Migrations in the Atlantic World 1500-1850 (HIST*2340)

Code and section: HIST*2340*01

Term: Winter 2018

Instructor: Femi Kolapo

Details

Course Synopsis:

The course will compare a number of important aspects of the enforced labor migration of
Africans and indentured labor migration of Indians across the Atlantic to the Caribbean
Islands as labourers on European owned plantations from the period of the Atlantic slave
trade to late 19th century. Examining the character of the migrations, it will explore the
experiences of the migrants from the point of recruitment up to arrival, settlement, and
engagement with life at destination. It will also examine the general nature of the contacts
between the sending and the receiving populations, as well as the causes and structures of
these movements and their eventual cessation – all within the global context in which they
occurred.
By the end of the course, students will have acquired an understanding of the local and
global forces involved in the generation of these labour movements and in their global
distribution, maintenance, and eradication as it pertains to the Caribbean isles. Students
will learn the use of the comparative historical method to elucidate concepts and explicate
historical moments and forces. The course would have provided students with the
opportunity to engage in critical reading, critical thinking, and critical analysis.

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

Tests based on lectures & readings (x2) 20%
Class discussions 20%
Final Exam 40%

Texts and/or Resources Required:

Students will be provided with links to required course materials - articles and primary
source documents – on Course Link. You will not need to buy a textbook.

*Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the
right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course
outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.