THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION: THEN & NOW

Catalog description

This special topics seminar course will examine some of the major themes and debates surrounding Ayiti's (Hayti/Haiti's) colonial and revolutionary history. The Afrikan revolution in Ayiti, or what is commonly known as the Ayisyen (Haitian) revolution was one of the most successful Afrikan wars andrevolts in the western hemisphere. This course will examine the important aspects of the revolution such as the influence of Afrikan political ideologies and the maintenance of Afrikan cosmological/spiritual systems (Vodou) on the Afrikan revolutionaries' organizational capacities and motivations. Otheraspects include the contribution of Afrikan women who fought during Ayiti's revolutionary war and the influence of Afrikan combat traditions such as Tire Machet. Finally, this course examines how the Afrikan revolution in Ayiti and the birth of Ayiti as an independent Afrikan=Black nation (Empire ofHayti)-influenced ideas about liberty, sovereignty, and freedom throughout the western hemisphere, specifically in the U.S. and Cuba.