Gayle K. Brunelle, History 410

The Rise of the Atlantic World

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Research Paper Question List, History 410

The Rise of the Atlantic World

Instructions: Choose one of the questions below as the basis for your research paper. Your paper must include at least ten distinct sources, at least two of which must be journal articles. It must have footnotes or endnotes, at least twenty of these, and every source cited in the bibliography must be cited at least once. Your papers must be submitted to Turnitin.com (see instructions in the syllabus) and the report handed in with either the draft or the final copy of the paper. Please note: These questions are also your study questions for the mid-term and the final (the final will be a take-home exam – the midterm will be done in class). That means that via your research paper, you will have the opportunity to prepare one of your exam questions well ahead of time. You will, however, need to hand in a separate exam, not your research paper, if you choose to answer that question for your midterm or final. I will choose from this list questions for each exam.

     

bulletWhat was the relationship between medieval exploration in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands and the creation of the Atlantic World?
bulletHow did Europeans think about the world in terms of time, space, and geography before the voyages of exploration? How did the voyages alter those perceptions and beliefs?
bulletHow did Europeans "digest" the information flowing into Europe from the voyages of exploration? How did this new geographical knowledge reach Europeans, and how did it change how they understood the world?
bulletWhat were the consequences of the European conquests for the indigenous peoples of the New World?
bulletHow did indigenous culture shape the culture and society of the New World?
bulletWhat were the contributions of Africans and African culture to the Atlantic world (not just in terms of their labor as slaves)?
bulletWhy did the slave trade arise, and why did Africans ultimately become the most important source of slaves in the Atlantic world?
bulletWhat was the "plantation complex" and why was it so important to shaping the economy, society, and culture, of much of the Atlantic world?
bulletWhat led to the decline of the plantation complex and of slavery in the Atlantic world?
bulletWhy can we call cartography "a tool of empire"?
bulletWhat is cultural syncretism, and why was it so central to shaping the culture of the Atlantic world?
bulletWhat were the patterns of migration of Europeans into the Atlantic world? Where did the Europeans come from, and where did they go? What drew them to the New World? How stable were the communities they created there?