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• 1 media/Vallard Atlas Berkeley edit.jpg 2016-08-09T14:09:14+00:00 Syllabus 172 2024-25 image_header 2024-09-10T14:39:54+00:00

  HIST 2F90 - Money and Power in the Atlantic World, 1400-1850

  Brock University 2024-25
  
  Syllabus Version: September 1, 2024
  
  Instructor: Trudy Tattersall
  Teaching Assistant: Trudy Tattersall 
  Contact Information: Please use the Messages tool in Brightspace to email members of the teaching team.
  Student Hours Via MS Teams: We are always happy to meet with students, and find that those who do take the time to visit with us, generally have better outcomes on their assignments. We will be setting up regular "drop in" sessions via MS Teams, and will update this page when they are confirmed, but we are also frequently available by arrangement. Just send us an email, and we can set up a time!  You can access our MS Teams channel via the Web Content icon on Brightspace.  Check it out...click the link and leave a comment to say hello, if you wish!

  Times and Locations: There are no scheduled lectures or seminar meetings. However, there are weekly online readings and assignments, and you must plan time throughout each week during the academic year to work on these. It is your responsibility to keep up with assignments and stay on schedule. Unless otherwise noted, new Lessons start on Mondays at 8 am, and close on Fridays at 6pm.
  
  This course explores the practice of history through an examination of the early modern Atlantic World. We will combine an emphasis on traditional historical practices with digital research tools, and with frequent access to digitized archival sources.

  ​Additional Description:

  Take a close look at the image above. Few works of art get at so much history, so simply. William Blake, a radical Romantic artist of the late 18th century, depicts three women in mutual embrace and support, portraying an allegory of human mutuality, particularly the way Africa and America supported Europe. The illustration looks peaceful and idyllic. It is from a book about a British officer’s experience in suppressing a rebellion of African slaves in America. Not much mutuality in that event! But the book’s author, John Stedman, used his experience to speak out against slavery and against the gross exploitation of Indigenous Americans. The book, like many of its kind, was not unambiguous. Indeed, some historians have commented that the illustration speaks more to the hypocrisies of Europeans in the colonial world than it does to any actions directed at fostering genuine mutuality. But as we'll see, the world was not divided into simple, good-and-bad characters. Progressive abolitionists could sometimes be misogynistic; conservative anti-democrats could sometimes be forceful critics of empire. In history as in life, contradictions and complications abound.
  

  Europe was very clearly “supported” by African labour and American land – that is, we can see that Europe exploited America and Africa. But Blake saw something more. He meant his illustration as an allegory for an imagined future – of what might be, not of what was. Both Blake and Stedman saw clearly that Europe benefited by grossly unequal and decidedly non-mutual relationships. Both men were particularly active in the campaign to end the slave trade. Their vision of a mutually supportive Atlantic world economy and society was utopian.
  
  The early modern era – roughly 1400-1800 – marks the rise of the West (essentially Western Europe, with the gradual addition of America) in global history. In 1400, Arab, Turkish, and Chinese empires were far more powerful, richer, and technologically advanced than any political force in the West. By 1800, the reverse was true. This course tracks that shift, that series of changes which brought about what we might call “the rise of the West”. That story is complex and even in this full-year course we will only scratch the surface of some of its many facets. But what we will see is that Blake, taken literally, was quite right: Europe was very much supported by Africa and America. Europe’s wealth came through many sources, but the real advances cannot even be imagined without the use of African labour and American land and resources. The Atlantic World (Europe, Africa, and the Americas) was in many ways a unified cultural and economic system, but its major players experienced that system very differently. This course explores that emergent Western dominance, with a keen eye to understanding the very different experiences that shaped it.

   

  Course Grade Components

  10% -- Module quizzes (Modules 1-4)
  35% -- Weekly Discussions in Brightspace
  5% -- 1st-Term short assignment
  10% --1st-Term longer assignment
  15% -- 2nd-Term early assignment
  25% -- Final project
  
  = 100%

  Course  Structure

  
  The course does not have fixed class times, but all students must progress through the course at roughly the same pace, week by week. The course consists of an introductory week plus five modules of varying lengths:

  • Module 1. The Pre-Modern West
  • Module 2. Colonial Expansion
  • Module 3. Conflicting Worlds
  • Module 4. Revolutions
  • Module 5. The Early Liberal Era

  Each module has between three and six lessons which we'll complete at the rate of one lesson per week. 
  
  This course operates in two main online locations: in your course e-textbook (where you’re reading this syllabus), and on Brightspace. The e-textbook is not a traditional textbook, of course, but it is meant to function in many regards like one. In it you'll find outlines, learning outcomes, and questions for each week, as well as general guidelines for the assignments. There are also links to video introductions and screencasts, as well as links to relevant online information.
  
