Fall 2019
AFA 3930 (Section 10668)
ANT 3930 (Section 24966)
Download Syllabus Here
Fall 2019
Turlington Hall, Rm. 2305
MWF Period 4 (10:40 – 11:30 am)
Instructor: James M. Davidson, Ph.D.
Office: Turlington B134
Email: davidson@ufl.edu
Office Hours: Fridays 1:30 – 3:30 pm (and by appointment)
Course Website: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/davidson/courses.htm
Description: This course presents a historical overview of the American Slave Narrative. Participants will obtain knowledge of the narrative form as it evolved through time, first as a force for social change in the broader abolitionist literature, then as biography for selected African-American leaders, and finally as an attempt to record a history, through the ex-slave narratives of the 1930s. The narratives will be viewed through various lenses — as literature, as political discourse, as biography, and ultimately as a window through which we may view the conditions of slavery. Through lectures, I will introduce the readings and provide broad overviews of the overarching topics and issues within the Slave Narrative as a genre. A portion of class time, however, will be spent discussing and critiquing the readings.
Required Readings:
- 2002 The Classic Slave Narratives. Edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Signet Classics. New American Library, New York.
- 2000 Voices From Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives. Edited by Norman R. Yetman. Dover Publications.
- 2000 (1901) Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington. Signet Classics. New American Library, New York.
(or read digital text on line, at: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/WASHINGTON/cover.html)
Supplementary Reading (not required, but would be useful):
- 1988 The Slave Narrative: Its Place in American History, by Marion Wilson Starling. (Second Edition; originally published 1981). Howard University Press, Washington, DC.
Requirements: Participation in class discussions is expected, and each student’s input will be crucial. Students are expected to have read the readings for that day, and come to class prepared to discuss them.
The writing component for this class consists of two critical essays on key readings to be assigned throughout the semester. Each essay will be three to five pages in length, double spaced, 12 point font, and one-inch margins. These will be corrected and returned with comments.
There will be three non-cumulative exams, the format of which will be a mixture of objective questions (e.g., true false, multiple choice, etc), and short answer or essay questions. There will also be a final exam, following this same format, but comprehensive and cumulative.
Grading:
Exams 1 thru 3 (20% each) 60%
Essays 1 and 2 (5 % each) 10%
Attendance/Class Participation: 10%
Final Exam (comprehensive) 20%
A final letter grade will be assigned at the end of the semester, according to this scale:
A (93-100%)
A- (90-92%)
B+ (88-89%)
B (83-87%)
B- (80-82%)
C+ (78-79%)
C (73-77%)
C- (70-72%)
D+ (68-69%)
D (63-67%)
D- (60-62%)
E (59% or below)
Attendance: Regular attendance is expected. Excessive unexcused absences will detract from the student’s final grade (see above).
Make-up Exams:
If an exam is missed, and the absence was pre-arranged, or in the event of illness accompanied by a physician’s note, a make-up exam will be given. No make-up exams will be given for students who miss the testing period due to unexcused absences.
Accommodating Students with Disabilities:
Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who in turn must provide this documentation to me when requesting accommodation.
Academic Honesty:
The University reminds every student of the implied pledge of Academic Honesty:
“on any work submitted for credit the student has neither received nor given unauthorized aid.” THIS REFERS TO CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM, WHICH WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN THIS CLASS
Consult the Student Guide at www.dso.ufl.edu/stg/ for further information. To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit whenever you use another person’s idea, opinion, or theory; any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings (any pieces of information) that are not common knowledge; quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words; or paraphrase of another person’s spoken or written words.
Students caught cheating will be referred to the University administration for disciplinary action, the consequences of which can include failure of this course, and possible expulsion from the University.
Schedule and Topics:
Week 1 (August 20 thru August 23)
Lecture: Introduction
Why are slave narratives of value to us in the 21st century?
