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Home , Mary Prince, Venture Smith

English 205 Slave Narratives TTh 2:00-3:20pm 195 Anstett

Instructor: Dr. Faith Barter (she her hers) Office: PLC 320 Office Hours: Thursday, 10:00am-1:00pm; by appointment E-mail: [email protected]

Course Description: Though the genre reached its peak in the mid-19th century, this mode of autobiography has a history that stretches from the 1700s to the present across numerous oceans, islands, and continents. We will take seriously the historical origins of the slave narrative, while also examining the ways in which it isn’t just autobiography—how its autobiographical function is often inseparable from its work to protest, resist, and evade oppressive structures. This course also considers how the generic conventions of the slave narrative operate in fiction, speculative fiction (including neo-slave narratives), film, and legal testimony or confession. In studying the slave narrative as a genre, we will address the material conditions that influence this form of Black authorship, and we will critique the ways that this genre has historically been appropriated, mediated, circulated, and studied.

A Note on Content: This course will examine texts that document, describe, and grapple with issues of racial and sexual violence. The material may be graphic, and class discussions will frequently take up issues that many people consider controversial. Please consider whether this content will be disturbing or triggering to a degree that will interfere with your learning in the course.

Learning Outcomes: Through reading, written assignments, and in-class discussion, this course will help you: • Arrive at a deeper historical, legal, cultural, and literary understanding of Black writing through a deep study of the slave narrative genre and how it has evolved over hundreds of years; • Refine, through written expression, close reading skills, critical thinking, and critical argumentation skills; • Refine, through written expression, critical thinking and critical argumentation skills; • Identify other places in which to use these skills—other coursework, daily life, personal reading, etc.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

I do not allow laptops or e-readers in class, so you must have hard copies of all course materials. These editions have been ordered through The Duckstore; if you buy them elsewhere, please make sure that you purchase the editions listed below.

• (Octavia Butler) (ISBN 9780807083697) • Classic Slave Narratives, ed. Henry Louis Gates (ISBN 9780451532138) • Lose Your Mother (Saidiya Hartman) (ISBN 9780374531157) • (Toni Morrison) (ISBN 9781400033416)

1 • Get Out (film, Dir. Jordan Peele) – you will be required to watch this film, which is available through several video streaming services • You will be required to print the following course texts and bring the hard copies to class with you. PDFs or links will be provided to you: o Melvin Dixon, “Singing Swords: The Literary Legacy of ” o William Andrews, “North American Slave Narratives” o The Confessions of Nat Turner o “The History of the Carolina Twins”

GRADING DISTRIBUTION:

Canvas Posts (6 total) 15% Paper 1 (4-5 pages) 20% Paper proposal/outline for Paper 2 10% Paper 2 (6-7 pages) 25% In-class Presentation 15% In-class Participation - 15%

COURSE POLICIES:

Class participation: Active classroom participation is an integral part of your success in this course. On a practical level, I expect you to come to class having read and thought about the assigned readings, and therefore having prepared to discuss them. You are unable to participate effectively if you have not brought the text(s) we are discussing that day. Since I do not allow laptop use in class you may need to print out and bring hard copies of readings with you.

Your classroom participation grade will be based on: any pop quizzes, my assessment of your regular contributions to class discussion, and a self-evaluation of your in-class performance that you will complete at the end of the term.

Quizzes: My preference is not to give pop quizzes. However, if classroom participation is flagging on a prolonged basis, or I get the sense that students are not staying on top of the readings, I reserve the right to give pop quizzes. Any pop quizzes will count as part of your class participation grade.

Attendance: You are allowed two absences during the term. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences except for religious observances. You may not use one of your absences when you have an in-class presentation. Missing a required conference (without notice) counts as a class absence. Each absence over two will result in 1/3 of a letter grade penalty off your final grade in the course. Attendance is taken each day, but only tallied at the end of the term. It is your responsibility to keep track of your attendance and to be aware of how many absences remain available to you without a penalty on your final grade. If you miss any class, it is also your responsibility to get notes and information from a classmate. Do not ask me to summarize content that you have missed.

Tardiness: Class begins promptly at 2:00pm; late entries are disruptive and are strongly discouraged. If you are more than 20 minutes late, I will mark you absent.

Laptops/phones: I do not allow the use of laptops, iPads, tablets, e-readers, phones, or any other electronic devices in class. Phones should be turned OFF (not on vibrate or silent) before entering the classroom. You should not be talking or texting using any electronic means, including your watch.

