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Approaches to History (393-0-22)

Topic

Voices of the Enslaved

Instructors

Leslie Maria Harris
847/491-3153
Harris Hall - Room 340

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-329: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

The "slave narrative" usually brings to mind the published works of antebellum fugitive slaves like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, and more recently Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave. But enslaved and formerly enslaved people created testimonials to their experiences in a variety of ways, and not only for publication. This course will explore the range of ways enslaved and formerly enslaved people provided or enabled written accounts of their lives in the 19th and 20th centuries—letters, interviews, published accounts, etc. We will also examine how the mainstream historical profession viewed those accounts, moving from skepticism in the early twentieth century, to cautious acceptance today. Are slave testimonials any more difficult to work with than other historical sources? What have literary scholars taught historians about using slave testimony?

Registration Requirements

Attendance at first class is mandatory.

Learning Objectives

. History: Learning and understanding some of the ways enslaved people understood their experience and expressed their knowledge of the system of slavery and their own human experience. 2. Historiography: Learning about the ways historians have dealt with historical sources produced by people of African descent, specifically enslaved and formerly enslaved people. 3. Historical analysis: Developing skills to analyze primary historical sources in order to understand how histories are written. How do historians know what they know?

Evaluation Method

Subject to change: Class Participation: 1)weekly short responses; 2) participation in class discussion; 3) one 5-10 minute presentation. Writing: 1) critical analysis of one or two primary sources (5-page essay); 2) Critical analysis of one history book that uses testimony by enslaved people (5-page essay)

Class Materials (Required)

Materials will be available on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area