  Your Brightspace page is your workbook. The weekly readings and other sources are there, as are the forum where you'll post your comments (like an online seminar), the messages tool, and the tools you'll use to submit your actual assignments. You'll need to pay attention not only to the weekly readings and discussions, but also to the schedule of assignments. 

   

  SCHEDULE

  NOTE: Unless we announce otherwise, all Lessons and their accompanying Forum discussions will start on Mondays at 8 am, and they will close at 5 pm on the Friday of that week. If you wish to do well in the course, you should budget your time so that you finish each week's Forum posts well before the Friday evening closing time -- with occasional exceptions allowed (we realize life can be complicated)!
   

  Term 1

  Introductions

  Week 1, Starting Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024: Introduction to the Course (NOTE: a shorter-than-usual "week", although the Forum for the week will remain open until the end of Week 2)

  In addition to Reading this page of the e-textbook, also make sure that you read the Course Syllabus and Course Introduction before you introduce yourself in the First Forum in Brightspace.

  Module 1. The Pre-Modern West

  Week 2, Sept. 9-13: Rulers and Subjects (1): Traditional Authority
  Week 3, Sept. 16-20: Rulers and Subjects (2): Christian Europe Divided
  Week 4, Sept. 23-27: Agricultural Revolutions
  Week 5, Sept. 30 - Oct. 4: How to Read Early Modern Books (the first quiz starts at the end of this week)

   

  Module 2. Colonial Expansion

  Week 6, Oct. 7-11: Europe's Empires Expand 

  Oct. 14-18  - Reading Week

  Week 7, Oct. 21-25: Early Modern Africa (the first assignment is due Wednesday, October 23)
  Week 8, Oct. 28 - Nov 1: The Columbian Exchange
  Week 9, Nov. 4-8: The Slave Trade

  Module 3. Conflicting Worlds

  Week 10, Nov. 11-15: Indigenous North American Cultures
  Week 11, Nov. 18-22: Missionaries (the second quiz starts at the end of this week)
  Week 12, Nov. 25-29: Developing Distant Reading skills with Voyant Tools and Visual Reading skills with Early Modern Maps (the second assignment is due Wednesday, Dec. 4)

  TERM 1 NOTES

  • Weekly discussions are the heart of this course, and account for 35% of your overall course grade over 2 semesters. Regular engagement in the discussions will enhance your learning, and ensure you get the most out of the course!
  • For the Term 1, you will do two assignments, each with separate instructions and deadlines. Here are the basics:
    • Assignment 1 deadline: Wednesday, October 23.
    • Assignment 2 deadline: Wednesday, December 4.
    • Each assignment has its own page with detailed instructions.
    • All assignments will automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.
    • You must complete both.
  • There are also two Module Quizzes in Term 1. You must complete both in the time provided. Once you open a quiz you will have 20 minutes complete it. You may write each quiz twice within the period provided. The highest score (each out of 2.5 points) will count.
    • The Module 1 Quiz will be open from Friday, Oct. 4 at noon until Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 5 pm.
    • The Module 2 Quiz will be open from Friday, Nov. 22 at noon until Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5 pm.
    • You must complete both.
  • READING WEEK starts on Monday, Oct. 14 (Thanksgiving).
  • There is no December exam in this course.
  • The first week of regular classes in Term 2 starts on Monday, Jan. 6, 2024. Our regular lesson-cycle will ALSO begin again on Monday, January 6th. 

  Term 2

  Module 3. Conflicting Worlds (continued)

  Week 13, Jan. 6 - 10 : Settler Colonialism
  Week 14, Jan. 13 - 17 : The Seven Years War Settler
  Week 15, Jan. 20 - 24 : Settler-Indigenous Treaties
  Week 16, Jan. 27 - 31: Societies and Commercial Expansion
  Week 17, Feb. 3 - 7 : The Practice of Slavery (the third quiz starts at the end of this week)

  
  Module 4. Revolutions

  Week 18, Feb. 10 - 14 : The American Revolution

  Feb. 17 - 21  - Reading week

  
  Week 19, Feb. 24 - 28 : The French Revolution
  Week 20, Mar. 3 - 7 : The Haitian Revolution
  Week 21, Mar. 10 - 14 : Canada's Revolutions (the fourth and final quiz starts at the end of this week)

  Module 5. The Early Liberal Era

  Week 22, Mar. 17 - 21 : Abolition
  Week 23, Mar. 24 - 28 : Work and Freedom
  Week 24, Mar. 31 - Apr. 4 : Paper preparation - no discussions

