instructor’s custom Course Reader may be required. Additional online resources may also be
assigned.
Benjamin, Thomas. The Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History, 1400-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Egerton, Douglas R. et al. The Atlantic World: A History, 1400-1800. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2007.
One 1000-level History course, or permission of the instructor
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