Slavery and the Making of the Americas 4219-RS204
Slavery was a central institution in many nations of the Americas up until its abolition in the late nineteenth century. This course is not so much a history of the institution as it was practiced, though that will be covered, but it will analyze, more importantly, the way slavery contributed to "making" nations in the Americas. Making here embraces a broad range of topics including society, economics, politics, and culture. In other words, among other issues, we will explore the way the presence of slaves in a society shaped it by creating classes and castes; the ways in which slavery influenced the economic development of nations through the slave trade as well as the slaves' work in producing cash crops; how slavery required new kinds of laws and influenced the political process of making those laws; and the various aspects of culture such as literature, music, religion, and cuisine.
Slavery, though, was not simply an institution, it was people, and this course will not overlook the lives of the enslaved. We will consider the way they worked, the distinctive culture and society they created, and the ways they fought against their circumstances.
Slavery ended, and the process of its abolition also contributed to the development of nations in the Americas. Finally, slavery continues to shape nations through its memory in literature, music, film, and other forms of popular culture as well as the way it created racially diverse societies each with different ways of understanding and living with that diversity.
Though the main focus will be on the United States, the analysis will be comparative with nations in South America and the Caribbean.
This course is not just about an intellectual enterprise to understand the past and its continuing influence; it also has a practical side. Students will learn the basic skills for conducting original research at the master level
Week 1
What is Slavery?
The Imperial Context
Week 2
Roots: Africa
Ojo, “The Atlantic Slave Trade and Local Ethics of
Slavery in Yorubaland”
Equiano’s Travels, chap. 1
Week 3
The Slave Trade
Carrington and Noel, “Slaves and Tropical
Commodities”
Equiano’s Travels, chap. 2
Week 4
Slavery as a system of labor: Sugar
Dunn, “Demographic Contrast between Jamaica
and Virginia”
Discovering the Global Past, chap. 4
Week 5
Slavery as a system of labor: Cotton
Bailey, “The Other Side of Slavery”
Week 6
Slavery as a system of racial control:
Racism and slavery
Jordan, White over Black, chap. 1
Williams, Capitalism and Slavery, chap. 1
Week 7
Slavery as a system of racial control: Laws
Maltz, “Slavery, Federalism, and the Structure
of the Constitution”
Week 8
The culture of slavery: Family and religion
Bush-Silami, “Women, Children,
and Resistance”
Camara, “Afro-American Religious Syncretism”
Week 9
The culture of slavery: Music and literature
Mixon, “Joel Chandler Harris and
Uncle Remus”
Lawrence-McIntyre, “The Double Meanings
of the Spirituals”
Week 10
Resistance and rebellion
Discovering the American Past, chap. 8
DuBois, “The Haitian Revolution”
Week 11
Ending slavery
Haberly, “Abolitionism in Brazil”
Week 12
Freed People
Bethel, “Forming a Free Black Community”
Beckert, “Emancipation and Empire: Reconstructing
the Worldwide Web of Cotton Production
Alexander, “The New Jim Crow”
Weeks 13-15 Individual presentations
Type of course
proseminars
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
By the end of the course, students will
1. have a general understanding of the history of slavery in the Americas.
2. see the specific ways slavery shaped the economics, society, politics, and culture of American nations.
3. understand the lives, society, and culture slaves created for themselves.
Skills
By the end of this course, students
1. will develop skills in conducting independent historical research, analyzing primary sources, and evaluating the work of other scholars.
2. will improve their ability to synthesize the information gained from their research.
3. will become adept in communicating the results of their investigation in clear, concise English prose.
Competences
By the end of the course, students will
1. appreciate the value of comparative cross cultural study of a particular topic
2. gain insight into hemispheric American studies.
Assessment criteria
Students are expected to attend class and come prepared to discuss the assigned material. Students will be require to complete a series of "process" tasks designed to practice various research and writing skills (40%) and to write a major research paper (60%).
Should this course be taught online, in addition to the process tasks and research paper, students will be responsible for two presentations about the topics listed above. The grading will be adjusted as follows Research paper 50%, Process tasks 30%, presentations 20%.
The class will meet at its scheduled time via a conference call.
Bibliography
Ojo, “The Atlantic Slave Trade and Local Ethics of
Slavery in Yorubaland”
Equiano’s Travels, chap. 1
Carrington and Noel, “Slaves and Tropical
Commodities”
Equiano’s Travels, chap. 2
Dunn, “Demographic Contrast between Jamaica
and Virginia”
Discovering the Global Past, chap. 4
Bailey, “The Other Side of Slavery”
Jordan, White over Black, chap. 1
Williams, Capitalism and Slavery, chap. 1
Maltz, “Slavery, Federalism, and the Structure
of the Constitution”
Bush-Silami, “Women, Children,
and Resistance”
Camara, “Afro-American Religious Syncretism”
Mixon, “Joel Chandler Harris and
Uncle Remus”
Lawrence-McIntyre, “The Double Meanings
of the Spirituals”
Discovering the American Past, chap. 8
DuBois, “The Haitian Revolution”
Haberly, “Abolitionism in Brazil”
Bethel, “Forming a Free Black Community”
Beckert, “Emancipation and Empire: Reconstructing
the Worldwide Web of Cotton Production
Alexander, “The New Jim Crow”
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: