Piracy and the Netherlands, 1587-1596

I think that I have narrowed down my seminar topic. Now let's just hope I have the sources to accomplish it.

Piracy and the Netherlands, 1587-1596-examining how the Netherlands fits within the broader scope of piracy perpetrated in the Atlantic World in the 16th century.

I also seem to have narrowed my violence paper to examining the role of location and environment, instability of power, and distilled spirits on the violent behavior among pirates in the 1680s.

Now if I can just get the papers written.

Let the stressing commence...

We've finally reached the last week of the quarter. I'm frantically trying to work on my final papers while organizing my students' final exam. My paper for my Early Modern Violence class is attempting to establish that pirates were violent beyond the traditional instrumental role within empire and state making, and participated in interpersonal violence as well. So far I'm looking at sodomy, murder, dueling and mutiny. Hopefully it's what Dr. D-Man* is looking for. I'm using evidence from Foucault, Elias and Lacour for establishing the axes of violence and then looking at people like Thomson and Rediker to understand in what ways pirates moved along these axes. For my Colonial American final paper I'm using the books we've read in class, as well as arguments made by people like Bailyn, McConville and Zuckerman to understand the role of regionalism versus synthesis in early American historiography. It's exceptionally stressful since my professor in that class is also my advisor. I feel like I have fairly good starts on the two papers. I'm also busy trying to complete a basic outline of my paper for seminar which is examining trade, piracy and the role of the Dutch in the Atlantic world. Writing, writing everywhere....

At leat I leave on Wednesday for spring break.

Here's a link to the Snopes debunking of the Lincoln v. JFK conspiracy that several of my students were depressed to learn was not founded in fact: Lincoln v. JFK

*name has been changed for privacy.