Northeastern Illinois University
ProSem: Haitian Revolution: JUST 3150-31
Spring Semester (Jan. - April. 2004)
Office Hours: MW 12- 1:00pm, 3:00-4:00pm, and 5:40-6:40pm |
T.Y. Okosunt tokosun@neiu.edu
On Campus dial: Ext. 5453
Off Campus dial: 773 442-5453 |
Course Description
This course will examine the Haitian revolution from
a critical justice perspective. In addition to several other concerns,
we will focus on the notion and meaning of revolution as a fundamental
response to the radical necessity for freedom from injustice, as well
as its sense as a rare disjuncture of social arrangements that either
leads to social advancement or collapse. Several revolutions (for instance,
the French Revolution, Russian revolution, Chinese Revolution, Cuban
Revolution, and the Grenadian Revolution of 1979-1983) all between the
18th and the 20th Centuries remind us to be more philosophically critical
in examining the attendant social elements of any revolution. Most revolutions
introduce some type of disjuncture in social arrangements, and are by
necessity mentally or physically brutal, and focused on creating new
or re-arranged versions of liberty and justice in response to the plight
of the general population. In our case, the Haitian Revolution,
which has been tragically avoided by many social scientists, is a dynamic
theater of a tragic play between African slaves and a European power
broker in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. The conclusion of
the play is the overthrow of the French colonial grid and the plantation
social and economic configuration. Has this revolution caused a social
advancement or a regression? In the Haitian case, the notion and import
of a revolution to usher in liberty, justice, and a sense of self-definition
sets the stage for centuries of utter neglect, marginalization, and
relegation to social nadirity. The course will additionally explore
some of the critical issues of race/class, race/power, race/self-determination,
race/liberty/justice, and race/global justice which emanate from a critical
reading of the revolution experience and Haiti's contemporary condition.
Course Objective
In this course you will engage in:
- 1. the critical analysis of the Haitian revolution and its
justice implications
- 2. explore the different ways that groups and individuals contributed
to just and unjust conditions
- Engage in critical justice dialogue in relation to
- 1. Haiti's social Pre-revolutionary context
- 2. Haiti's revolutionary context
- 3. Haiti's post-revolutionary context
- 4. Haiti's contemporary context
- 5. Prospects for the future of Haiti
- 6. Explore the implications of global justice in the light
of the Haitian revolutionary experience
Required
Text:
Books
Ott, Thomas O., Haitian Revolution,1789-1804, The University of Tennessee
Press, 1973
Geggus, David Patrick, Haitian Revolutionary Studies, Publisher Bloomington,
Indiana University Press, 2002.
Articles
Additional
Reading
James, C.L.R., The
Black Jacobins, Vintage.
Fick, Carolyn, The
Making of Haiti: The St. Domingue Revolution from Below, Tennessee.
Halliday, Fred, Revolution
and World Politics, Macmillan.
Skocpol, Theda, Social
Revolutions in the Modern World, Cambridge.
Course
Requirements:
Thoroughly read and prepare each chapter and a weekly assigned
article before each class.
Active engagement and contribution are essential! This is a seminar.
Appreciate and respect different experiences, perspectives, and
opinions shared in class.
Regular attendance is required and assignments must be submitted
as scheduled.
Attendance
Attend all
classes
3 missed classes
(20% of the semester) will adversely affect your grade
- 1. make sure that your attendance is recorded
- 2. communicate with me about absences (you can leave voice-mail
at any time)
- 3. that you review the material you missed with a classmate. I
encourage you to find at least two people in class and exchange phone
numbers so that you can catch up if you miss class for a very significant
reason.
BLACKBOARD. We will
use the Blackboard for some of our interactions on the course. We will
also use it for course material information and communication. Please
sign up to get an NEIU e-mail account or find a way to access the blackboard
at NEIU. Every now and then, email will be used to communicate important
information.
Grading:
| Participation
15% |
All
class discussions, questions, and comments. |
| 15% |
Paper
1 |
| 15% |
Paper
2 |
| 15% |
Paper
3 |
| 25% |
Major
paper 4 and In class Presentation |
| 15% |
Final
Examination |
| Your
papers are evaluated with the following criteria
A.
