JAN 104-01 - Artifacts of American Slavery

Level:  100-level

Course Times:  9:15am - 11:55am

Course Materials Fee:  $30

Instructor(s):  Kathryn Koo   

Email:  kkoo@stmarys-ca.edu

“It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it.”

-Frederick Douglass, 1845

In narrating the journey from slavery to freedom, the formerly enslaved often wrote about the difficulty of describing the horrors of American slavery. For many writers, and their readers, the horrors were beyond belief or comprehension. In this course, we will confront the historical reality of American slavery through its many artifacts and traces, left behind in the first-hand accounts of those who experienced it, the material objects of slave culture, and the plantation sites that continue to bear witness to its history. We will also examine films that have attempted to portray this institution.

This introductory course on American slavery will offer students the chance to develop, hone, and practice the critical skills of analysis and interpretation that are necessary for the study of texts, objects, places, and films. We will begin by analyzing the genre of the slave narrative and how it gave rise to the contemporary neo-slave narrative. We will then learn to examine material culture as a window into the past and apply our skills to objects and places featured in digital collections and museum and plantation websites. We will conclude the course by critiquing the representation of slavery in films. Students of all disciplines are welcome and invited to join this month-long immersion into a history that demands to be told and remembered.

Prerequisites & Notes
None

Please note:

The readings and films of this course contain scenes of racial terror and violence. Students who enroll in this course should be prepared to confront such scenes and analyze their impact on readers and viewers.

Credits: 3