AMST 1986

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  • Schedule of Classes - September 10, 2024 10:17AM EDT
  • Course Catalog - September 10, 2024 9:19AM EDT
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AMST 1986
Disasters! A History of Colonial Failures in the Atlantic World, 1450-1750

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

This course provides an overview of disastrous attempts at colonization in the Americas from ca. 1500 through ca. 1760. Over thirteen weeks, we will engage with the question of why some attempts at colonization failed and why some succeeded. We will also explore other early modern failures, from bankrupt monopoly trade companies to ill-fated buccaneer communities and entire cities destroyed by earthquakes and hurricanes. Exploring failures, rather than successes, will help students understand the contingent process of colonial expansion as well as the roles of Indigenous dispossession, African slavery, and inter-imperial trade networks to the success or failure of early modern colonies. Over the course of the semester, my lectures will cover broad themes in failed enterprises, while students will read several monographs and primary-source collections on specific disasters. Some central questions include: Why did some colonies fail and other thrived? What role did social factors like gender, race, and class play in colonial failures? What can we learn about colonialism and imperialism through a focus on when those processes ended in disasters?

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (HA-AS, HST-AS)

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one discussion. Combined with: ASRC 1986, HIST 1986, LATA 1986

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17528 AMST 1986   LEC 001

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    • MW Mcgraw Hall 165
    • Jan 22 - May 7, 2024

    • Schmitt, C

  • 17529 AMST 1986   DIS 201

  •  

  • 17530 AMST 1986   DIS 202

  • Department Consent Required (Add)

  • 17531 AMST 1986   DIS 203

  •  
    • F McGraw Hall 365
    • Jan 22 - May 7, 2024

    • Staff

  • 17532 AMST 1986   DIS 204

  •  

  • 17533 AMST 1986   DIS 205

  •  
    • F McGraw Hall 366
    • Jan 22 - May 7, 2024

    • Staff

  • 17534 AMST 1986   DIS 206

    • F McGraw Hall 215
    • Jan 22 - May 7, 2024

    • Staff

  • Department Consent Required (Add)