Description
Objective: This assignment will help you develop your ability to analyse historical documents, conduct research, and develop a clear and convincing argument.
Assignment: Analyze this document. What does it tell us about how planters and other elites represented obeah in late 18th century Jamaica?
Note: Some of the language used in historical documents such as this one uses terms that today we consider to be insensitive, demeaning or inappropriate. In your essay, please use modern terms to refer to the enslaved people described in this document, such as “people of African descent,” “enslaved people,” “African.”
In your analysis, consider the following points:
• What kind of document is this?
• Time period/historical context. When was the document written and what does it tell us about the larger historical context within which it was written?
• Author. What can you discover about the background of the author of the document? What can you discover about his/her background and position in society (including gender, class, ethnicity, and nationality)?
• Purpose. Why was the document written?
• Audience. Who was the intended audience? Was the document created for public dissemination or for private use?
Sources:
In developing your argument, you should use the following sources:
• “The ‘Woman of the Popo Country,’ Jamaica, 1770s”
• one peer-reviewed, scholarly, secondary source from a scholarly journal, published after 1990. This cannot be a course reading.
Format:
This assignment requires you to write an essay. In this essay, you must refer directly to the specific parts of the document that are relevant to your analysis. You must include an introduction that states your thesis and how you intend to prove it. In the body of the essay, make sure that you include enough evidence to back up your ideas and your points. Please ensure that each paragraph clearly addresses and develops your argument. And remember to include a concluding paragraph that sums up your argument.
Remember to provide references for all borrowed material (facts, paraphrases, direct quotations, and ideas) from all sources used. Use quotation marks to indicate direct quotations. You must provide footnotes (with specific page numbers) for all borrowed material (including from websites used in class), and you must include a bibliography. Refer to the videos from week 1 and the writing guides noted in the course syllabus for more information about this as well for proper bibliographic and footnote format.
The essay must be double-spaced, and you must include page numbers. Finally, remember to proof-read the essay before you submit it and make sure that your writing is clear and accurate.
COPY AND PASTE LINK BELOW (Document to be analyzed)
