African American History to 1865

Hist. 3362:01

Fall 2005

Instructor: Dr. Stephanie Wright

Office: TLC 3208 Phone: 678-839-6035 email: swright@westga.edu

Office Hours: MWF: 8:45-9:45 am and 1:00-2:00 pm

Class Meetings: MWF 12:00-12:50

Course Description: This course is designed to provide you with an introduction to the major themes and events in African American history from its African origins to the end of the Civil War. Through readings, lectures, films and discussions, we will address topics that include: the African origins of African American culture, the early experiences of Africans in America, the transition to chattel slavery, antebellum slavery and the Civil War. Particular attention will be paid to the formation of African American culture and the themes of oppression and resistance.

Course Objectives: Students will gain a general knowledge of African American History from its beginnings in the sixteenth century through the Civil War. They will be able to place contemporary discussions about race in the United States into an historical context. Students will learn to think critically about historical issues and gain the skills necessary to evaluate and interpret historical documents.

Course Requirements:

Attendance: 50 points

Participation: 50 points

Exams (2): 150 points each

Critiques (5): 100 points each

Book Review: 100 points

Attendance/Participation: You will allowed four unexcused absences. Any unexcused absences beyond these four will result in the loss of five (5) attendance points per absence. Lateness is very disruptive to both the instructor as well as your other classmates, therefore, plan to arrive on time. Those entering class after the first five minutes will be counted as absent. Please come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Contributing to class includes not only your preparedness to discuss the assigned readings, but your ability to respect your fellow scholars by turning off all cell phones, pagers, text messaging systems, and/or other electronic devices prior to entering the classroom.

Examinations: There will be one midterm and a final. Exams will cover material from your textbooks and classroom presentations (lectures, discussions, and films). Exams will consist primarily of identification and essay questions. Please turn off all electronic devices during exams.

Book Review: You will complete one 4-5 page book review of either The Life of Olaudah Equiano, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, or Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. The book review should give a brief overview of the story (no more than 1-1 ½ pages) and analyze the text for what it tells us about the life of an enslaved person. Choose at least three areas upon which to focus. Consider comparing narratives to strengthen your arguments. Use your textbooks and other secondary historical sources to place the writer’s life into an historical context.

Critiques: You will complete five (5) one page critiques of essays from Holt and Brown’s Major Problems in African-American History. Each critique should review the essay, state the author’s thesis and critique the thesis. Critiques may be single spaced.

Academic Honesty: The work that you submit is expected to be your own. When quoting words that are not your own, use quotation marks and note the source. When paraphrasing, be sure to provide proper credit to the author through the use of footnotes. Evidence of plagiarism on papers and/or cheating on exams will result in a failing grade for the course.

Assigned Texts:

Darlene Clark Hine, et al. The African American Odyssey, vol. 1 (AAO)

Elsa Barkley Brown and Thomas Holt, Major Problems in African American History, vol. 1 (MP)

Henry Louis Gates, The Classic Slave Narratives (Gates)

CLASS SCHEDULE

Aug. 22 Introduction to Course

Aug. 24 The History of African American History/Conducting Historical Research

John Hope Franklin essay, in Ch. 1 of MP

MEET IN THE LOBBY OF INGRAM LIBRARY

Aug. 26 The African Origins of African American History

AAO, Ch. 1

Aug. 29 The African Slave Trade

Walter Rodney essay in Ch. 2 of MP

First 25 pages of Equiano

Aug. 31 The origins of North American Slavery and Racism

MP, Ch. 3 (all documents and Winthrop Jordan essay)

In class writing assignment (Winthrop Jordan essay)

Sept. 2 The Development of Slavery in North America

AAO, Ch. 2

Next 25 pages of Equiano

1^st critique due from MP (pick any assigned essay from Chapters 1 - 3 except Winthrop Jordan)

Sept. 5 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY

Sept. 7 Colonial Slavery

Complete first 100 pages of Equiano

Sept. 9 Colonial Slavery

AAO, Ch. 3

Next 50 pages of Equiano

Sept. 12 The Life of Olaudah Equiano

Finish Equiano

Discussion of Equiano – pick two passages from Equiano, one from the first half and one from the second, that you found to be the most profound or informative. Be prepared to present and discuss each passage.

Sept. 14 The Development of African American Culture

Essay by Sterling Stuckey in MP, Ch. 4

Sept. 16 The Development of a Slave Society in Colonial North America

MP, Ch. 5: Documents 1, 2, & 6; essay by Kulifoff

“Africans In America: The Terrible Transformation”

Sept. 19 The American Revolution and Slavery

AAO, Ch. 4

Class Exercise: How will you resist?

Sept. 21 The American Revolution and Slavery

Edmund Morgan essay in Ch. 3 of MP

Sept. 23 The Early National Period

AAO, Ch. 5

2^nd critique from MP due: pick any assigned essay from Chapters 4 or 5

Sept. 26 Historiographical Debates in the Study of Slavery

Essays by Genovese and Morgan in MP, Ch. 6

“Birth of a Nation”

Sept. 28 Antebellum Slavery

Read first 50 pages of Harriet Jacobs

Sept. 30 Gender and Slavery

Next 25 pages in Jacobs

MP, Documents 4 & 5 in Ch. 6; Documents 1-4 in Ch. 7

Oct. 3 Gender and Slavery

Complete 100 pages of Jacobs

White essay in Ch. 7 of MP

Oct. 5 African American Life and Culture in the Antebellum Era

Next 25 pages of Jacobs

Levine essay in Ch. 7 of MP

Oct. 7 MID-TERM

Oct. 10 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Complete Jacobs

Discussion of Harriet Jacobs: pick two passages from Jacobs, one from the first half and one from the second, that you found to be the most profound or informative. Be prepared to present and discuss each passage.

Oct. 12 African American Life and Culture in the Antebellum Era

AAO, Ch. 6

October 13^th is the last day to withdraw with a grade of W

Oct. 14 Free People of Color in the North

AAO, Ch. 7 (pp.161-179)

Oct. 17 Free People of Color in the South

AAO, Ch. 7 (179-185)

Oct. 19 The Establishment of African American Institutions

Lapansky essay in Ch. 8 of MP

Oct. 21 NO CLASS

Read first 25 pages of Frederick Douglass

Oct. 24 The Establishment of African American Churches

Read 25 more pages of Douglass

“This Far by Faith”

Oct. 26 The Roots of Resistance in Slave Communities

MP, Ch. 7: Documents 7 & 8; essays by Berlin and Rowland and Levine

3^rd Critique from MP Due (pick any assigned essay from Chs. 6-8)

Oct. 28 Northern Resistance

AAO, Ch. 8 (pp. 190-198)