History of the Caribbean since 1898 (01:595:205/01:508:272) Department of Latino and Hispanic Caribbean Studies / Department of History Rutgers University, Fall 2014 Tuesday and Thursday, 3:20 p.m.-4:40 p.m. (Period 5), Livingston Campus Prof. Kathleen López Office: 263A Lucy Stone Hall, Livingston Campus Office Hours: TBA E-mail:
[email protected] Course Description Situated at the historical crossroads of Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, the Caribbean has played a pivotal role in global transformations since 1492. The Spanish-Cuban- American War of 1898 marks an important historical milestone in the region. After this war, the United States took possession of Cuba and Puerto Rico and eventually expanded its role with direct interventions in Central America and the Caribbean. The region’s past illuminates many of the critical junctures and central contradictions of modern history: colonialism and independence, slavery and freedom, racial hierarchy and political equality, despotism and revolution, nationalism and transnationalism, and migration and creolization. This course provides an overview of the history of the Caribbean since the formation of the U.S. sphere of influence in 1898. Emphasis is on the Hispanic Caribbean (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico) and Haiti; we will also consider English- and French-speaking states and coastal Central America. Course Learning Goals This course satisfies the following SAS Core Learning Goals in Social and Historical Analysis: [H] Understand the bases and development of human and societal endeavors across time and place. [I] Explain and be able to assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence, arguments, and theory in social and historical analysis.