Over the Top Embellishment in Florida: Final Exam Mutlimedia Component

The picture on the left shows the dramatic increase in Orlando house prices during the first decade of the 21st century. The second picture shows Palm Beach.

Perspectives affecting Florida Life

Differences between the British perspective and Spanish perspective affect Florida life in a complex way. Most notably, the religious differences between the British and Spanish can change ones perspective. The British believe in the Anglican Church, whereas the Spanish believe in the Catholic Church. The Spanish used the Catholic Church in Colonial Florida as a means to spread their views to their slave, and even went as far as freeing their slaves who converted to Catholicism. The British would never have considered freeing their slaves. A slave in the colonial period of Florida is much more likely to want the Spanish to be in control. The Florida natives also would have preferred the Spanish rule to the British rule. The Spanish made it a point to help the Natives to prevent them from attacking, whereas the British were involved in constant fights with the Natives. A plantation owner would have enjoyed success under stable rule, which was seen under the First Spanish Period.

Florida as a multicultural Frontier

We can characterize Florida as a multicultural frontier because it has been a place where a lot of cultures have come together. Florida is a very diverse state. Florida has cities that have been innovative in allowing other cultures to incorporate their cultures into Florida cities. Many Cuban refugees have fled to Florida and they make up a large percentage of the population. Cubans make up an even larger part of the Miami population which has many Cuban cultural aspects to it. Also many people have moved to Florida from Puerto Rico. There is a large influence of Puerto Ricans especially in Central Florida. Many other people of Hispanic descent also live in the Florida area. Florida has also developed cultural influx due to its large tourism industry. When people from other regions of the United States or other countries come to Florida the state ends up offering cultural options that appeal to the tourists from their given region. All of the examples above are great examples of why we can characterize Florida as a multicultural frontier.

Florida the Multicultural Frontier

Florida without a doubt is a multicultural frontier. Florida's frontier included Spanish, British, Native Americans, Greek slaves, Irish Slaves, and African Slaves. There are multiple Native American tribes that are indigenous to Florida, including the Seminole tribe. The Spanish brought over Roman Catholic Church that helped to shape the town of St. Augustine, as well as protect escaped, British slaves as long as they converted to Catholicism. The Spanish also brought over African slaves, which added to the cultural of Florida. The British brought over the Anglican Church, as well as Greek Slaves. The Irish, Greek, and African slaves all have different cultural tendencies. The Greeks were Orthodox Christian, The Irish were Catholic, and the African slaves believed in their tribal culture. Florida's multiculturalism is not the most equal, but nonetheless shows that their are a multiplicity of religions and cultures in the area.

When I Think of Florida Historty I think Of

When I think of Florida History, I mean I think of the history of the twentieth century and onward. I always think of things such as Disneyworld and current events. I have only been to Disneyworld twice. One time when I was around ten I went to Disneyworld and around last December I went to Disneyworld for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Florida history also brings to my mind Palm Beach and South Florida. I've been to Hobe Sound and quite frankly I thought it is very nice. With Palm Beach I always think of the glitz and glamor of Worth Drive. I also do think of Florida history that's less recent. Ponce de Leon comes to mind and the search for the fountain of youth. With regards to current events I tend to think of the total collapse of Charlie Crist’s senate campaign. I also think of the fact that I really dislike Rick Scott. I do not think he’s the most qualified person to be governor of Florida. I feel his ties to the medical industrial complex (also known as the medical industry) could create a lot of conflicts.

Thinking of Florida History Means

When I think of Florida History, I mean an optimistically troubled past. Florida has been a prize in multiple wars, and struggled with slavery throughout its early history. Florida was under Spanish control from 1565 to 1763 under what is called the First Spanish Period. After the Seven Year War, or French and Indian War, Florida was ceded to the British. The British controlled the land from 1763 to 1783. However, the American Revolutionary War caused the British to lose control of Florida due to the Treaty of Paris. This created the Second Spanish Period that lasted from 1783 to 1821. Slavery was a constant throughout the early years of Florida’s History. Slavery was especially harsh under the British Period. The British attempted to make large plantations as they had done previously with territories like Georgia and South Carolina, but because of an unstable government the plantations were never as successful as the other Deep South plantations. Under Spanish rule, Slavery was not as harsh, even though it is still being a horrible practice. British Slaves sought refuge in Florida, specifically in Fort Mose, the first free black town, during the First Spanish Period. By the time the British took over, twenty-five percent of the blacks that lived in Fort Mose and St. Augustine were free. In short, slavery and wars are the reason Florida History is an optimistically troubled past.

RP 300 Florida History: From Frontier to Sunbelt __ It Starts Here!

