Slavery and the Literary Imagination
AFAM 222
Spring 2021 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 221 |
Enslavement in America and the New World was inextricably linked to the written word. What, then, does it mean to write the story of enslavement, loss, forced migration, liberation, and restoration? How does one tell the story of enslavement when that effort depends on articulating the unspeakable?
The works and writers examined in this course will prompt students to consider how one revisits history and what is required to imagine, write, and rewrite the stories and histories of people, places, and nations. We will discuss the ways in which specific literary forms enable, contain, and transform unwieldy, complicated, and stunning stories of enslavement, liberation, self-determination, activism, racialization, and nationhood.
Our readings will include an array of well-known, understudied, and newly recovered primary works and materials by and about individuals such as William Wells Brown, Charles Chesnutt, Frederick Douglass, Briton Hammon, Jupiter Hammon, James Mars, Pauline Hopkins, Mattie Jackson, Mary Prince, Chloe Spear, and Phillis Wheatley. Additional primary materials will include writings published in 18th- and 19th-century newspapers such as the "Boston Weekly Newsletter," "The Connecticut Journal," "The Liberator," and "North Star." |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA AFAM |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
William Wells Brown, THE ESCAPE and other writings
Charles Chesnutt, THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH, Letters, and other Writings
Frederick Douglass, THE HEROIC SLAVE and North Star writings
Jupiter Hammon, Poems
Pauline Hopkins, HAGAR'S DAUGHTER and A DASH FOR LIBERTY
Mattie Jackson, THE STORY OF MATTIE JACKSON
Victoria Earle Matthews, AUNT LINDY
Mary Prince, THE HISTORY OF MARY PRINCE
Phillis Wheatley, Poems and Letters
Selections from The North Star and The Liberator
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Examinations and Assignments:
Writing assignments for the course include weekly reading, three 5 - 7 page essays and one 12 - 15 page final essay. |
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