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Spring 2020 Section 6F1 Syllabus

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Spring 2020 Section 6F1 Syllabus George Mason University College of Education and Human Development HIST 615-6F1: American Slavery in History and Memory 3 credits, Spring 2020 Semester Tuesdays, 6pm to 9pm, Stonebridge High School, Ashburn, VA Faculty: Dr. Sheri Ann Huerta Office Location: Robinson Hall, 369B, Fairfax Campus Office Hours: by Appointment Office Phone: 703.993.1250 Email Contact: [email protected] Department of History and Art History Prerequisites/Corequisites: None University Catalog Course Description Hist 615: Problems in American History Readings and discussion of bibliographies, interpretations, and research trends in topics selected by instructor. Notes: May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term. Course Overview Why does the past matter? Recent current events demonstrate that the institution of slavery in the United States does not reside only as a chapter in our history textbooks, but as a complex, divisive, pervasive, and often misunderstood part of our present. This course is designed to help educators read the past in a way that expands an understanding of the interconnected factors that established racialized chattel slavery in the Americas, perpetuated systems of oppression, and framed important narratives of our public culture and memory. This course presents both familiar and underrepresented voices and stories of enslavement to build a foundation for interpreting the diverse lived experiences within enslavement and the many types of slave societies. We will explore slavery from multiple perspectives: from the broader Atlantic worldview to regional contexts across the United States, to the story of enslavement in northern Virginia. Working from this evidence-based foundation we will separate myth from reality as we evaluate current representations of slavery in textbooks, cultural media, and public sites of memory and reconciliation while developing strategies for building a more inclusive, historically accurate, and representative narrative of enslavement. Course Delivery Method This course will be delivered using a combination of lecture, lab, and seminar formats. Learner Objectives Identify key concepts and debates in the historiography of slavery: the history of how historians have interpreted and represented slavery over time. Investigate the foundations of racialized slavery and the historical roots of contemporary inequalities. Describe and compare enslaved experiences based on age, gender, labor, and location. Investigate how laws, policies, and governments played roles in exerting race-related power and how individuals and communities responded to this power. Create a rubric and evaluate online and text resources for major arguments and depth of coverage of the history of slavery. HIST 615: American Slavery in History and Memory Page 1 of 9 Huerta – Spring 2020 Evaluate current debates over the memorialization of and reconciliation with the era of enslavement. Create an argument for how events in the past should be remembered in order to serve the public good. Integrate the history, primary sources, scholarship, and interpretation of slavery into an instructional teaching unit. Professional Standards Upon completion of this course, students will have met the following professional standards outlined in the Virginia Standards for the Professional Practice of Teachers. For descriptions of standards and key elements consult: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching/regulations/prof_practice_standards.pdf. 1. Professional Practice of all Teachers a. Standard Two: Knowledge of Content b. Standard Six: Professionalism 2. Standards for the Professional Practice of Teachers of History and Social Science a. Standard Two: Knowledge of Content i. Key Elements 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 b. Standard Three: Planning, Delivery, and Assessment of Instruction i. Key Elements 3, 5, and 6 c. Standard Four: Safe, Effective Learning Environment i. Key Element 2 d. Standard Five: Communication and Collaboration i. Key Element 1 e. Standard Six: Professionalism i. Key Element 1 Required Texts* You will also select one additional monograph to review and present to the class. Genovese, Eugene D. Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made. New York: Vintage Books, 1974. ISBN 0-394-71652-3. Johnson, Rashauna. Slavery’s Metropolis: Unfree Labor in New Orleans during the Age of Revolutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Smallwood, Stephanie E. Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007. *All other assigned readings will be available either online, through library.gmu.edu, or through Blackboard. Course Performance Evaluation Attendance and Participation 20 % Assigned Reading Review Paper 15 % Book Review Presentation and Paper 20 % Instructional Unit Presentation 10 % Instructional Unit Design 35 % Grades will be assigned according to the following grading scale: A+ : 98-100 B+ : 87-89 C+ : 77 -79 D+ : 67-69 F : 0-59 A : 93-97 B : 83-86 C : 73-76 D : 63-66 A- : 90-92 B- : 80-82 C- : 70-72 D- : 60-62 . HIST 615: American Slavery in History and Memory Page 2 of 9 Huerta – Spring 2020 Graded Assessments Attendance and Participation (20 %) This is a graduate level course. Attendance is required. Please contact me if you are unable to attend class. Active and substantive participation in our class discussions is expected and can only happen with focused preparation. Preparation requires thoughtful reading with an eye for considering how the assigned readings intersect with the chronology of slavery and with major historiographical debates. Consult this helpful guide for “How to Read a History Book” to understand how historians read for meaning and evaluate the major arguments https://historyprofessor.org/reading/how-to-read-a-history-book/ . Since this course also focuses on teaching, consider how you might integrate the arguments and sources into your classroom discussions of slavery. The course syllabus features a weekly theme with assigned readings. At various times we will conduct history labs. Instructions will be provided in Blackboard. The “Books for Review” sections are explained in the “Book Review Presentation and Paper” assignment below. Assigned Reading Review Paper (15 %) Select one of the assigned books for this course and write a 4-5 page review. Your review should address the author’s main arguments, how the author used primary and secondary sources to support the arguments, how the work adds to an understanding of slavery, the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, how the work intersects with the methodology and approaches of other historians on the topic, and how you might integrate the arguments and sources into teaching the history of slavery. Sample reviews will be provided. Use this review to enhance your discussion of the book during class. Turn in a hard copy of your review on the date that the book is discussed in class at the end of class. Book Review Presentation and Paper (20 %) Select one of the “books for review” in the syllabus, prepare a class presentation about the book (about 15 minutes long) and write a 4-5 page review. We will sign-up for choices the first night of class. Your in- class presentation should address the author’s background, the author’s main arguments, how the author used primary and secondary sources to support the arguments, how the work adds to an understanding of slavery, the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, how the work intersects with the methodology and approaches of other historians on the topic, and how you might integrate the arguments or sources into teaching the history of slavery. Sample reviews will be provided. Turn in the review on the date that the book is discussed in class at the end of class. These presentations will help you build your knowledge and working bibliography of the current scholarship on American slavery. Unit Presentation (10 %) Prepare a 10 to 15 minute explanation of your instructional unit to present to the class on April 28. The presentation should include your learning objectives, resources, active learning components, and how this unit fills the gap between traditional textbook accounts and scholarship on the defining role of slavery and enslaved persons in our nation’s history. Instructional Unit Design and Presentation (35 %) Participants in this course will at some point teach the history of slavery or interpret the history of slavery in the classroom. The culminating project requires participants to evaluate and apply the skills and content learned over the course of the semester by designing an instructional unit focusing on slavery or integrating slavery into the history of North America. The unit will include several components including a textbook critique, evaluation of online teaching resources, active learning strategies, integration of primary sources, and an assessment of student learning. Specific instructions will be provided with flexibility to adapt to the age, skill-level, learning objectives, and modes of instruction (digital, independent, face-to-face) for your target audience. Your instructional unit will be due the final day of class, May 5. Professional Dispositions See https://cehd.gmu.edu/students/polices-procedures/ HIST 615: American Slavery in History and Memory Page 3 of 9 Huerta – Spring 2020 Class Schedule Be prepared to discuss the assigned readings identified by “Discuss” on the date listed. URLs are provided for online resources. Readings identified by (*) are available in JSTOR via library.gmu.edu.
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