Students will read from both primary and secondary sources and will be expected to engage in class discussions. There will be weekly in class quizzes covering material from the lectures and the assigned readings. Students are expected to purchase and read all assigned texts, to participate in class and to hand in take-home assignments on time. In particular we will focus upon both the history of ideas and social history of Spanish and Portuguese colonial societies in areas such as Mexico, Peru, Brazil, the Caribbean and Central America. Of special interest will be the economic and political implications of evangelization and imperialism in conjunction with themes concerning indigenous societies, race, slavery and revolt.
Class consists of two weekly lectures.
Enthusiastic participation and attendance will be required, as will regular attendance, one 4-5 page paper, and a final exam. Topics will include the imperial bureaucracy, cultural construction of Chinese identity, Neo-Confucianism and its impact, commercialization and urbanization, China s encounters with the West and the development of nationalism. Requirements include quizzes, a final and one 5-7 page paper. Historical themes in 19 th and 20 th Century Africa. Midterm and final exam.