Course Description

This course will examine, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the historical formation of a colonial society and a people we now call "Puerto Ricans" by focusing both on the island and on the immigrant communities in the U.S. We will study the island’s history from the ancient, pre-Hispanic era, through some four centuries of Spanish rule (1508-1898), as well as in the almost one hundred years of American colonial rule spanning the twentieth century.

How were "Puerto Rico/Puerto Ricans" constituted as colonial subjects under these two vastly different imperial regimes? From slave plantations to hinterland peasant communities; from small towns to modern, industrial cities in the island; from colonial citizens in the island to immigrant, "minority" outsiders in inner city neighborhoods in the U.S., the historical experiences of Puerto Ricans have forced upon them multiple understandings of who they must be but also have allowed them to work out their own, yet conflicting, definitions of "Puerto Rican".

Required Texts

• Ronald Fernandez, The Disenchanted Island: Puerto Rico and the U.S. in the Twentieth Century. 2d. ed. (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1996).

• Luis A. Figueroa (ed.), Reading Pack for Hist. 378: Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans (1998 edition).

• Rosario Ferré, The House on the Lagoon. (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995).

• Ruth Glasser, My Music is My Flag: Puerto Rican Musicians in New York and their Communities, 1917-1940. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).

• Nancy Morris, Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995).

• Roberto Santiago (ed.), Boricuas: Influential Writings—An anthology. (New York: Ballantine Books, 1995).

Assignments and Grading

There are four major requirements for the successful completion of this course: attending lectures and special events, participating actively and thoughtfully in class discussions, preparing a series of 5-page papers; and participating in a community service learning project (CLI). Each student is expected to read all the required readings and to participate in class discussions. Participation in the discussions means contributing your presence and thoughts to the success of this course. After all, this is your course! To do all this work effectively requires that we all keep up with assigned readings, quizzes, lectures, writing exercises, and CLI activities; and that we all come prepared to speak thoughtfully about the topics discussed in class. Attendance is not only required but also essential, and therefore chronic attendance problems [including arriving late for class] will result in grade penalties.

Please take note of the due dates for reading and writing assignments as indicated in the schedule below, and plan accordingly. Late written assignments will suffer a grade penalty. Papers should be printed or typed in dark, easy-to-read letters. Computer users should print their papers in regular-size fonts (i.e., 11- or 12-point "Times," "Courier," or similar fonts). The layout should be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides, and with numbered pages. A front page with your name, identification number, course number, title of paper, and date should precede the text of the paper. No large type/fonts or margins will be accepted in the body of the papers. Finally, please note that the minimum page specifications will be enforced strictly.

On a 100-point system (100 points is a perfect 100% grade), the grading will break down as follows: class participation (including attendance) = 20 points; four 5-page papers @ 10 points each = 40 points; final exam = 15 points; CLI project and final paper, 25 points.

Web Site Disclaimer:

This web site's main purpose is to supplement other more traditional sources and methods for the study of Puerto Rican history available to students who enroll in the course. In that sense, the site exists as an educational tool.    The fact that we include links to various Web sites with some bearing on the study of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans should not be construed necessarily endorsing of the views expressed in those web sites.  Copyrights to materials in those sites remain their owners'.