Read about the dictatorship of Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier in Haiti and discuss how it affected poverty, illiteracy, and crime in Haiti.

Explore the use of voudon, or voodoo, by Jean Claude Duvalier and his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, to frighten the population of Haiti into submitting to their rule. How did these dictators use people's spiritual beliefs to enhance their power?

Research the Haitian deities of voudon, particularly the goddess Erzulie, and compare her to Catholic images of the Virgin Mary.

Find a Haitian cookbook, or if possible visit a Haitian restaurant, and try some Haitian foods. How does Haitian cuisine differ from the food you are used to?

In the eighteenth century, a slave rebellion ended white rule in Haiti. Read about this rebellion, and compare the plight of the slaves in Haiti to that of slaves in...