  TERM 2 NOTES

  • **The last day to withdraw from D1 courses without academic penalty is Friday, January 17, 2025. **
    • You will have received feedback for 35% of your final grade by Friday, January 10, 2025.
  • Weekly discussions are the heart of this course, and account for 35% of your overall course grade over 2 semesters. Regular engagement in the discussions will enhance your learning, and ensure you get the most out of the course!
  • For the Term 2, you will do two assignments, each with separate instructions and deadlines. Here are the basics:
    • Assignment 2 deadline: Wednesday, February 12.
    • Final Project deadline: Monday, April 7.
    • Each assignment has its own page with detailed instructions.
    • All assignments will automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.
  • There are also two Module Quizzes in Term 2. You must complete both in the time provided. Once you open a quiz you will have 20 minutes complete it. You may write each quiz twice within the period provided. The highest score (each out of 2.5 points) will count.
    • The Module 3 Quiz will be open from Friday, February 7  at noon until Tuesday, February 11 at 5 pm.
    • The Module 4 Quiz will be open from Friday, March 28 at noon until Tuesday, April 1 at 5 pm.
    • You must complete both.
  • ** READING WEEK starts on Monday, Feb. 17.**
  • You must complete all course components to pass the course.

   

  Learning  Outcomes

  Historians (i) contribute to public debates (ii) by making arguments (iii) that answer research questions (iv) using evidence analyzed according to thoughtful methods. The items on this list are examples of what you might consider learning outcomes for your overall university studies in history. Learning outcomes are meant to help the instructors and you gauge your learning and progress. Your work in this course will help you improve your knowledge, professional practice, and skills related to the abilities listed above. More particularly, you should pay attention to the following learning outcomes in your work in HIST 2F90.
  
  By the end of the course a successful student will be able to...

  KNOWLEDGE:

  • Describe the major developments in the early modern Atlantic world.

  PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:

  • Communicate ideas/arguments effectively and honestly in all course work.

  SKILLS:

  • Ask good historical questions and form strong arguments that answer these questions using the best evidence we can find.

  
  In addition to this overall set of course learning outcomes, there are also more specific learning outcomes that are listed with each weekly lesson in Brightspace.

  Required Readings:

  All readings are available via hyperlink at the end of each lesson page. There are no require textbooks to purchase.

  Reading Expectations:

  Here’s an important note: In 2nd-year history courses it is common to read 40 to 60 pages per week. In this course we will not assign this much in the first few weeks, but we will increase the reading load as the course progresses. See the note about workload expectations that is included in the Introductory Lesson.

  Course Communications:

  This course will not work if you are not checking its online resources regularly. This includes checking this online textbook AND the Brightspace Announcements. You should use the Messages tool, and select email to write the instructor or other students. You are also welcome to "visit" the instructors via Teams; you can find out how to use Teams by going to the Sharepoint through my.brocku.ca. To arrange a phone or video discussion, please send an email first to arrange a time.

  TIP: When you write to anyone in the course in Brightspace Messages, please make sure to choose the email option, NOT instant messages. E-mail  addresses appear in the in the drop-down address options, and the Subject Line will also begin with "HIST-2F90-D01-S01-ASY >". Please add your specific subject after this, and keep the course identifier in the Subject Line.

  Note: Before you ask a question about the course, please make sure you try to answer it yourself by reading the syllabus and other course materials carefully. The instructors reserve the right to ignore frivolous messages.

          * * * Remember: Make sure that you check your Brightspace Announcements regularly!!! * * *

  Forum Discussion Instructions

  Description

  Discussions are the heart of this course. Your grades will reflect the regularity and most especially the quality of your Discussion contributions. Posts should strive to build conversations – that is, they should engage, and offer thought-provoking commentary and questions for deepening the discussions. New posts should engage with the reading material and posts from other participants, and should always bring out evidence from the readings. The point is to analyze our sources through discussion, and to build and develop the conversation with other students to that end.
  
  Brightspace places you in a group of approximately 15-20 students. This will be your discussion group for the entire year. Each week, everyone is expected to contribute to the discussion in their Forum. You read documents every week in preparation for the discussion group, so be aware of what you need to do to prepare, when you’re expected to comment, and plan your time accordingly. Also plan to read all the previous posts for the week’s Forum before you post anything new. When we grade your work, we’ll expect that you’ve done this.
  
  Unless otherwise noted, each week’s Forum will open officially on Monday morning (although there is a soft opening that happens on Saturday for those of you who like to work ahead) and close at 5pm Friday of that week.

