Marks

Map quiz                        8%      26 Sept & 12 Oct
Mid-Term                    28%      26 Oct
Discussion Paper #1      8%      17 Oct
Discussion Paper #2      9%      2, 7, or 9  Nov    (note new dates)
Discussion Paper #3     10%     23 or 28 Nov      (note new dates)
Final exam                    37%     12 December

    THIS course is an introduction to the social study of the Caribbean area. Topics to be stressed include history and political economy, along with selected aspects of the local community life and cultural styles of the area. Please consult the Outline of Topics and Readings for specifics. You should expect that, with minor deviations, we will follow the outline presented here. A few pages of quotes from authorities may be added on the web, but nothing else.
        As you will discover, the Caribbean area is, for its size, extraordinarily complex geographically, demographically, historically, linguistically, and culturally. That means your major research essay could address any of a huge array of topics. But it also means that, in a short course such as this, arbitrary choices must be made about what's to be included and what left out. We'll focus on the Afro-Caribbean peoples of the Anglophone Caribbean, spending little time on the largest Caribbean societies (which are Spanish- or French-speaking) and on the many peoples of non-African origin in the area (East Indians, Native peoples, Chinese, Javanese, various Europeans and Middle Easterners, etc.).

Required readings

In the bookstore you will find (eventually) four things:

• George Gmelch & Sharon Gmelch: The Parish Behind God's Back.
• Merle Hodge: Crick, Crack Monkey.
• Parry, Sherlock, & Maingot: A Short History of the West Indies.
• a Bookstore collection of required articles called Caribbean Studies.