The Slave Narrative

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.