  • You are required to provide at least ONE post and ONE response each week. (In other words, at least twice per week.)
  • Plan to post at least once EARLY in each Forum so that you and others in your group can develop a rich discussion online. (You’ll all learn more this way!) 
  • In other words, be sure to post on time so that others have time to read, think and respond.
  • The strongest posts will also show evidence that you’ve read the previous discussion for the week.
  • How long should my posts be? Most posts should be in the range of 100 to 200 words, 300 at most. Sometimes, you may need to say more, others less. But generally, whatever number of words you write, you should be answering one (or more) of our questions, using evidence from that week’s sources, and engaging with your classmates. You do not have to write LONG posts. Some students seem to think they get grades per word. NO! Quality, not quantity.
  • You have a limited time to complete your discussion contribution in the week’s Forum. If you do not post within the time allotted, you will not get credit for that week. 
  • You will be evaluated not on your opinions but on how well you make use of evidence. Read, then write about what you read. That's what most of this course asks of you.

  NOTE: We wish to encourage early posting, and we want all of you to be engaging with one another regularly in the Forum discussions. A good basic post examines the viewpoint of the author(s), works with the evidence in the source(s), and situates the source(s) you are using as evidence in a broader framework.
  
  People who post at least once before the end of the day on Wednesday of each week and whose posts meet the other standards for good contributions will generally earn the strongest grades.
  
  Tip: take notes as you read, and as you go outline evidence and analysis for what yu think are three or four good takeaway points from the readings. Then, go to the Discussion, explain one or two of those points. If others have already posted, try to build on those posts. How do you build? Add evidence that supports, or disagrees, with what's been said. Explain why your analysis is different.

  Few of our questions for discussion in the Forums have simple, correct answers. Therefore, try to establish positions or arguments based on evidence in the assigned sources, rather than simply stating facts or opinions.
  
  What is a good post?
   

  A good post should:
  (a) answer the big question (not totally, but should get at the question)
  (b) should make a point, an argument
  (c) should support that point with evidence from the readings
  (d) should lead with the argument (make your point, then show the evidence that supports)

  There will be variations, of course, especially on responses to your classmates. But always use evidence. 
   

  What is a good response?

  Good responses should:
  (a) engage with your colleagues in meaningful, thoughtful dialogue
  (b) agree or disagree with their interpretation of evidence -- BUT provide further reasons for your response, and if your analysis is the same, don't just say you agree, explore why - maybe pointing to different evidence.
  (c) Come back later; look for responses to your post(s). Respond to them; maybe another of those three or four points you developed before posting can now be useful. 
  (d) ask for clarification, once again based on good reasons
  (e) challenge your colleagues in a friendly way to provide more examples / take their thoughts further
  (f) In ALL instances, support these reasons with evidence from the readings

   

  What is not a good post?

   

  A few things we often see that are not useful:
  (a) recounting details of the sources as if their meaning is obvious - discuss and analyse evidence, don't merely recount it
  (b) posting late as if you're the first to post, which almost invariably means you're saying things that have already been said. Think of this like you were in a seminar: you make a nice comment, the prof nods approvingly, you feel good - two minutes later the guy across the table says the exact same thing. Are you impressed? Do you think the prof is? In our Discussions, don't be that second guy.
  (c) posting a mini essay that aims to answer all of the questions for the week! You have been in rooms when one person dominates the conversation...don't be that person! Remember, the discussion is like an online version of a seminar; not the online version of a short essay. Aim for 150-200 words.
  (d) simply agreeing with a person's post or restating what they say. Respond to what other have written. You will, no doubt, have to repeat some details/content to get to your point, but that point should build on what others have said, not merely repeat it. 
   

  
  
  How many times should you post?

  Twice per lesson should be a minimum. But don't imagine that five gets you bonus points. You're also evaluated on the quality of your posts.
   

  Discussion Assessment

  You are required to post each week -- minimally twice each week for the best Forum contributions and therefore the best grades. Some weeks have more activities than others, but they are all listed on the module page and in the Course Schedule so you will have plenty of time to prepare yourself for all activities. We will provide Forum grades 2 times in the year - at the end of each term. To help you understand the standards for the weekly discussions, this scale (together with the comments above) might be helpful:

  • A Range - Thoughtful, timely and excellent contributions (at least two each week, with one of these usually in the first half of the week) that stimulate discussion and provide insightful comments with solid grounding in the sources and other students’ comments for the week.
  • B or C Range - Effective contributions that invite comment and demonstrate some knowledge of the sources and other students’ comments. Again, most students who receive grades in the B range will post twice a week before Friday. (These are clearly on the right path, but could still be improved.) Those who wait until Friday to post  can expect to earn a C+ at best.
  • D Range - Little or no effort given to posting, and / or the contribution was divergent from the discussion and the readings, and / or the post demonstrated little effort to engage with other students’ ideas.
  • F - No contribution.

