English 175, Hidden Town:
Slave Narratives, Global and Local
Three years ago Wake Forest's “Slavery, Race and Memory Project” started work to “guide the research, preservation, and communication of an accurate depiction of the University’s relationship to slavery and its implications across Wake Forest’s history.” Questions about the relationships between Universities and the enslaved people whose unpaid labor they profited from are impacting campuses across and beyond the US South, from Georgetown students starting a reparations fund to the existence of a Universities Studying Slavery consortium. But in thinking about the multitude of ways that Wake Forest has profited from slave labor we will also look beyond our campuses and to the broader community, or the history of Winston-Salem. We will do this by considering not just a series of the most famous slave narratives ever written but by turning from those famous stories to local narratives and accounts of the lives of enslaved people in Salem, NC. And we will do this by working with Old Salem’s Hidden Town Project: a groundbreaking initiative that works to research and reveal the history of a community of enslaved and freed Africans and African Americans who lived in “Old Salem.” Ultimately students will contribute to hiddentown.org, working in groups to produce documentaries that help bring this material to life.
Course Texts​
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Frederick Douglass, Narrative (1845)
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Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
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Additional readings are posted on Canvas.
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To learn about both the history of slavery and the genre of the slave narrative
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To improve close reading skills
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To produce, support, and revise argumentative essays
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To shape, script, and create documentary films
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To become comfortable engaging with both primary sources and literary criticism
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To understand the difference between analytic writing, reflective writing, and storytelling
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To know how to write for both public and scholarly audiences
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To share and collaboratively develop ideas about literature, history, and your own writing
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To respond to and incorporate feedback
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To create polished work by revising repeatedly
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To develop digital literacy in a multimodal world
Learning Objectives
Course Schedule and Classroom:
Section A: MW 12:45-2, Room 1505, Wake Downtown
Section B: MW 2:15-3:30, Room 1505, Wake Downtown
A brief note on learning in the present moment:
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We’re all working in the midst of a prolonged state of emergency, and I understand that. This is a time for empathy, this is a time for flexibility, and my goal is not to police your learning but to create the best environment I can for enabling you to learn. If you find that you are in crisis, I will work with you.
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See Course Policies and Campus Resources here.
For more information see hiddentown.org.
Schedule of Readings
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I. Background: Context, Famous Narratives, & Basics for Documentaries
January 9: Introduction to the course and to each other
January 11: Introduction to documentary filmmaking and equipment
January 16: No Class: MLK Day
January 18: Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Preface – Chapter 10)
January 23: Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Chapter 11-Appendix)
Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
January 25: Shooting Techniques
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January 30: Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (XXVI – Appendix)
February 1: The Art of Interviewing
February 6: Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Preface – XXV)
February 8: Introduce Documentary Projects
February 10: Submit Paper Topics
II. Research
February 13: MESDA Tour and Introduction to Documentary Topics
February 15: Consult with your assigned librarians and archivists
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February 20: Guest Speaker: Ivan Weiss, Documentary Filmmaker
February 22: Review Research & Make Working Groups
February 27: Research Meetings in Working Groups
March 1: Discuss Treatments
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March 3: Critical Response Due
March 6: Spring Break
March 8: Spring Break
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III. Writing and Filming
March 13: Draft Interview Questions
Discuss Production Book
March 15: Work with Working Groups
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March 20: Work-in-progress presentations for treatment drafts
Pitch to Old Salem’s Learning in Place Team
March 22: Finalize Treatment
March 27: Discuss Scripts
March 29: Discuss Scripts
April 3: Discuss Scripts
April 5: Script Workshop
April 10: Interviews
April 12: Interviews
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April 17: Film at MESDA
April 19: Film in other venues (MUSE Winston-Salem, Peter Oliver Park, Old Salem)
April 24: Reflections, Evaluations, and Plans for Editing
April 26: If Needed: Additional Filming
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May 3: Submit final projects by 5 PM.
May 4: Submit reflective writing by 5 PM.
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