Category: american history

+ african american literature, american history, american literature, early american literature, EJI legacy museum, EJI memorial for peace and understanding, equal justice initiative, frederick douglass, history, hosea easton, lynching, Margaret Mulrooney, Pedagogy, slavery, william apess

Reflections on EJI Legacy Museum and Memorial for Peace and Justice

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Every semester, I try something new in my classroom. Recently, I’ve been working on decentering my courses in various ways, specifically through the use of active learning assignments. These involve assignments such as my archives project  or creating more student centered discussion through the questions I pose in class. This summer, I taught a minimester course in early American literature. Essentially, we met 24 … Read More Reflections on EJI Legacy Museum and Memorial for Peace and Justice

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+ african american literature, alice walker, american history, american literature, cult of domesticity, enslaved, harriet jacobs, incidents in the life of a slave girl, slave narrative, the slave's narrative, Trimiko Melancon

Harriet Jacobs’ Challenge to the Cult of True Womanhood

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A while back, I wrote a post about the ways that Harriet Jacobs, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, challenges the Cult of True Womanhood. Specifically, she counters it by showing the ways that society denied her the chance to adhere to the four pillars of the Cult of True Womanhood. Thinking about this some more, I want to briefly look … Read More Harriet Jacobs’ Challenge to the Cult of True Womanhood

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+ african american literature, american dream, american history, american literature, benjamin franklin, early american literature, Literature, louisiana literature, mississippi literature, southern literature, syllabus, thomas jefferson

African American Literature and the American Dream Syllabus

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Whenever I teach an American literature survey course, the topic of the American Dream inevitably comes up. Typically, I ask students to define this mythological term and they reply with the standard answer, “The American Dream means happiness and success.” I elaborate upon this response by pointing them back, first to the Declaration of Independence, then to other texts. The Declaration states that “life, … Read More African American Literature and the American Dream Syllabus

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+ african american literature, american history, american literature, charlottesville, frank yerby, history, Pedagogy, racism, southern history, the foxes of harrow, white nationalism, white supremacy

Charlottesville: What do I do in the classroom?

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At the end of Frank Yerby’s The Foxes of Harrow (1946), Stephen Fox thinks about his son Etienne. The Civil War has just ended, and Stephen ponders what the racism and hate that Etienne carries within himself will bring for the future. Etienne’s feelings and ideas will lead to more bloodshed, more dead bodies, and a stunted progress towards equality. The events in Charlottesville, … Read More Charlottesville: What do I do in the classroom?

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