  
  In general good posts add to the conversation (initiating something new, building on others' posts) and utilize good supporting evidence from the readings.
  
  We do recognize that life can be complicated in normal times, and these times are not so normal. Therefore, if you miss posting to the Forums for up to two weeks (in other words, one per semester), we will not deduct any grades from your Forum grade. See below for the consequences of missing more than two Forums.

  Because student contributions are so important for the course, your Forum engagement grades will be determined on the basis of not just regular posts in the weekly discussion activities but by creating engaging, thought-provoking commentary and responses to questions that we provide, as well as by initiating new discussion threads that show creative and critical engagement with the topics.
  
  Remember...
  
  History is not the past; the past is gone, it's over. History is what we make of the traces of the past that remain to us in documents, oral tradition, archaeology, and material culture. We can only access the past through honest use of evidence. Without evidence, we're just making stuff up.

  
  Failure to participate in Discussions will lose you points!! Students are expected to contribute each lesson to ALL Discussions. Discussions are allocated over a third of your grade (35 points). Failure to contribute to more than 2 (1 per semester) Discussions will be penalized 1.5 out of the 35 points per late or missed week thereafter. Late Discussion posts will not be accepted for credit.

  Late Submission Policy:

  Unless otherwise outlined, the penalties for late submission of assigned coursework are 10% of the assignment grade for the first day late and 5% per day thereafter, unless accompanied by medical documentation, or documentation of other serious reasons. See Medical Exemption Policy and the medical health certificate at
  https://brocku.ca/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/Medical-Certificate.pdf .
   

  Reminder:
  
  Relationship between regular online participation and grades:

  Forum discussions are the heart of this course. Your grades will reflect the regularity and most especially the quality of your weekly contributions. Posts should strive to build conversations – that is, they should engage, and offer thought-provoking commentary and questions for deepening the discussions. New posts should engage with the reading material and posts from other participants, and should always bring out evidence from the readings. The point is to analyze our sources through discussion, and to build and develop the conversation with other students to that end.
  
  We will provide you detailed instructions for Forum discussions via Brightspace Announcements.

  Important dates:

  (check the section on important dates in the relevant online University calendar)

  • Friday, January 10, 2024, is the date by which you will be notified of 15% of your course grade.
  • Friday, January 17, 2024, is the last date for withdrawal from the course without academic penalty.

  
  Academic  Policies

  Academic Integrity:

  The principle of academic integrity, particularly of doing one’s own work, documenting properly (including use of quotation marks, appropriate paraphrasing and referencing/citation), collaborating appropriately, and avoiding misrepresentation, is a core principle in university study. Academic misconduct is a serious offence. Students should consult Section VII, “Academic Misconduct”, in the “Academic Regulations and University Polices” entry in the Undergraduate Calendar, available at  http://brocku.ca/webcal to view a fuller description of prohibited actions, and the procedures and penalties.

  Plagiarism software:

  You will submit most of your assignments through Turnitin.com, a phrase-matching program online. See the assignment details on Brightspace for more information. If you have a good, principled reason for objecting to uploading your assignments to Turnitin.com, please notify the instructors before the end of Week 3 to discuss alternative ways to submit your assignments. Alternatives will include some mechanism for you to demonstrate your adherence to the principles of academic integrity.

  Academic Accommodation:

  As part of Brock University's commitment to a respectful work and learning environment, the University will make every reasonable effort to accommodate all members of the university community with disabilities. If you require academic accommodations related to a documented disability to participate in this course, you are encouraged to contact Services for Students with Disabilities in the Student Development Centre (4th floor Schmon Tower, ex. 3240, https://brocku.ca/health-wellness-accessibility/sas/). You are also encouraged to discuss any accommodations with the instructor well in advance of due dates and scheduled assessments.

  Academic Accommodation due to Religious Obligations:

  Brock University acknowledges the pluralistic nature of the undergraduate and graduate communities such that accommodations will be made for students who, by reason of religious obligation, must miss an examination, test, assignment deadline, laboratory or other compulsory academic event.

  Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious obligation should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternative dates and/or means of satisfying requirements.

  Medical Exemption Policy:

  The University requires that a student be medically examined in Health Services, or by an off- campus physician prior to an absence due to medical reasons from an exam, lab, test, quiz, seminar, assignment, etc. The Medical Certificate can be found at: https://brocku.ca/registrar/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/Medical-Certificate.pdf.
   
  

   

   

  Your next step is to read How to Succeed in this Course.