History 709: Institute for the Study of Local History:
The New England Connection to the Caribbean Economy
Summer 2003
M-F 8:30-4:30
Downtown Campus Conference Center
Dr. Brad Austin

Introduction and Course Description
Before trade routes to the Far East had been established, ships left the ports of New England and sailed to the Caribbean to deliver dried fish, wood products and livestock to the plantations.  The ships returned with molasses, spices, indigo dye, slaves, and tobacco.  In this course, students will examine primary and secondary sources relating to this crucial trade network. 

By reading, writing, thinking and talking about the economic and cultural ties linking these regions with each other and Europe, students will gain a greater understanding of the Atlantic World of the 17th-19th centuries, the growth of Caribbean slavery, the role New England merchants played within a larger mercantilist system, and how trading and personal relationships influenced and affected the residents of Europe, Africa, North America, and the sugar islands of the Caribbean.

As outlined below, this course will involve reading in a great number of historical works, just as it will allow students to “do history” themselves.  We will spend a good deal of time visiting and using archives, learning to find, critique, and contextualize primary sources. 

Contact Information
Office Hours: Since we’re meeting all day, every day, I won’t hold extra office hours. If you need to contact me before or after the Institute begins, please use the following methods: 
Phone: Work 978-542-7143 (SSC ext. 7143); Mobile 978-985-3501 (Please use only in case of emergencies)
Email: brad.austin@salemstate.edu

Equal Access Statement
Salem State College is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids, and adjustments.  Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid, or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately.  Students with Disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule and appointment with the Office of Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services.

Required Reading
In addition to a wide variety of primary sources (ship logs, diaries, slave records, tax rolls, maps, images, etc.) and selected articles from the Essex Institute Historical Collections, graduate students and other participants will read all, or sections of, the following works:

Irene V. Alexrod, “Two Kinsmen Named John Turner” unpublished, 2001.

Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America (Harvard University Press, 1998).

Jay Coughtry, The Notorious Triangle : Rhode Island and the African Slave Trade, 1700-1807 (Temple University Press, 1981).

Margaret Newell, From Dependency to Independence: Economic Revolution in Colonial New England (Cornell University Press, 1999).

David Northrup, ed., The Atlantic Slave Trade, Problems in World History Series (Houghton Mifflin, 2002).

Alan Taylor, American Colonies, The Penguin History of the United States, ed. Eric Foner (Viking, 2001).

Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy (Random House, 1984).

Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery (Andre Duetsch, 1964).  Available in reprint.

Students should also have access to Kate Turibian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, sixth edition, 1996, to guide them as they complete the Institute’s writing assignments. For an electronic version, visit this site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html

Assignments and Grading
Class Participation (30%): This course simply cannot succeed without your active and thoughtful class participation.  To add to the course, and to receive credit for participation, you must come to each class prepared to discuss the readings and the topics under consideration. 

Research project (50%):  This is the course’s most significant assignment, and it is the one that will require the most effort and out-of-class preparation.  The goal of this project is to have students further explore a theme or topic introduced by the Institute’s discussions, lectures, field trips, or readings.  Students have the option of turning in a research project in one of the three formats:
    1) An extended bibliographic essay that examines how several different authors and/or works have treated a research question or topic;
    2) A primary source-based essay that utilizes original archival research, along with relevant secondary source readings, to examine a question or topic; or
    3) A detailed unit economics or history unit plan that incorporates primary and secondary sources studied during the seminar.  This unit plan must reinforce relevant state content frameworks and should include a rationale for the unit, 8-10 lesson plans, a glossary, assessment tools, and an annotated bibliography.

Students must discuss their plans with the professor before committing to a particular project or topic.  The final project is due on Friday, August 15th by 5:00.

Short writing assignments (20%) These will include brief reaction papers to the readings, lectures, and site visits, as well as interpretations of primary sources.

Attendance and Make-Up Policy: 
If for any family or medical reason you find it absolutely necessary to miss a class or  due date, you must contact me before the class session and have my consent to your absence. Remember, missing a single class session is the equivalent of missing 20% of a regular course, and missing a morning or afternoon session is the equivalent of missing 10% of a normal course. 

Academic Honesty
“Salem State College assumes that all students come to the College with serious educational intent and expects them to be mature, responsible individuals who will exhibit high standards of honesty and personal conduct in their academic life.  All forms of academic dishonesty are considered to be serious offences against the College community.  The College will apply sanctions when student conduct interferes with the College’s primary responsibility of ensuring its educational objectives.”  (From the Salem State College Undergraduate Catalog 2002-2004, p. 293.  Consult the same page for additional details on the College’s Academic Integrity Regulations and in particular, the College’s definition of Academic Dishonesty)