HIST384

[Wesleyan Home Page] [Wesmaps Home Page] [Availability Statistics Search] [Course Description Search] [Dept. Search]

HIST384

Problems in the History of Subject Peoples HIST384 FA

Crosslistings: LAST384, WMST384

Next Offered in 9798 FA

A discussion of the techniques and sources used by historians in their studies of subject peoples, when the bulk of written evidence consists of reports, observations and commentary by foreign conquerors or ruling elites. Topics include the contributions of archaeological and anthropological studies; the importance of myth and oral tradition; the various types of available documents and the nature and reliability of the written evidence.

MAJOR READINGS

Robert and Marcia Ascher, CODE OF THE QUIPU
Marc Bloch, THE HISTORIAN'S CRAFT
Hernan Cortes, FIVE LETTERS OF CORTES (selections)
Carl Degler, "Is There A History of Women?"
June Hahner, WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
Garcilaso de La Vega, THE INCAS
Bernal Diaz de Castillo, CONQUEST OF NEW SPAIN (selections)
Miguel Leon-Portilla, ed., THE BROKEN SPEARS (selections)
Zelia Nuttal, ed., THE CODEX NUTTALL
Irene Silverblatt, SUN, MOON, AND WITCHES
Steve Stern, PERU'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Eric Wolf, EUROPE AND THE PEOPLE WITHOUT HISTORY
Additional reserve room assignments. Reading list subject
to change, as new Latin American history texts appear or go
out of print.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Seven short (2-3 page) papers; one final exercise. Class presentation on one of the major units. Active participation in discussions of reading assignments.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Admission by permission of instructor. Preference to history and LAST majors. No late papers will be accepted. No unexcused absences. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class meeting, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00

Prerequisites: HIST250 or LAST250

Last Updated on MAR-10-1997

About the Photo:

Young South African men with a "pass" book. Under apartheid, any "black" person without a valid pass in her or his possession was subject to arrest .

Reference:

Gordimer, Nadine and David Goldblatt. LIFETIMES UNDER APARTHEID, New York: Alfred Knopf, 1986

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.