History 393CP - S-Caribb/US Cultrl&Poltcl Hist

This course explores the political and cultural history of the Caribbean's tumultuous relationship with the United States. The course begins with the United States' refusal to officially recognize Haiti's independence from France in 1804 and concludes with the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, a law that propagated Washington's embargo on Cuba. We will focus on key historical moments in the Caribbean - particularly those occurring in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica - to better understand how these nations negotiated concepts of sovereignty, economic independence, and self-determination. Over the course of the semester, we will explore recurring themes, movements, and phenomena in Caribbean-U.S. relations, including paternalism, informal and formal imperialism, Pan-Americanism, Pan-Africanism, dollar and gunboat diplomacy, the Good Neighbor policy, and leftist radicalism. The course will also introduce students to some of the major thinkers and political actors engaged with these debates. These topics encourage new understandings of (trans)nationality, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and race.

Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only.