The new semester means new classes for myself and my colleagues. This is especially interesting semester for me as I'm coming back from sabbatical to teach in the Rollins Plan. The Rollins Plan (RP) is a curricular pilot that is designed to provide an integrative general education curriculum centered around a theme. As a member of the Global Challenges RP and an historian, I'm naturally teaching a history course on Florida. Look for this blog to be a space for experimentation and clarification related to the Florida experience.

WikiCity – How Citizens can Improve their Cities | This Big City

WikiCity – How Citizens can Improve their Cities | This Big City

I'm coming back to teach in the Fall semester. One of my classes will be the RP 300: Florida History. A major new class exploring Florida history. Given the RP's goal is to use Florida to explore hemispheric issues, I'm thinking about how local issues link to bigger problems. How does the WikiCity concept connect to Florida? The insurgent grassroots effort to repair and reclaim public spaces to make them more liveable has plenty of examples in Florida. Everything from new urbanist development to urban gardening can be found in the state.

The Alfred J. Hanna Symposium on Florida

Since Rollins’ founding, it has had a long history as a home for inquiry and reflection on the culture, people, and institutions in our state and region. In recent years, the national and international community has come to realize what many residents have always known, that Florida’s unique cultural, political and social experience place the state on the frontier of the U.S. experience. Not surprisingly, in recent years Rollins’ commitment to effective and innovative liberal arts education has provided students and faculty a living laboratory to pursue ideas grounded in local experience yet linked to global concerns. Rollins’ pragmatic, effective, and innovative liberal arts education has explored issues as wide-ranging as Disney Corporation’s community impact, New Urbanism’s anti-sprawl gospel, the transnational Americanism represented by the Latino experience, environmental protection and restoration, and African-American sociocultural life.


Last week, the Florida Studies Initiative (FSI), a multi-disciplinary work group made up of faculty from several departments, continued this tradition by building on the effort of Dr. Bruce Stephenson and organizing two events open to the entire college community and the public at large. Last year, Dr. Stephenson organized Florida Studies: A Pragmatic Vision of Curriculum Reform a call to examine how Florida could be a laboratory for students to understand pressing global issues. This year FSI continued this critical dialogue and celebrated ongoing efforts with two events. On April 14th bestowed the first Alfred J. Hanna Award. The award is named for Dr. Alfred J. Hanna, a Rollins graduate who went on to become a history professor and vice president of the college. Over his long career Hanna was a well respected scholar in Florida and Latin American history.

The recipient of the first Alfred J. Hanna Award was Dr. Michael Gannon, distinguished service professor emeritus of history at the University of Florida. Dr. Gannon is the author or editor of several books, including Florida: A Short History and The New History of Florida.

In celebrating the history of scholarship associated with Florida, the FSI also wants to acknowledge Rollins’ ongoing innovation in the study of Florida. Therefore, in addition to the Alfred J. Hanna Award, we would like to announce the first Alfred J. Hanna Symposium on Florida sponsored by the FSI. The decision to create the award and symposium grew out of discussion about ways to raise awareness of both Rollins' long connection to Florida Studies and to bring attention to the innovative new research being conducted both on-campus and elsewhere about Florida and its place in the world.

The Alfred J. Hanna Symposium on Florida allowed Rollins faculty and special guest the chance to discuss issues that link Florida's experience with issues of national and international concern. As the schedule below demonstrates, the plenary organized for this event offer unique insights into Rollins' faculty ongoing work.

Schedule of Events:
2:30-2:45 A Welcome from Dr. Roger N. Casey, Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
2:45-3:30 Plenary 1: Florida and the Popular Mind
Julian Chambliss, Leslie Poole, and Melanie Shell-Weiss
3:30-3:45-Break
3:45-4:30 Plenary 2: Florida, Ethnicity, and the American Experience
Gabriel Barreneche, Roberto Fernandez and Rick Foglesong
4:30-4:45 Break
4:45-5:30pm Plenary 3: Florida as Global Laboratory
Michael Gunter, Paul Stephenson, Rachel Simmons
5:30-7:00 Break
7:00pm Keynote Address: Melanie Shell Weiss, John Hopkins University
Dr. Shell-Weiss is author of Coming to Miami: A Social History (2009) and co-editor of Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration (2009)


The symposium's theme, Why Is Florida Important? represents a powerful assertion on the part of the FSI that Florida is worthy of serious discussion from numerous disciplinary lens. The symposium offered quality discussion and interesting insights from guest such as Cuban-American author Roberto Fernandez and historian Dr. Melanie Shell-Weiss. There will be more to come on Alfred J. Hanna Award and the Hanna Symposium on Florida. This year's event represent Rollins' return as a center for scholarly inquiry and discussion on subjects crucial to our community and the nation.