Ivy Tech Community College North Central- Global Studies Program Name: Laura Bergstrom
School: Ivy Tech Community College
Course Number and Title: HIST 210: African-American History
Module Title: The Abolitionist Movement in a Global Context
Description of the Module: This module focuses as the abolitionist movement and puts it into an international context. This includes abolitionists’ trans-Atlantic connections, the American Colonization Society & Liberia, as well as Underground Railroad.
Educational Objectives of the Module (should constitute a minimum of 12% of the course): 1. Evaluate the significance of the American abolitionist movement and its transnational connections
2. Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of African-Americans on United States history, from colonization to the modern era.
3. Demonstrate writing and research skills, including ability to develop a research question, review relevant literature, collect information and data from a variety of sources, and support an argument with evidence.
4. Develop analytical and collaboration skills to analyze both historic and contemporary issues.
Outline of Lectures/Discussions: 1. Lecture/Discussion: This lecture will deal with the early anti-slavery societies, like the American Colonization Society and the creation of Liberia.
2. Lecture/Discussion: Focus on the abolitionist movement--William Lloyd Garrison, the Grimke sisters, Frederick Douglass, etc., and their trans-Atlantic connections with the British abolitionist movement (i.e. William Wilberforce). Discuss the abolitionist movement in comparison to the modern day movement to end human trafficking.
3. Lecture/Discussion: The Underground RR in international context. Many slaves fled to Canada as well as Haiti. In the lecture on this, also provide the Canadian and Haitian perspectives on the Underground RR.
Listing of Resources Used to Support the Module (readings, videos, podcasts, documentaries, etc.): Readings:
Excerpt from Frederick Douglass’, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape From Bondage, and His Complete History. New York: Collier Books, 1892. Also available as an ebook.
Selection from Harriet Jacob’s, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl on the “Results of the Fugitive Slave Act:” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/lincolns-jacobs/
Excerpts from Benjamin Drew’s, The Refugee: Or the Narratives of the Fugitive Slaves in Canada. Related By Themselves. Boston: John P. Jewett & Co. Google ebook: http://books.google.com/books?id=BEo-x8q9hKEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
PBS American Experience, John Brown’s Holy War (2000)
Visual Aids & Media for Class
Swarthmore College and Haverford College, “Quakers and Slavery Exhibit,” http://trilogy.brynmawr.edu/speccoll/quakersandslavery/resources/image_list.php
Indiana Department of Natural Resources, “Underground Railroad Sites in Indiana,” http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/4120.htm
Description of the Assignments Used to Facilitate an Understanding of the Module Objectives (writings, interviews, reflections, experiential projects or field work):
Compare and contrast abolitionist reform literature in England and U.S.
Assessment on Liberia and American Colonization Society. Discussion on present day Liberia. How is their present day status a product of their past.
Evaluation/Testing Used to Assess the Comprehension of the Module:
Research Paper--watch the movie Amazing Grace and analyze its historical accuracy. In addition students will discuss the international connections of abolitionists in England and the U.S.
Historic Book Exam: Students can choose to read from a selection of abolitionist texts and put them into historical and international context.
Resources (Bibliography) used to Develop/implement the Module:
Library of Congress, “The Creation of ‘Amazing Grace:” http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200149085/default.html
McDaniel, W. Caleb. The Problem of Democracy in the Age of Slavery: Garrisonian Abolitionists and Transatlantic Reform. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2013.