Learn in the Caribbean: The History of the British West Indies

Catalog description

This history course with a study abroad component takes students to the heart of the British Empire of the 1650s to mid 1800s. By traveling to today's Antigua and Jamaica, it also brings the story through the end of the empire and up to today's post-colonial Caribbean societies. Students will learn the history of the comingled growth of capitalism, the sugar industry, and slave labor. They'll see how the very idea of whiteness and white superiority emerged among these. And they'll learn what Antiguans and Jamaicans did with their post-colonial self-determination. Finally, on our travels we'll look to the future of island ecologies and economies in a world of rising seas and fiercer storms. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course. Counts as a Local & Global Engagement course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course.