History 430-01 – Senior Seminar - “Pirates, Slaves, and Revolutionaries: Research in the Atlantic World”
Spring 2026 Professor Frank “Trey” Proctor III
Class: TTH 10-1120 in 423 FELLOWS
Office Hours: TTH 115-245pm and by appointment
Office: 404 Fellows Hall
Telephone: 740-587-5791
Email: proctorf@denison.edu
Drawing together the histories of four continents, Europe, Africa, North America and South America, this course will allow you to explore the nature and meaning of the new Atlantic world created as a consequence of the Columbian encounter. In our readings and in your own research projects we will explore the “History of the Atlantic World” through the experiences of the men and women who inhabited it from the mid-fifteenth century through approximately 1890. The Atlantic Ocean itself, then, can potentially function as a frontier or conduit in your research. As we will see, a volatile mixture of people and pathogens, of labor systems and crops, of colonies, empires, nations, and subjects, contributed to the painful and unexpected emergence of this new Atlantic community.
A key component of that exercise and exploration will be to challenge histories grounded in national narratives. In our discussions and in your research we will attempt to connect and combine the various histories of Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and to demonstrate how many important processes of change can be understood through an international frame of reference.
This course is intended to serve as a capstone experience of your history career at Denison, and should bring together much of what you have learned about writing and researching history in your other classes. As a result, a key component of this course is your opportunity to produce an independent, original, article-length research paper grounded in primary materials.
NOTE - This is a capstone experience, as such it will likely be on of the most intense and hopefully rewardings experiences of your History major.
Readings: Required readings for the course are listed on the syllabus. Book chapters will be available on the course schedule website for download and printing. Students are expected to locate and print journal articles. Students are expected to have completed the assigned reading prior to the class period for which they are assigned. Please bring your readings to class.
Required Books: (Available in the Bookstore) Randy Sparks, The Two Princes of Calabar: An Eighteenth-century Odyssey (Harvard Univ Press, 2008).
*Contribution: Students are expected to attend class, to have completed the reading, and to be prepared to discuss not only the major arguments of the work, but how the works demonstrate the possibilities of Atlantic World History and the intricacies of historical research.
During class: Be on time. Either turn off your cell phone or set it on ― silent. Do not leave it on vibrate. No texting in class. Laptops are not permitted in class (except during Work Days), as they tend to distract not only the user but also people seated around him or her. Your focus during class should be on the material.
Assignments:
Specific instructions for the final paper are included after the course schedule.
Grading:
| Assignment | Weight | Due Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution | 10% | |
| Initial Paper | 7.5% | Complete Draft: Thurs, Jan 22 Final Version: Tues, Feb 3 |
| Reading Responses + First Draft of Initial Essay, First Draft of Proposal, Weekly Accountability Statements, the and Revision Plan | 7.5% | |
| Research Proposal | ||
| First Thoughts on Historical Question/Problem | Mon, Feb 2 at 11:59pm | |
| Project Proposal | 5% | Tues, Feb 17 Final DraftTues, Feb 24 |
| Building Block Assignments | ||
| Primary Source Analysis #1 | 5% | Complete Draft: Tues, Feb 17 Final Draft: Tues, Feb 24 |
| Annotated Bibliography & Historiographical Outline | 5% | Tues, March 10 |
| Historiography | 7.5% | Complete Draft: Tues, March 24 Final Draft: Thurs, March 26 |
| Primary Source Analysis #2 | 5% | Complete Draft: Thurs, April 2 Final Draft: Tues, April 7 |
| COMPLETE Draft | 5% | Thurs, April 16 |
| Revision Plan | Before individual meetings (Wednesday April 22 @ 11:59pm) | |
| Presentation | 7.5% | Thurs, April 30 (10am-12noon) |
| Completed Research Paper | 35% | Wed, May 6 at 11am |
Contribution
Denison, and History at Denison, are about the exchange of ideas. Rather than thinking about contribution as something for you (an assignment), think of it as an obligation to your classmates. They deserve for you to be prepared, engaged, and to share your ideas so that they can more thoroughly engage the material and the major questions we are considering.
You are expected to attend class, to have completed the assigned reading beforehand, and to contribute to our classroom conversations. Share your ideas, questions, thoughts and respond thoughtfully, empathetically, and meaningfully to the ideas of others. No small task.
Our discussions may feel a little different this semester because we will spend equal time on the arguments scholars make AND and exploration of the moves they make as writers, both good and bad.
Opening Essay:
Due in-class on Thurs, Jan 22. Based on the readings, write a 5-page essay that best articulates your understanding of what constitutes the “History of the Atlantic World.” The goal is to engage the authors, identify common arguments and/or significant disagreements among them, and to chart what you find most convincing and most interesting about their arguments regarding the History of the Atlantic World. You might include what you find most compelling about conceptualizing history from an Atlantic perspective. Proper footnotes are required, see Research Paper instructions if you are unclear on proper citation styles for historians.
Final Version: Due Tues, Feb 3 – You will have the opportunity to revise your paper following our in-class conversations. The goal here, in part, is to impress upon you the value of the revision process. Your final grade on the paper will be based on a combination of my assessment of the two drafts (so, don’t phone-in the initial draft, doing so will significantly undermine your grade).
Reading Responses:
Over the course of the semester, you will be asked to write three short responses for the remaining six (5) sets of assigned secondary source readings (excluding the first set of readings). Your review should consist of two parts. In the first, please provide a paragraph length summary of each reading (no more than 4-5 sentences each, work on brevity). In the second, which should be no more than 500-600 words, address the following questions: how do the readings, in combination, rise to the level of Atlantic World History? Do the individual readings rise to the level of Atlantic History? Why or why not? Do not explicate the primary sources; the goal here is to focus on the arguments that historians are making. These should be type written, double-spaced, in 12-point font with proper citations.
