As rich cultural documents that are simultaneously literary and historical texts, slave narratives have attracted a remarkably large audience during the genre’s heyday from the late 1800s until 1865. The focus of this course is on the study of American slave narratives and their relevant socio-historical, cultural, and regional contexts and counter-discursive practices. At the same time, we will also explore the larger transnational contexts, issues, and theoretical questions regarding identity, gender, subjectivity, visual performance, as well as the political agency and strategies of resistance in the struggle for black emancipation.
Please purchase and read Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855); Elizabeth Keckley, Behind the Scenes, Or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House (1868), and Harriet E. Wilson. Our Nig (1859). Additional course requirements are regular attendance, preparation of the weekly readings, as well as active participation in class discussions.