= 90-100:Paper
thoroughly responds to the assignment. Thesis, arguments and supporting
evidence, and style are very coherent, and there is clear evidence
of original thought if that is required.
B.
= 80-89:Paper
responds to the assignment. Thesis, arguments and supporting evidence,
and style are coherent, and there is some evidence of original thought
if that is required. Minimal writing errors expected.
C.
= 70-79:Paper
struggles to respond to the assignment. Thesis, arguments and supporting
evidence, and style are not coherent, and no evidence of original
thought. Paper is replete with writing errors.
D.
= 65-69:Paper
does not respond to the assignment. Thesis, arguments and supporting
evidence, and style are dangerously incoherent or absent. Paper
is overwhelmed with writing errors.
F.
= 0-64 Paper does not respond to the assignment.
Thesis, arguments and supporting evidence, and style are absent.
Paper is dangerously overwhelmed with writing errors. |
Academic
Honesty:
One of the most serious problems that professors and students encounter
is plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty. When
you write an essay, paper, or exam your written words must be you own.
It is legitimate, even necessary, to use and build on observations, knowledge,
ideas, and concepts from other people. However, it is also crucial to
give credit the sources of your information, ideas, concepts, phrases,
etc. There are standard ways of doing this, which you should be familiar
with by now. If you do not give adequate credit, you are engaged in plagiarism
which is a serious ethical offense. Here is the definition of plagiarism
from Indiana University (note that I have put the definition in quotation
marks and given the citation information below):
"A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of
another person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give
credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever
he or she does any of the following:
- a. Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;
- b. Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;
- c. Uses another person's ideas, opinion, or theory; or
- d. Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless
the information is common knowledge."
Quoted
from Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Part III,
Student Misconduct, Academic Misconduct, By action of the University Faculty
Council (April 24, 1990) and the Trustees of Indiana University (May 4,
1990). Again, if you are not sure whether what you are doing may
be plagiarism, find out by consulting with me or other faculty members.
In order to give credit to the sources, you must pay attention to the
details as you learn. Do not copy passages out of books or articles without
making a clear note from where you copied it. If you have something in
your paper that you cannot remember from where it came, go back and check.
When you do quote something, make sure that you quote correctly. Do not
leave words out, change spelling, etc. The penalty for plagiarism
is a zero grade on an assignment. Please avoid the use of ignorance
about plagiarism as an excuse.
Participation:
To
earn full points, you must be present at all class meetings and contribute
productively to discussions. This does not mean dominating the discussion!
It does mean being willing to offer your comments and insights on a regular
basis AND to respond to each other. Being able to work with others cooperatively
is one of the most valued skills in all social contexts. Use your classroom
experiences as an opportunity to practice those skills.
Schedule
of Class Topics and Tasks
Read
Each Chapter Before Class
| Week
1 |
Introduction;
getting acquainted; establishing expectations |
|
| Week
2 Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6 |
Chapter
One: Before the Revolution
Chapter
two: The Road to Revolution
Chapter
three: Explosion and Confusion
Chapter
four: The White Collapse
Chapter
five: Toussaint and the British Invasion |
Paper
1 Due
Paper 2 Due |
| Week
7 Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11 |
Chapter
Six: Consolidation of Power Chapter
seven: Toussaint's New Order
Chapter eight: The French Invasion
Chapter nine: The French Defeat
Chapter ten: Legacy of Revolution |
Paper 3 Due |
| Week
12 Week 13
Week 14 |
Post
Revolutionary Discourse Contemporary
Discourse
Haiti in the Context of Global Justice |
Paper 4 Due |
| Week
15 Week
16 |
Presentation
of Papers Final Examination.
Final Day of Class |
Presentations
Exam |
| These
are a list of Audio-Visual on Haiti. We will view and discuss two
or three of them in class. 1.
Black Dawn, 2. Black Sugar, 3. Dreams of Democracy, 4. Grande
Saline, 5. Haiti, A Forgotten Nation,
7. Haitian Song, 8. Man By the Shore,
9. A Pig's Tale, 10. Haiti: The Struggle Continues, 11. The Other
Haiti
|
Best
Wishes for the Semester
|