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AFRICAN-AMERICAN SLAVE NARRATIVES
This is a graduate-level seminar for students receiving their M.A. or Ph.D. in English
Course Description. Between 1740 and 1920, more than 100 expatriated African slaves and their African-
American descendants responded to slavery and white supremacy in the form of autobiographical
narratives. This seminar will explore the developments in African American slave narratives published
before the Civil War with a special focus on these texts’ relationship to genre theory. Unlike transhistorical
forms (lyric, drama, and narrative), genre has a limited temporal and spatial identity: they come into being,
flourish, and decay in complex relationship to other historical phenomena. We will thus be particularly
attentive to the dialectical relationship between genre elements and ideological commitments in these texts,
especially the way the tropes, conventions, and narrative structures emerge and deteriorate with the
development of race and racial consciousness, the evolution of slave technologies, and various anti-slavery
movements.
We will begin with the genre’s inception in the fragmented narratives of Britton Hammon and Venture
Smith, move to its coalescence in the narratives of Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs (the ur-texts of the
genre), and conclude with its rebirth in the postmodern fiction of Shirley Ann Williams and Toni Morrison.
Introductory readings will provide a foundation genre theory as well as the history of slavery and racism in
the US. Secondary readings throughout the semester will provide different perspectives on the literary
history of African-American slave narratives from scholars ranging from Henry Lewis Gates, Jr. and William
Andrews to Frances Smith Foster and Charles Heglar. The main goals of this course are to introduce you to
the foundations of genre theory, the basic trajectory of racism and slavery in the United States, and the
literary history of this foundational genre as well as challenge you to perform original and exciting readings
of these important works of African-American literature.
Texts. It is recommended, but not required, that you purchase the editions listed below. Most of the
narratives we will read this semester can be found for free on docsouth.unc.edu/neh, though formatting and
lack of footnotes may make them difficult to read. All secondary texts are available as a course pack.
• Unchained Voices (Expanded Edition), edited by Vincent Carretta. Kentucky University Press. ISBN:
9780813190761.
• I Was Born as Slave, Vol. 1, edited by Yuval Tayler. Chicago Review. ISBN: 9781556523311
• I Was Born as Slave, Vol. 2, edited by Yuval Tayler. Chicago Review. ISBN: 9781556523328
• Three Narratives of Slavery. Dover. ISBN: 9780486468341
• Brace, Jeffrey. The Blind African Slave, edited by Kari J. Winter. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN:
9780299201449
• Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Vintage. ISBN: 978-1400033416
• Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Anchor ISBN: 978-0345804327
Course Requirements and Grade Distribution
Fragmentary Responses (14 total, minimum of 1-2 single-spaced pages each): 40%
Each week you will submit a cluster of “fragmentary responses” on the week’s assigned reading. Modeled
on the writing of Roland Barthes—a portion of his A Lover’s Discourse is in the course pack as an example—
these fragments may discuss any aspect of the week reading, but they should be critical/analytical in nature.
Writing in fragments will ideally free you from committing to a thesis-driven interpretation and thus
challenge you to follow alternative avenues in your writing that might otherwise be deemed unsafe.

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Additionally, these weekly responses model a writing process similar to consistent, daily writing rather than
being forced into the “binge-writing” that plagues most graduate students. Each week, you will paste your
fragments onto a shared Google Doc, which will be available to the class. These should be uploaded by
noon on Tuesday, so that we can review them before our seminar that evening.
Compilation of Collected Writings with Headnote: 10%
At the end of the semester, you will review and compile your fragmentary responses into a single document.
You should also include a headnote, a minimum of 1 single-spaced page, that identifies the strengths and
weaknesses of you writing, trends in your writing style or thought processes, and how you may apply this
course to future research. This cumulative assignment provides a means for you to consider what you’ve
learned here as well as to reflect on your own writing style.
In-Class Presentation on a Primary Text: 10%
Because our graduate program is focused on both English and the teaching of English, it is important that
we spend some time on pedagogy as a way of furthering your training in English studies. Once during the
semester you will deliver a short (12-15 minute) in-class presentation focusing on one of the primary texts
assigned that day. While the format of the presentation is open, and I encourage you to make it your own,
you should include a brief close reading of a selected passage as well distribute a handout containing three
questions for the class, designed to begin our discussion of the reading. You can think of your presentation,
then, as an invitation to shape our class discussion, just as you would in a class that you’re teaching.
In-Class Presentation on Secondary Criticism: 10%
Each student will sign up to present on the secondary criticism of a particular narrative. This assignment is
divided into two parts. The first part, due via email a week before the presentation, is a bibliography of secondary
criticism on assigned narrative, with a 1-2 sentence summary of each work. Included with this bibliography
should the title and author of the piece of criticism that you plan to present in class. (It cannot be one of the
assigned secondary readings.) For the second part, you will present on their chosen critical work, sharing
with the class the main idea and supporting arguments of the reading. A 1-page handout should accompany
this presentation.
Conference Paper: 30%
For your final assignment, you will expand one or a cluster of your responses into a conference paper that is
roughly 8-10 pages long. You should also attach to your conference paper the following documents: 1) A
short paragraph describing the most appropriate conference venue for your paper. This can be a local,
graduate student conference like the one put on by EGSA each spring, or a larger conference in your field.
2) A plan of expansion/revision if you were to convert this paper to an article-length essay. After the
semester, you should absolutely plan to revise your essay and then submit it to this conference. For a list of
upcoming conferences and their proposal requirements, see the Penn CFP list: http://call-for-
papers.sas.upenn.edu
Course Policies
Attendance
It is understood that graduate students do not skip class or arrive late. Please remember that this is an
intensive discussion class and part of the work of the class a series of discussions that we continue to build
upon throughout the semester. Because your participation is central to these discussions, you are expected
to attend every meeting on time, to carefully read all materials, and to contribute in a productive manner. I

