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The Age of Exploration and Conquest Department of History, The University of Alabama Spring Semester, 2006 |
| Course description | Required Books | Important dates | Internet project |
| Useful Internet links | Reading assignments | Research project | Grades |
| Miscellaneous | Intellectual Journal | Graduate students |
Diffie, Bailey W. and George D. Winius. Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1411-1580 in Europe and the World in the Age of Exploration, Vol. 1. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977. A classic introduction to the much of the contents of this course. Unfortunately, it is out of print and largely unavailable. IF you did manage to purchase a copy, you may read assignments from this book on a voluntary basis to supplement lectures and other materials on the Portuguese in the age of exploration and discovery. Check amazon.com or abebooks for availability.
Eliot, John. The Old World and the New, 1492-1650. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1970.
Hanke, Lewis.All Mankind is One: A Study of the Disputation Between Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan Gines de Sepúlveda in 1550 on the Intellectural and Religious Capacity of the American Indians. DeKalb, Northern Illinois University Press, 1974.
Parry J. H. The Establishment of the European Hegemony: 1415-1715, Trade and Exploration in the Age of the Renaissance. New York: Harper Torchbooks, many eds. It too is out of print but, unlike the Diffie book, over forty used copies are available at abebooks. They are cheap, less than $5.00 or $6.00 for the most part, so I expect everyone to purchase a copy. IF you should not happen to get one, then you may read, as a substitute (see immediately below):
Parry, J. H. The Age of Reconnaissance: Exploration, Conquest, Settlement. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982.
Phillips, William D., Jr. and Carla Rahn Phillips. The Worlds of Christopher Columbus. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Raudzens, George, ed. and contributor. Technology, Disease and Colonial Conquests, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries: Essays Reappraising the Guns and Germs Theory. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers, 2001.or
Schlesinger, Roger. In the Wake of Columbus: the Impact of the New World on Europe, 1492-1650. Wheeling, Illinois: Harlan Davidson, 1996.
2006 Spring SEMESTER-IMPORTANT DATES
January 10 Late Registration/add/drop*
January 11 Classes Begin
January 16 Holiday - Martin Luther King,
Jr. Birthday
January 19 Last day to register or add
a course
Feb.1
Research project title, a short,outline,
and a working bibliography due
Feb. 15 FIRST
HOUR EXAMINATION
Feb 22 Midterm grade submissions for freshmen due by 12:00
PM. George
Washington's Real Birthday
March 10
Research project detailed progress report due
March 17-24 Spring Holiday
March 27 Classes resume at 7:00 AM
March 29 Last day to drop
a class with a "W"
March 31 SECOND HOUR
EXAMINATION
April 3-7 Honors Week
April 7
Honors Day
(no classes)
April 17
Research project due
April 28 Last day for all tests, etc.
May 5
Classes end
May 8-12 Final Exams
May 9
Tuesday, May 9, 8:00-1030 a.m. FINAL EXAMINATION
A research paper on a subject germane to the course is required. An infinite variety of subjects exist, many founded upon historical controversies of intense scholarly--and sometimes public--interest.
The finished paper should be a minimum of ten to fifteen, double-spaced,
typewritten pages with all the appropriate notes and bibliography. Many topics
in this course lend themselves to graphics, maps, and other illustration
materials. Feel free to incorporate these to enhance your presentation.
Your title, a short, one-page outline, and a working bibliography (of at least five to seven sources) is due by February 1, 2006. A more detailed progress report, including an expanded two to three page outline or narrative prospectus, is due on March 10, 2006. The final paper is due April 17, 2006.
Graduate students Graduate students will be required--additionally--to prepare one bibliographical essay and one thirty minute lecture to be delivered to the class in late April, 2006. The bibliographical essay should be based on the reading of at least three (3) books. Books read for this bibliographical essay should be on a subject distinct from your research paper. The contents and style of this bibliographical essay will be discussed in class, but the essay should be no longer than three (3) to five (5) pages and include meaningful comparisons and contrasts between the styles and contents of the three books you read.
I will allow some crossover, however, between the subject of your research paper and your lecture. I. E., you may use the research paper as the subject of your lecture. I would expect a professional presentation, using PowerPoint or the Internet to illustrate your presentation.
MISCELLANEOUS The University has
no over-all policy for student class attendance. Nonetheless, much of your
grade will derive from information and discussion that is made available
and takes place in the classroom. Thus, regular attendance is strongly
recommended, not only for your own sake, but to contribute to the classroom
discussions as we move through some the finer points of historical inquiry,
historical controversy, and historical narrative.
01/16/2006
