Survey of American Literature: ENG 252
One genre with which few modern students are familiar is the slave narrative. Many of them may be aware of the Hollywood version of "Twenty Years a Slave", and may know who Frederick Douglass is, but most are unaware of the hundreds of other first-person stories of slave life that were written or transcribed. This is a mode of American literature worth delving into; Donna Campbell provides a fine introduction to the topic. In addition to the primary text by Solomon Northup, on which the famous movie was based, this unit includes a multimedia "crash course on American Slavery" that, despite being brief and entertaining, provides reliable historical information; links to the full text of Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave-girl and Douglass' Narrative of the Life; a video of Douglass' 4th of July speech on race and patriotism, still relevant today; and a number of assignments designed to help students navigate the complex, fraught issues embedded in the genre.
Click here: Slave Narratives, Donna Campbell's Intro to
Click here: Link to Douglass, Narrative of the Life
Click here: Slave Narratives, Homework, Create Discussion Questions
click here: Narrative of Betty Foreman Chessier
click here: Selection of slave narratives from WPA
Click here: "Twelve Years a Slave" ; link to manuscript of Solomon Northup
Click here: Douglass' 4th of July speech, link to Morgan Freeman video
Click here: Crash course on American Slavery
Click here: Link to Harriet Jacobs