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Colonization, Revolution, Identity, and Leadership
I taught this course in two parts. The first part focused on Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In this course we explored the legacies of slavery and the peoples’ perpetual resistance to their European and American colonizers and how it shaped the evolution of unique creole societies and the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. With deeper knowledge of the complex history of colonization, revolutions and emancipations, students delved deeper into questions of identities and perceptions of race as they have evolved in the region. In the second part of the course, we focused on Cuba to explore whether or dictators could be good leaders and what impact the US has had on the Caribbean. In this series of units students focused on political conflicts and leadership. Through close readings of texts, discussions, and debates students evaluated the consequences of choices made around the Cold War period by the leadership in Cuba, the Soviet Union and the US.
Focus on Haiti and the DR
Who lived in the Caribbean before it was colonized?
What were the effects of European contact on the indigenous populations and civilizations in the Caribbean?
How did sugar enable the colonization of the Caribbean?
What drove the Sugar Trade?
How was the Haitian Revolution a “global event”?
How did differing definitions of freedom influence the Haitian Revolution?
What were the most important causes of the Haitian Revolution?
Conflict between Haiti and Dominican Republic
What are the ongoing struggles between Haiti and the DR?
How did the Dominican Republic gain its independence?
What were the causes and effects of the events at Massacre River?
How has the history of the Caribbean influenced the identity of its people?
How do people identify themselves in the varying islands of the Caribbean?
Focus on Cuba
Can dictators be good leaders?
How did Cuba gain its independence from Spain? What happened after?
Who was Fulgencio Batista and what was life like in Cuba under his control?
Who was Fidel Castro and how was he able to lead a successful revolution in Cuba?
How did the revolution of 1959 promise to change life for Cubans?
What role has the US played in Cuba?
What relationship was developed between the US and Cuba as a result of the Platt Agreement?
What was the US’s response to the Cuban Revolution?
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion?
What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
What has life been like in Cuba since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991?
Is communism a viable option for the future of Cuba?
What is the relationship of the Cuban diaspora, particularly in the US to Cuba?
What are race relations like in Cuba today?
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