Topics in Global History

Enlightenment and Racism Short/Long Assignment
(assignment 16)

Notes:

1) This assignment, like ALL assignments in this class, must be typed. See handout on class expectations

2) You MUST use blackboard's digital dropbox (details here) to submit this homework

3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE.

All files should be named as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by a your first initial, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein was to submit assignment number 16 special, the file name would be:

hussein_s_16special.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 16special

4) Remember, you must do one "full paper option" from the four papers assigned between 3/01 and 4/05. For any essay that you do not chose the "full paper option," you must do the "short essay option." So, you must write one "full paper option" andthree"short essay options." Although "full paper option" essays may be turned in late (with the usual penalties), "short essay option" MAY NOT BE TURNED IN LATE

See here for the Short Option

LONG OPTION

For this paper, you will be referring to P. J. Labourie's The Coffee Planter of Saint-Domingo (London, 1798) (Available here)

In this paper of 500 - 700 words, answer the following question:

How can the evidence in Labourie be interpreted to demonstrate the ways in which the Enlightenment's emphasis on natural rights ironically fostered the creation of a coherent ideology of racism?

(If you need a refresher in Enlightenment thought, see this very helpful discussion on Enlightenment and Human Rights; it is essential that you keep in mind what you learned in the in-class pre-writing exercise)

Writing Tips:

1) Be sure to organize your paper around a thesis, expressed near the beginning of your paper.

NOTE: PAPERS THAT DO NOT IDENTIFY THESE ELEMENTS WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT; I AM SERIOUS!

2) Be sure to have at least 3 points of evidence from The Coffee Planter of Saint-Domingo for your paper. Address each cluster of evidence in separate paragraph. Identify your CLAIM/EVIDENCE/WARRANT structures in those paragraphs that present evidence. Be sure to show your reader how each of these points of evidence works to further your thesis.

3) Your quotations should be no more than 10 words and preferably
MUCH shorter -- if you are unsure how to omit unnecessary information from a quotation, see here. (very useful)

4) Remember, if you find yourself summarizing a lot of history, you are writing the WRONG paper. Likewise, if you find yourself simply writing a laundry list of evidence of Labourie's racism, you are ALSO writing the wrong paper. Your focus here should be analyzing the document, not writing a book report on the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, or racism.

5) Finally, not everything in The Coffee Planter of Saint-Domingo is going to be relevant to your task of charting the influence of Enlightenment thought on Labourie's racism. Accordingly, part of your job in writing this paper will be to identify properly the useful evidence from the document.

SHORT OPTION

For this short paper option, you will be referring to P. J. Labourie's The Coffee Planter of Saint-Domingo (London, 1798) (Available here)

In a paragraph or two, answer the following question:

Describe a single way in which the the evidence in Labourie can be interpreted to demonstrate the ways in which the Enlightenment's emphasis on natural rights ironically fostered the creation of a coherent ideology of racism?

1) Be sure to organize your paragraph around a claim or topic sentence, expressed near the beginning of your paragraph.

NOTE: PARAGRAHS THAT DO NOT IDENTIFY THESE ELEMENTS WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT; I AM SERIOUS!

2) Your quotations should be no more than 10 words and preferably
MUCH shorter -- if you are unsure how to omit unnecessary information from a quotation, see here. (very useful)

(If you need a refresher in Enlightenment thought, see this very helpful discussion on Enlightenment and Human Rights; keep in mind what you learned in the in-class pre-writing exercise)

Remember, this is a short option assignment. You need no intro or conclusion. Simply choose a single aspect of The Coffee Planter of Saint-Domingo and show how one might interpret the writing to demonstrate that the Enlightenment's emphasis on natural rights ironically fostered the creation of a coherent ideology of racism.

Do not simply catalog, describe, or denounce Labourie (although it is denouncable). Rather, demonstrate -- using a single of example -- how his very obvious racism might stem from the Enlightenment's emphasis on natural rights.