In addition, you should include at least 2 questions for discussion in these responses. The professor may call upon you to share those questions with the class in order to initiate or further class discussions. Failure to include discussion questions will prevent you from receiving full credit on your response. The responses will be due at 2pm on day we discuss the readings so that I can read them, make comments, and return them to you when class begins for use during our discussions.
Research Accountability Assignment
Purpose: This weekly assignment helps you develop essential research management skills by planning your work intentionally and reflecting honestly on your progress.
Format: 300-400 words total; you can keep this as a journal (add your weekly update at the top of the page)
Frequency: Weekly (due every Friday by 5pm]
Part 1: Weekly Plan (150-200 words)
Write this at the beginning of each week.
Include:
- Specific tasks you will complete (be concrete: “draft introduction, pages 1-3” not “work on paper”)
- Timeline for each task (day/time you plan to work on it)
- Anticipated challenges or obstacles
Example:
Monday 2-4pm: Review and annotate 3 articles on X topic
Wednesday 10am-12pm: Draft research question and outline
Friday 3-5pm: Begin coding interview data (first 2 interviews)
Challenge: May need extra time if the coding framework needs adjustment
Part 2: Progress Reflection (150-200 words)
Write this at the end of the week.
Include:
- What you actually completed (be honest)
- What worked well in your planning/execution
- What interfered with your plan (if applicable)
- One adjustment you’ll make for next week
Example:
Completed: Annotated 2 articles, drafted partial outline
Didn’t complete: Third article, research question, coding
What worked: Blocking specific times helped me focus
What interfered: Underestimated annotation time; midterm in another class
Adjustment: Will plan for 45 min/article instead of 30 min; build in buffer time
Grading:
This is graded on completion and honesty, not on perfect execution, spelling and/or grammar. You earn full credit by:
- Submitting on time
- Making specific, concrete plans
- Reflecting honestly on your progress
No penalty for not completing planned work—the goal is learning to plan realistically.
The responses and accountability statements will be graded on a credit (+), ¾ credit (√+), half credit (√-) or no credit (0) basis.
Late Papers:
Only late papers (other than reading responses AND drafts of the Initial Paper and the Proposal) accompanied by a valid excuse (illness with doctor’s note, university sanctioned extra-curricular activity, family emergency, etc.) will be accepted without penalty. All other late papers will be penalized one full letter grade on the day following the due date (A to B) and one third of a letter grade (B to B-) for each day after that. Missed assignments will be assigned a score of zero.
Departmental Attendance Policy:
Because this culminating course of the history major the history department views student absences as especially problematic. Departmental policy reads “You are allowed two absences over the course of the semester. Per department policy, your third absence triggers an automatic penalty of a full letter grade for the entire semester. After your fourth absence, you fail the course. This includes all class meetings, Work Days, and individual meetings with me. There will be no exceptions.”
Academic Integrity: Please do your own work. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form. The students and faculty of Denison University are committed to academic integrity and will not tolerate any violation of this principle. Academic honesty, the cornerstone of teaching and learning, lays the foundation for lifelong integrity.
Academic dishonesty is, in most cases, intellectual theft. It includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for evaluation. This standard applies to all work ranging from daily homework assignments to major exams. Students must clearly cite any sources consulted—not only for quoted phrases but also for ideas and information that are not common knowledge. Neither ignorance nor carelessness is an acceptable defense in cases of plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the appropriate format for citations. Students should ask the professor for assistance in determining what sorts of materials and assistance are appropriate for assignments and for guidance in citing such materials clearly.
Proposed and developed by Denison students, passed unanimously by DCGA and Denison’s faculty, the Code of Academic Integrity requires that instructors notify the Associate Provost of cases of academic dishonesty, and it requires that cases be heard by the Academic Integrity Board. Further, the code makes students responsible for promoting a culture of integrity on campus and acting in instances in which integrity is violated. The punishment for plagiarism/academic dishonesty in this class will be a grade of zero for the assignment in question and potentially a failing grade for the course in egregious cases.
Disability Statement: Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately as soon as possible to discuss his or her specific needs. I rely on the Academic Support & Enrichment Center in 104 Doane to verify the need for reasonable accommodations.
AI Policies
The development of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are transforming the landscape of higher education. With that reality in mind, here are some guiding principles for the use of AI in our course (other faculty may have different policies, and it is YOUR responsibility to know what each of your professors determine is the acceptable and ethical use of AI in their courses).
AI should not be used to produce the final product (Please don’t ask AI to “write a paper” for you, or sections of a paper for you, you’re only cheating yourself)
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AI might be appropriate as a piece of the process of identifying a topic and theme to write your papers on. It might be helpful to identify the author and their historical context to better understand your source(s).
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RECOGNIZE that my primary interest is to know what YOU THINK about the material. (I don’t care what a computer might produce as representing the “hive mind” or “groupthink ” best answer to a question based on what others have written.)
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If you consult AI, Academic Integrity requires that you ACKNOWLEDGE such use to your readers. Do so in a footnote. In a sentence, explain your use of AI and identify the tool(s) you consulted.
- Do not CITE AI. Citations are meant to identify the work of other humans that you have consulted, and to provide a clear path to your evidence for your readers should they want to consult it themselves. AI-produced information is not reproducible, and thus is not a valid source.
The course adheres to Denison’s Academic Credit Policy. Significant feedback on writing is a core component of this course. Students are expected to review instructor feedback and reflect on how to incorporate that into their future work. Students will be required to complete pre- or post-writing assignments before and after official course meetings.