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understand that some absences are unavoidable, but they should be communicated to me as soon as
possible. Students are allowed one absence without penalty. Further absences will result in a grade penalty.
Late Work
All work is due on the assigned deadline. I am aware, though, that issues may arise that make meeting
deadlines possible. Therefore, under extreme circumstances and with proper notice, extensions may be
granted.
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty is a serious issue whether intentional or unintentional. If you are caught intentionally
plagiarizing you may receive a failing grade in the course. If you are caught unintentionally plagiarizing you
may be asked to resubmit your work, or you may receive a zero for the assignment. Not all plagiarism can
be proven and documented with a simple Internet or library search. An instructor may suspect plagiarism in
an essay that demonstrates language use beyond that student’s demonstrated ability as observed in class
discussion, personal conversations, and through in-class or on-line writing assignments. If an instructor
suspects that a student’s essay is plagiarized but cannot find the original source through online or library
searches, the instructor may confront the student regarding the case and/or fill out a report based on the
above-mentioned determining factors. If you are even the slightest bit unsure whether you are plagiarizing
or not please come see us or go to the ISU Writing Center. For more information, please see the
department’s plagiarism statement located on Moodle.
ADA Disabilities and Resource Center:
Our program is committed to helping all students achieve their potential. If you have a disability or think
you have a disability (physical, learning disability, vision, hearing, psychiatric), which may need a reasonable
accommodation, please contact the ADA Disabilities and Resource Center as early as possible. The Center
is located in XXX. Phone XXX.
Reading List
WEEK 1: FOUNDATIONS
• John Frow, Genre
• David Duff, “Introduction” in Modern Genre Theory
• Ira Berlin, “Prologue: Slavery and Freedom,” “Chapter I: Charter Generations,” and “Chapter II:
Plantation Generations” in Generations of Captivity
• William Andrews, “1. The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography: Notes Toward a Definition
of Genre” in To Tell a Free Story
WEEKS 2 & 3: THE FIRST WAVE
Primary
• Briton Hammon (1760)
• James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (1772)
• John Marrant (1785)
• Quobna Ottobah Cugoano (1787)
• Olaudah Equiano (1787)
• Venture Smith (1798)

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WEEKS 9-13: THE SECOND WAVE
Primary
• Josiah Henson (1849)
• Henry Bibb (1849)
• Solomon Northup (1853)
• Twelve Years a Slave, film (2013)
• John Brown (1855)
• William and Ellen Craft (1860)
• Harriet Jacobs (1861)
Secondary
• William Andrews, “5. The Uses of Marginality, 1850-1865” in To Tell a Free Story
• Paul J. Johnson, “‘Good-by to Sambo’: The Contribution of Black Slave Narratives to the Abolition
Movement” in Negro American Literature Forum
• Charles Heglar, “Introduction” in Rethinking the Slave Narrative
• James Finley, “‘The Land of Liberty’: Henry Bibb’s Free Soil Geographies” in ESQ:
• Robert Septo “‘I Rose and Found My Voice’: Narration, Authentication, and Authorial Control in Four
Slave Narratives” in Behind the Veil: A Study of Afro-American Narrative;
• Steve McQueen and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Talk 12 Years a Slave in The Root
• John Ernest: “Introduction: Loosed Canons: The Race for Literary History” in Chaotic Justice
• Charles Heglar, “The Narrative of Collaboration: Slave Marriage in William and Ellen Craft” in
Rethinking the Slave Narrative
• Michaël Roy, “Cheap Editions, Little Books, and Handsome Duodecimos: A Book History Approach to
Antebellum Slave Narratives” in MELUS
• Joanne Braxton, “Outraged Mother and Articulate Heroine: Harriet Jacobs and the Slave Narrative
Genre” in Black Women Writing Autobiography
WEEK 14 & 15: THE POST-MODERN
Primary
• Toni Morrison, Beloved (1986)
• Colson Whitehead, Underground Railroad (2016)
Secondary
• Timothy Spalding, “Introduction: The Slave Narrative and Its Postmodern Counterparts,” and “4:
Beyond Postmodernity: De-Familiarizing the Post-Modern Slave Narrative” in Re-Forming the Past:
History, The Fantastic, and the Postmodern Slave Narratives