Final Essay
(assignment 20)

(1) assignments appear in the syllabus on the day assigned, not the day due

(2) You must submit your written work by blackboard

(3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE (5% penalty if you do not).

All files should be saved on your computer as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the first two letters of your first name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 20, the file name would be:

hussein_sa_20.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 20

Niall Ferguson argues that the relentless violence in the 20th century had its roots in (a) ethnic conflict (particularly the mismatch between the idea of the nation and the heterogeneity of ethnic groups in many places) (b) economic volatility and (c) the withdrawal of Empires. (hint: which foreign power occupied the DR just before the 1937 massacre?)

Using evidence from Why the Cocks Fight, the excerpt from Human Rights Watch's report, as well as both the Ferugson video and reading, explain in a 700 - 1000 word essay how and why the 1937 massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic either does or does not fit with the larger pattern Ferguson identifies.

Be sure to organize your paper around a concise thesis that explains how and why your argument is the best way to interpret the evidence (e.g. "The 1937 massacre fits the pattern Ferguson describes for reasons X,Y. and Z")

You should have at least four direct quotations from the Ferguson reading or video, five from Why the Cocks Fight, and three from Human Rights Watch's report. (for a total of at least twelve quotations).

Is it all Trujillo's fault? Much of the Why the Cocks Fight reading discuss Trujillo. Be sure your essay considers broader forces and sentiments within the Dominican Republic. Likewise, what does the Human Rights Watch's report detail about racism in general in the DR?

Be sure your answer addresses all three of the reasons Ferguson identifies: economic volatility; the mismatchbetween the idea of the nation and the heterogeneity of ethnic groups in many places; and the withdrawal of Empires.

You should do NO outside research for this paper; indeed, papers that employ outside research will receive a D- (and papers that include any plagiarism will, well, cause bad, bad things to happen). But feel free to quote from the Human Rights Watch's report beyond the short assigned section.