HIST 265: Survey of African American History to 1865 *This is an amended syllabus. Students enrolled in the course will receive the full syllabus via email and on Blackboard
Professor: Dr. Tillerson-Brown Fall 2015 E-mail: [email protected] (Best form of contact) Office: Carpenter 414 Office Hours: T & TH 9 a.m. -10 a.m. & by appointment Location/Time: Carpenter 407/1:25 p.m.
Course Description: The Mary Baldwin College theme this year is “moment.” In this course, we will weave the college theme through our analysis of African American history to 1865. It is not uncommon to examine history by considering events or moments analyzed in current historiography. We even label certain events as “decisive” or turning point “moments”; for example, Christopher Columbus’ landing in the West Indies, Crispus Attucks being shot March 1770, Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion or Harriet Tubman’s 1863 Combahee Ferry Raid. We will examine key events in this course while questioning whether some historical events—like Margaret Garner, slitting her children’s throats to protect them from enslavement, or Frederick Douglass’ fight with Edward Covey-- simply erupted in a moment. Using specific research assignments and historical and literary readings, we will challenge the notion that some “moments” happened spontaneously; and instead, evaluate these events in the larger context of African and African American activism and resistance. We chronologically survey significant events in African American history to 1865, with particular focus on development of the slave trade and slavery and how Blacks experienced and responded to this “peculiar institution.” History 265 satisfies the graduation requirement for both “race & ethnicity in the U.S.” and “research.”
Learning Objectives: Through the study of African American History to 1865, the student will: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and theoretical approaches of History. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the self in relationship to the broader community through recognition of the importance of race and ethnicity in the United States. 3. Describe the concept of the “Atlantic World” and the major characteristics of the Atlantic Slave Trade. 4. Describe the basic characteristics of slavery in the British mainland colonies. 5. Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on slavery and Blacks in the United States. 6. Analyze the forces that led to the development of free African American institutions. 7. Know and recount the major contributions of African Americans, both enslaved and free, to the early development of the United States. 8. Analyze the issues and outcomes of slavery as a factor leading up to and during the Civil War. 9. Use the Chicago Manual of Style to document historical sources using footnotes.
Required Texts: Berlin, Ira. Many Thousands Gone, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2000. ISBN: 9780674002111.
Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0-8070-8369-7.
Ferguson, Moira (ed.) The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself: Revised Edition. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. 1997. ISBN-13: 9780472084104
Hine, Darlene Clark. The African American Odyssey, 6th edition. New York: Pearson Publishers. 2014. ISBN-13: 9780205940455 (Page numbers listed on the syllabus that is posted on Blackboard coincide with edition #6. However, the 4th and 5th editions of this text will work well for this course also. It will be quite easy to determine the required pages
1 given the topics listed are you decide to purchase the less expensive 4th or 5th edition. If you do not plan to take HIST 266, the second half of this course, and if you would like the most recent edition of the text, you will save money by purchasing volume 1 of this text as opposed to the combined edition.)
Northrup, Solomon. Twelve Years A Slave. ISBN-13: 978-1631680021 Available online: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/northup.html
Other required video clips and documentaries are posted on Blackboard.
Missed Assignment Policy: Please submit all assignments by the due date. Without a legitimate reason, all late assignments will suffer a letter grade per day penalty. Unless you have requested and been granted an extension, I will not accept assignments that are more than four days late.
Academic Integrity Violations, Including Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using the words and ideas of others without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. The Mary Baldwin College Honor Code as outlined in the annual Student Handbook will be strictly enforced. Violations of this code will be referred to proper officials, you will automatically fail this class and it is possible that you may be expelled from Mary Baldwin College. Plagiarism is cheating. Please do not resort to cheating. If you are unsure as to what constitutes plagiarism, consult http://www.historians.org/teaching-and- learning/classroom-content/resources-on-k-16-teaching/plagiarism-curricular-materials-for-history- instructors to learn more.
Grading Scale: 93-100 A 84-86 B 74-76 C 60-66 D 90-93 A- 80-83 B- 70-73 C-` 0-59 F 87-89 B+ 77-79 C+ 67-69 D+
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Graded Assignments: Quizzes 20% Students take 4 quizzes in this course.
Discussion Board Assignments 15% Three times this semester, students respond to questions related to the assigned reading on Blackboard.
Research Projects 35% Primary Source Analyses (PSA) 20% Students will locate and analyze a total of six primary sources. More specific information about these assignments is posted on Blackboard.
Historiographical Essay 15% Students will develop a historiographical essay. More specific information about this assignment is posted on Blackboard.
Tests 20% Students will take two tests in this class. Tests will include identification and essay questions.
Final Exam 10% Students will take a cumulative final exam that consists of short answer and essay questions.
3 Course Schedule: Learning Module One Re-Thinking Slavery and the Making of the Americas: Moments of Historiography and Research Methods Weeks One - Week Two Topics: Course Expectations & Requirements Why Study African American History? Primary and Secondary Sources Plagiarism and its Consequences Making Slavery Making Race Intro to Historiography: Scholars of African American History and their Research Interpretations
Learning Module Two Africa, Africans & Routes to Slavery: Moments of Transformation Weeks Three – Week Five Topics: Africa: 6000BCE-1600CE Origins and Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade The Middle Passage Examining Maps: Africa, New World & the Slave Trade Slavery in the West Indies: A Look at Mary Prince
Learning Module Three: From Societies with Slaves to Slave Societies Weeks Six – Week Eight Topics: Societies with Slaves: Creole Societies in the Chesapeake and in the North Societies with Slaves: Creole Societies in the Low-Country and Lower Mississippi Valley Creating a Slave Society African Americans and the Struggle for Independence in a New Nation Slave and Free: The Revolutionary Generations Life in the Cotton Kingdom
Learning Module Four Being Black and Free & Resisting Slavery Weeks Ten – Week Twelve Topics: Black and Free in Antebellum America: A Paradox of Ambiguities Opposition to Slavery Lessons from Looking Back: Octavia Butler’s Kindred Let your Motto be Resistance
Learning Module Five The United States Divides & Black Liberation Week Fourteen Topics: “’And Black People were at the Heart of It’: America Disunites” December 3rd: Liberation: African Americans and the Civil War
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