Week 2 (August 26 thru August 30)
Lecture: Time line of Olaudah Equiano
Equiano’s methods and goals in writing his narrative
Reading: The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Preface; Chapters 1 through 4)
Week 3 (September 2 thru September 6)
NO CLASS Monday (Sept 2): Labor Day
Lecture: Slavery in Africa and the Atlantic World of Europe and the Americas
The Middle Passage
Reading: The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Chapters 5 through 8)
Week 4 (September 9 thru September 13)
Lecture: Structure of the Slave Narratives
Confessions of Nat Turner
The Abolitionist Movement In Britain and the United States
Reading: The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Chapters 9 through 12)
Week 5 (September 16 thru September 20)
Lecture: Discrepancies in Equiano’s Narrative
Reading: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2)
*****Exam 1 (Friday –Sept 20)******
Week 6 (September 23 thru September 27)
Lecture: Frederick Douglass (1818-1895): Introduction
A Comparison of his Three Different Narratives (1845, 1855, 1881)
Reading: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (Chapters 3 through 6)
Week 7 (September 30 thru October 4)
NO CLASS Friday, Oct 4- Homecoming
Lecture: Douglass: Timeline of Childhood Events/Plantation Life
Brutality in the Slave Narratives and Douglass
Literacy in the Slave Narratives
Reading: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (Chapters 7 through 9)
Week 8 (October 7 thru October 11)
Lecture: Occupations of Frederick Douglass
Escape in the Slave Narratives
Reading: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (Chapters 10 through 11 and Appendix)
Week 9 (October 14 thru October 18)
Lecture: Escape in the Slave Narratives (cont)
Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915): An Introduction
Reading: Booker T. Washington Up From Slavery (Introduction and Chapters 1 through 5)
Week 10 (October 21 thru October 25)
Lecture: Washington’s Two narratives (1900 and 1901)
******Exam 2 (Wednesday – October 23)********
Week 11 (October 28 thru November 1)
Lecture: The world of Booker T. Washington: Reconstruction and Jim Crow
Booker T. Washington: Public and Private
Reading: Booker T. Washington Up From Slavery (Chapters 6 through 10)
Week 12 (November 4 thru November 8)
Lecture: Booker T. Washington: Public and Private (cont.)
The WPA Ex-Slave Narratives: An Introduction/ Precursors.
Reading: Booker T. Washington Up From Slavery (Chapters 11 through 17)
Week 13 (November 11 thru November 15)
NO CLASS Monday November 11 Veteran’s Day
Lecture: The WPA Ex-Slave Narratives: Conducting the Interviews
The WPA Ex-Slave Narratives: Black Participation in the Project
Reading: Voices From Slavery (Yetman edited volume) Introduction
******Exam 3 (Friday – November 15)********
Week 14 (November 18 thru November 22)
Lecture: Problems Using the Ex-Slave Narratives
Reading: Voices From Slavery (Yetman edited volume)
- Mary Anderson (p. 15)
- Frank Bell (p. 21)
- Boston Blackwell (p. 27)
- Martin Jackson (p. 173)
- Silvia King (p. 198)
Week 15 (November 25 thru November 29)
NO CLASS Nov 27 thru Nov 29 – Thanksgiving
Lecture: Belief Systems and Charms in the Ex-Slave Narratives
Week 16 (December 2 thru December 6)
Lecture: The Legacy of the Ex-Slave Narratives
Listening to the Narratives: Laura Smalley, Billey McCrae, Fountain Hughs
The Slave Narrative: Closing Thoughts
Reading: Voices From Slavery (Yetman edited volume)
- Elizabeth Sparks (p. 296)
- Ria Sorrell (p. 294)
- J. T. Tims (p. 301)
- Mingo White (p. 310)
- Lulu Wilson (p. 322)
Last Day of Class: Wednesday, December 4
Final Exam Period December 11 – 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM
******The Final Exam is at least in part, comprehensive and cumulative******