HIST3438 · History

Study and Writing of History: Black American Lives in the 19th Century: Narratives, Letters, & Testimonies

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

History Major Standing. Via first-person accounts, this course introduces students to the thoughts and actions of Black Americans living in a century of tremendous struggle and transformation, encompassing the expansion of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Well read slave narratives, autobiographies, correspondence, affidavits, testimonies before Congress (Klan hearings) and other bodies, and WPA narratives, alongside the scholarship that uses these documents. Well discuss what documents may reveal or omit; the circumstances and intentions of their production; how historians question archives, or caution against archival pessimism. Students will hone their historical skills and write a research paper on a topic of their choice.