2 Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty in any form undermines your integrity, mine, and that of the course. If you have particular questions or concerns about an issue of academic dishonesty, please contact me. I take very seriously our shared obligation to academic integrity, and all of your work in this class—including informal papers and paper proposals—should be entirely your own.

Access: The Accessible Education Center ([email protected]) handles requests for accommodation of disabilities. I and the University want this class to be an inclusive learning environment. Please notify me as soon as possible if aspects of the course are creating barriers to your participation or if you need to share an accommodations letter from the AEC.

Correspondence: Allow 48 hours for responses to emails. If you are requesting information that is already available in the syllabus or on Canvas, you are likely to receive a response to that effect. Please make sure you consult those resources before contacting me.

Deadlines: I take deadlines extremely seriously. For formal papers, submitting even one minute past the deadline counts as a late submission and will result in a penalty of 1/3 letter grade for each day that it is late. Please avoid this scenario by seeking out extensions early – I grant them quite readily, but you must request them at least 24 hours before the due date. Zero credit will be given for late Canvas posts.

Class May 30: Please note that class will not be held in person on May 30. In order to get credit for attending class that day, you will need to complete an online activity that is circulated prior to that class session.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Canvas posts: At the beginning of the term, the class will be divided into two groups: Tuesday posters and Thursday posters. From Week 2 through Week 8, you are responsible for submitting a discussion post on your assigned day. Posts are due by noon, whether you attend class or not. Late posts will not be accepted. You must submit 6 posts by the end of the quarter, meaning that you can miss 1 weekly post without penalty – use that freebie strategically. Posts are not graded but are recorded as complete/incomplete. All posts that follow the guidelines in the prompt will count as complete. Posts that do not conform to the instructions will be marked incomplete and will not receive any credit. You may not re-write incomplete posts for credit.

Paper 1: Your first paper will be a brief (4-5 page) close reading of a passage of your choice from one of our course texts. You will have the option to revise this paper for a higher grade.

Paper 2: Your final paper in the course will be a 6-7 page argumentative paper on a topic of your choice. You will also turn in a paper proposal/preliminary outline that will be graded separately. You may use your first paper as a starting point for an expanded final paper.

In-class Presentation: Working in groups of 5, you will sign up for an in-class presentation on a slave narrative that is not on the syllabus (a list will be provided). Your entire group must 1) Submit a presentation agenda at least 24 hours before your presentation (the agenda should include an outline of the presentation and a description of how each group member has contributed to the presentation); and 2) Make a 15-minute presentation during class on the narrative you’ve chosen. All members of the group will receive the same grade.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 1 T Apr. 2 Introductions Th Apr. 4 Melvin Dixon, “Singing Swords: The Literary Legacy of Slavery”; William Andrews, “North American Slave Narratives” (both on Canvas: print and bring to class) Week 2 T Apr. 9 , The History of Mary Prince (in Classic Slave Narratives); read the first half Th Apr. 11 Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince (in Classic Slave Narratives); read the second half Week 3 T Apr. 16 The Confessions of Nat Turner (https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/turner/menu.html) [Presentation: ] Th Apr. 18 , Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (in Classic Slave Narratives) Week 4 T Apr. 23 Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl [Presentation: ] W Apr. 24 Paper 1 due via Canvas by 8pm Th Apr. 25 Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl [Presentation: ] Week 5 T Apr. 30 “The History of the Carolina Twins” (available at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/millie- christine/millie-christine.html) [Presentation: Henry “Box” Brown] Th May 2 Octavia Butler, Kindred [Presentation: ] Week 6 T May 7 Octavia Butler, Kindred [Presentation: ] W May 8 Optional Paper 1 revision due via Canvas by 8pm Th May 9 Octavia Butler, Kindred Week 7 T May 14 Toni Morrison, Beloved [Presentation: William and Ellen Craft] Th May 16 Toni Morrison, Beloved [Presentation: ] Week 8 T May 21 Toni Morrison, Beloved W May 22 Paper Proposal/Preliminary Outline due via Canvas by 8pm Th May 23 Toni Morrison, Beloved Week 9 T May 28 Saidiya Hartman, Lose Your Mother Th May 30 NO CLASS – online activity to be submitted in lieu of class Week 10 T Jun. 4 Get Out Th Jun. 6 Get Out (wrap-up); final reflections Paper 2 Due – TBD

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