History 475

The Conquest of Spanish America

Dr. Chad Black

Spring 2007

 

 

Office:  2633 Dunford Hall

Phone:  974-9871

Email:  chad.black@utk.edu

Office Hours:  Monday 12:15-1:15; 2:30-3:30

 

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue andÉ discovered or destroyed America.  Sixty years later, in 1552, L—pez de G—mara, the private secretary of Hern‡n Cortes, wrote, ÒThe greatest event since the creation of the world (excluding the incarnation and death of Him who created it) is the discovery of the Indies [i.e. Americas].Ó  He was, himself, a participant the great conquest of Mexico.  From the very beginning, not only the magnitude, but also the meaning of the Conquest of the Americas has been a point of controversy and acclaim. We will examine the societies of central Mexico, the Andes, and the Iberian Peninsula on the eve of their cataclysmic encounter, the ways in which each of these distinct societies impacted one another, and the hybrid societies that emerged on the other side.  Our investigation of Conquest will rely as much as possible on primary sources, and your critical thinking and discussion skills to make sense of the many meanings of conquest.

 

COURSE REQUIRMENTS AND GRADING

               1. Reading.  Each weekÕs assigned readings should be completed for the first class of the week.

               2. Participation. 20%.  Learning is an interactive process, and as such a requirement for our class.  Each meeting, we will begin class with 10 minutes of writing, in response to the readings for discussion.  These daily responses, in combination with your participation in the discussions, will form the basis of the participation portion of your grade.

               3. Exams.  80%.  There will be four exams, each of which will count for 20% of your final grade.  Two of the exams will be in-class essays.  The other two are take-home exams, due in class on the date indicated. Take-home exams will consist of one well-developed, sourced 5 to 7 page essay each.

               4.  Attendance.  Class attendance is mandatory.  Each student is allowed three (3) absences for whatever reason.  Each ensuing absence will result in one letter grade reduction of the studentÕs final grade. 

                

TEXTS

               Restall, Matthew. Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

 

               Schwartz, Stuart. Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Bedford/St. MartinÕs, 200.          

 

Todorov, Tzvetan. The Conquest of America. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.

 

Townsend, Camilla. MalintzinÕs Choices:  An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico. Albuquerque:  UNM Press, 2006.

 

All other readings will be placed available online.

 

OTHER COURSE POLICIES

 

Please Note:  If any special accommodations are needed to complete the course requirements, please come see me at the beginning of the semester. 

 

Plagiarism:  Plagiarism occurs when someone knowingly or unknowingly presents another personÕs words or ideas as his or her own.  Any work turned in for this class must meet University standards for academic honesty.  Any students unsure about how to apply these rules are urged to consult with me prior to turning in any written work.

 

Deadlines:  Assignments that are due in class must be turned in at the start of class.  If you anticipate problems, please contact me before the assignment is due, not after!

 

Office Hours:  Students are strongly encouraged to speak with me outside of class.  I am available during office hours on a first-come, first-served basis.  If you cannot come during office hours, please contact me via email or phone to schedule an appointment. 

 

 

WEEK #1

               Jan. 10                              Course Introduction

               Jan. 12                              1492/1992—The 500 Year Controversy

READING:

1.     Rigoberta Menchœ, ÒThe Quincentenary, a Question of Class, Not Race:  An Interview with Rigoberta Menchœ,Ó Latin American Perspectives, 1992;

2.     Mario Vargas Llosa, ÒQuestions of Conquest:  What Columbus Wrought, and What He Did Not,Ó Harpers Magazine, Dec. 1990.

 

 

WEEK #2                       Indigenous Peoples I

               Jan. 15                              MLK Day—NO CLASS

               Jan. 17                              A Hemispheric View

               Jan. 19                              Central Mexico

               READING:

1.     William Brandon, The Rise and Fall of North American Indians:  From Prehistory through Geronimo, 2003, 3-70.

2.     Inga Clendinnen, Aztecs: An Interpretation, 1991, 45-86.

 

WEEK #3                       Indigenous Peoples II

               Jan. 22                              Central Mexico

               Jan. 24                              Maya Remnants

               Jan. 26                              NO CLASS

               READING:

                              1.  Inga Clendinnen, Aztecs; An Interpretation, 1991, 111-140, 153-173.

 

WEEK #4                       Indigenous Peoples III

               Jan. 29                              Andean Heartland

               Jan. 31                              Andean Heartland

               Feb. 2                 Discussion

               READING:

1.  Selections from the Peru Reader, 17-80.

 

WEEK #5                       Iberian Conquest Culture

               Feb. 5                 Iberian Expansion

               Feb. 7                 Projections

               Feb. 9                 In-class Exam

               READING:

1.      William D. Phillips, Jr., and Carla Rahn Phillips, ÒSpain in the Fifteenth Century,Ó in Adorno and Andrien, Transatlantic Encounters, 11-40.

 

WEEK #6                       Columbus

               Feb. 12              The Ocean Blue

               Feb. 14              Taino Perspectives

               Feb. 16              Discussion

               READING:

1.      Todorov, Chapter 1.

2.      Columbus documents from the Medieval Internet Sourcebook:  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1z.html

 

WEEK #7                       Mexico I

               Feb. 19              Mainland Contacts

               Feb. 21              From Veracruz to Tenochtitlan

               Feb. 23              Discussion

               READING:

1.      Schwartz, 29-99.

2.      Townsend, 1-108.

 

WEEK #8                       Mexico II

               Feb. 26              La Noche Triste           

               Feb. 28              Aftermaths

               Mar. 2                Film: ÒLa otra conquista.Ó

               READING:

1.      Schwartz, 100-244.

2.      Townsend, 109-171.

 

WEEK #9                       Peru                   

               Mar. 5                Atahualpa and the word.

               Mar. 7                Cuzco

               Mar. 9                Discussion. Exam II Due.

               READING:

1.      Patricia Seed, ÒÔFailing ot MarvelÕ:  AtahualpaÕs Encounter with the Word,Ó LARR 26.1 (1991), 7-32.

2.      John Hemming, ÒAtahualpa and Pizarro,Ó in Peru Reader, 84-106.

3.      John F. Guilmartin, Jr., ÒThe Cutting Edge:  An Analysis of the Spanish Invasion and Overthrow of the Inca Empire, 1532-1539,Ó in Andrien and Andorno, 40-72.

 

WEEK #10

               SPRING BREAK!

 

WEEK #11                    Evaluations

               Mar. 19              Mythologies

               Mar. 21              Possession       

               Mar. 23              Discussion

               READING:

1.      Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, 1-63.

2.      Patricia Seed, ÒCeremonies of Possession:

 

WEEK #12                    Knowledge

               Mar. 26              Indian

               Mar. 28              Jesus, Mary, the Saints

               Mar. 30              Discussion

               READING:

1.      Todorov, Ch. 4.

2.      Restall, 100-146.

3.      Louis Burkhart, ÒThe Solar Christ in Nahuatl Doctrinal Texts of Early Colonial Mexico,Ó Ethnohistory 35.3 (1988): 234-256.

4.      Selections from Las Casas.

 

              

WEEK #13                    Sex

               Apr. 2                 Body

               Apr. 4                 Hybrid

               Apr. 6                 SPRING RECESS—NO CLASS

               READING:

1.      Pete Sigal, ÒThe Cuiloni, the Patlache, and the Abominable Sin: Homosexualities in Early Colonial Nahua SocietyÓ

2.      Matthew Restall, ÒÔHe Wished It in VainÕ: Subordination and Resistance among Maya Women in Post Conquest Yucatan,Ó Ethnohistory 42.4 (1995): 577-594. 

3.      Townsend, 172-214.

                             

 

WEEK #14                    Order

               Apr. 9                 Structures of Rule

               Apr. 11              Authority/Conflict

               Apr. 13              In-Class Exam III

               READING:

1.      Restall, 64-76.

2.      Lockhart Nahuas after Conquest,

3.      ÒThe New Laws 1542.Ó

 

 

WEEK #15                    Language

               Apr. 16              What Record?

               Apr. 18              Whose words?

               Apr. 20              Discussion

               READING:

1.      Martin Lienhard and carlos Perez, ÒWriting and Power in the Conquest of America,Ó LAP 19.3 (1992), 79-85

2.      Karen Graubart, ÒIndecent Living: Indigenous Women and the Politics of Representation in Early Colonial Peru.Ó

3.      Selections from Nahua documents.

 

WEEK #16                    The Meaning of Conquest

               Apr. 23              Agency in domination?

               Apr. 25              Legacies of Conquest

               Apr. 27              Wrap-up.

 

Final exam is due May 8th, between 12:30 and 2:30pm during the regularly scheduled examination period.  You can, as always, email the exam early!