In the Time of the Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies:

Life (and Death) in Trujillo's Dominican Republic

FOR COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS ASSIGNMENT SEE TEACHER'S ASSIGNMENT SHEET

Questions to research:
1. Who is Rafael Trujillo Molina and how did he rise to power in the Dominican Republic? Web sites
2. What has been the U.S. involvement in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century? Web sites
3. How did Trujillo maintain his political control in the Dominican Republic? Web sites
4. What were some of the organized opposition groups who worked against Trujillo? Why were many of the attempts to overthrow Trujillo unsuccessful? How was he eventually defeated? Web sites
5. Why have the three Mirabal (Mirabel) sisters become a legend in the Dominican Republic? How are they honored by the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women on November 25? Web sites
6. Describe the political, social, and economic environment in the Dominican Republic since the fall of Trujillo? Web sites

Library Subject Headings
For general research in the library's catalog (either ours or the public library) some helpful subjects are:

Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leonidas, 1896-1961
Dominican Republic
United States--Foreign relations
Women's rights

Print resoures: Reference
Britannica Book of the Year, 1961
Collier's Encyclopedia, 1995 ed., vol. 8
Current Biography, 1941
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998 ed. vol. 29
International Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 15
Latin American Lives
U.S. Dept. of State Background Notes: Dominican Republic
World Book Encyclopedia, 2000 ed., vol. 5
Pamphlet Files: "Dominican Republic" and "Womens' rights." Many of the documents metioned in this web page are available as print outs in the pamphlet file.
Print resoures: Non-reference
    Nonfiction
Foley, Erin. Dominican Republic. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997.
    General overview of the country including sections on history and government. (972.93 FOL 1997)
Henderson, James. The Caribbean. 2nd ed. Old Saybrook, Conn.: Golbe Pequot, 1992.
    Travel guide to the Caribbean with good background on the history of the DR. (917.2904 HEN 1992)
Rogozinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and the Carib to the Present. New York: Facts on File, 1992
    History of the entire Caribbean region with a section on the history of the DR. (972.9 ROG 1992)
Zellers, Margaret. Caribbean 1994: The Most In-depth and Savvy Guide to the Islands of the Caribbean. Redondo Beach, Calif.: Fielding Worldwide, 1994.
    Another travel guide to the Caribbean with info on the DR. (917.2904 ZEL 1994)
    Fiction
Danticat, Edwidge. The farming of bones. New York: Soho Press, 1998.
    A fictionalized account of the "ethnic cleansing" by the savage Dominican dictator, Trujillo, in 1937. (FIC Danticat,E FAR)
Vargas Llosa, Mario. The Feast of the Goat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001
   Forty-nine-year-old Urania Cabral, haunted all her life by terror and emptiness, returns to her homeland, the Dominican Republic, and finds herself reliving the bloody revolution of 1961, when brutal dictator Rafael "The Goat" Trujillo--under whom Urania's father served as secretary of state--was overthrown. (FIC Vargas Llosa,M FEA)

Websites about Rafael Trujillo

The Dominican Dictator: Rafael Trujillo - http://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/classes/social_science/latin_america/dominican_Republic.html: This page written by a student at James Logan High School is part of a larger project produced for English and History classes on Latin America.
Rafael Trujillo - http://wwwdumas.sesc.k12.ar.us/~hispanic/tujillo.htm: Another short, student-produced biography.
Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leonidas - http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/13080.html: From the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
Trujillo Molina, Rafael - http://search.ebi.eb.com/ebi/article/0,6101,37845,00.html: From Encyclopedia Britannica Intermediate.
Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leonidas - http://www.slider.com/53000/Trujillo_Molina_Rafael_Leonidas.htm: Short biography from the Columbia Encyclopedia, 5th ed.

CountryWatch - http://www.countrywatch.com: This is an online database which the library subscribes to. Click on the Log In tab and enter the user name and password you'll find at the top of the monitor. Choose Dominican Republic from the drop down list where it says "Choose a Country." At the Dominican Republic site choose "Political History" from the list on the left of the screen.
Dominican Republic: A Country Study - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/dotoc.html: This is a book-length study of the Dominican Republic produced by the Library of Congress. For this project check particularly Chapter 1. Historical Setting, the sections on The Era of Trujillo and The Post-Trujillo Era. Check also Chapter 4. Politics and Government, the section on Foreign Relations and Chapter 5. National Security, the section on History and Development of the Armed Forces.
Dominican Republic: Background Note - http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/4153.htm: This page, produced by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Dept. of State has information on the country. Click on U.S. Relations to go directly to the section about current Dominican relations with the U.S.
Dominican Overview & Historical Summary - http://www.bravo2000.com/educationalservices/overview.html: This 13 pages overview is from a company that specializes in student/teacher tours of the Dominican Republic. (Student & Researcher Services)
History of the Dominican Republic - http://www.hispaniola.com/DR/Guides/History.html: Extensive history of the DR with a major section on the Trujillo Era.

Websites about The Mirabal Sisters and "White Ribbon Day"

Who Were the Sisters or Butterflies? - http://www.conectados.net/mirabal/butterflies.html: This website is maintained by the Mirabal Sisters Foundation. It is somewhat incomplete in that several of its links are to pages "under construction." However, two of the links, "Biographies" and "Assassination" do lead to pages with information about the sisters.
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women - http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/news/vawd.html: This is an "information note" from the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women about the establishment of November 25 as an international day of commemoration. Gives a history of the day and a short biographical sketch of the Mirabal (Mirabel) sisters as well as an explanation of the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign.
A World Free from Violence Aganst Women - http://unifem.undp.org/speaks/vawstat.html: A statement by Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women on the first international day to eliminate violence against women.
White Ribbon Day International Day Against Violence Toward Women - http://www.macmag-glip.org/joussour_outlook.htm: History of the Day which has become known as "White Ribbon Day".
White Ribbon Day Background -http://www.womankind.org.uk/WRD%2001/What%20is%20WRD.htm: Another explanation of the origin of White Ribbon Day and how it started in the United Kingdom.
November 25 International Day Against Violence Against Women - http://www.reddesalud.web.cl/estrategynovhist.html: The webpage from the Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network gives a short history of the Day.
The Politics of Fiction - http://www.fronteramag.com/issue5/Alvarez/: An interview with the author, Julia Alvarez, about her life and writing.
Julia Alvarz's In the Time of the Butterflies - http://gbs.glenbrook.k12.il.us/Academics/gbseng2/ButterfliesAlvarez/: This website was developed by students at Glenbrook Academy for International Studies in Illinois. Some of the topics covered are: Julia Alvarez; Questions; Some history; Critics/reviews; Connections; and More info.
Julia Alvarez - http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Alvarz.html: A website about the author with a (very) short bio, major themes of her work, awards and honors, bibliographies, and related sites.
Julia Alvarez: In the Time of the Butterflies - http://www.addison.lib.il.us/6alvarez.asp: This is a discussion guide for the book produced by the Addison (Ill.) Public Library.
Julia Alvarez - http://www.hepm.org/juliaalvarez.htm: From the Hispanic Employment Program website comes this short essay which discusses the author and her connection to the novel.

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