10/4 Chapter 6 Discussion Points and Questions

Greetings, Class Community.


In the comments box, please answer any one of the questions listed below in a short paragraph.  Also respond to two additional posts over the course of the week.

1. What was the name of the invention that made the cultivation of cotton profitable on the North American mainland?  Who invented it?

2. What were some of the specific features of slave labor in agricultural communities?  How was it different from the work house servants and skilled slaves performed?  How was it different from the work urban and industrialized slaves performed?

3. How and why were slaves punished?

4. How did the domestic slave trade effect the family structures in slave communities? How did it effect the diet and health of slaves?

5. Describe the conflicts that the section "The Character of Slavery and Slaves" articulates.


Yours truly,

Dr. Hill

10/ 2 Chapter 5 Discussion Questions and Responses

Greetings, Class Community.


Your blog assignment for 10/2 comes in two parts. You will receive a discussion question pertaining to “Chapter 5” in your email inbox.

1.     In a comment box marked on this page, post your question and provide a short paragraph answer to the question (3-5 sentences).

2.     Then respond to two additional posts (2-3 sentences). Your response should include a.) whether or not you agree with the author of the post's comments. b.) provide insight from your readings and previous knowledge.  c.) include external links or YouTube clips that provide evidence for your response.   

Yours truly,

DBH

“Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate in the blessings of her luxuriant soil.” - Richard Allen

Dr. Kaila Story - Friday 9/27 in the Law Building, Room 110

Greetings, Class.


Dr. Kaila Story will be giving a lecture to a large group of students on Friday, September 27, 2013 at Noon. We will attend this lecture for our class session.   The lecture will be given in the Law Building Room 110.  




Be on time or early! :)





Kaila Story

Ph.D. in African American Studies and Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies, Temple University, 2007.

Dr. Kaila Story is Assistant Professor, Women's and Gender Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of Pan-African Studies. She holds the Audre Lorde Chair in Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.


Her research explores the intersections of race, class, and sexuality in identity performance, mass media, body politics, and the like. She is assessing how reality television posits Black and Female identity and reinforces past controlling images of Black women. Her other research interests are Gender Socialization, Transnational Sexualities, Black feminisms, and Transnational Feminisms. 



Dr. Story also spoke about some of the insights from bell hooks.  Here are some of bell hooks theories and cultural criticism.


bell hooks - cultural criticism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLMVqnyTo_0&list=PL5A99EF9376125764

Africans in the Americas: The Revolution

Greetings, Class. 

Be sure to view Africans in the Americas: The Revolution.  The links are below.  If you have comments or concerns, please post them here and we will invite them into our next class discussion. 

Yours truly,

Dr. Hill 

Part One - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unFah9vgjNc

Part Two - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie1hlvoc7_A

Africans in the  Americas: the Revolution  - Questions to be Considered

Part 1

1.     1768 – 4000 British Troops arrived in the colonies to attempt to control the colonists. March 5, 1770 – 5 men were shot. Who was the first to die in what is remembered as The Boston Massacre?

2.     The poets are always present. J What was the name of the young African woman poet published in 1773?

3.     By the American Revolution of 1776, how many African Slaves were living in the American colonies?

4.     Why do you think the colonist continually compared themselves to ‘slaves’?  Why is that important to consider when exploring notions of liberty and American/African American History?

5.     Why do you think that George Washington initially refused to enlist any African, slave or free, in the revolutionary way?

Part 2

1.     How did David George’s experiences with reading influence his life and community?

2.     Many scholars of American/African American Studies find it interesting that Thomas Jefferson's comments on liberty often conflict with his writings about African Americans and further conflicted with his lifestyle.

I encourage you to continue to consider the contradictions you observed in Thomas Jefferson's life and then do some very hard work. The hard work is to consider how the contradictions in Thomas Jefferson's life and writings foreshadow or speak to some of the contradictions evident in American culture.

One could spend their lives writing several books on that topic. Do you think you could give a summary of your initial thoughts in 3 to 5 sentences?

3.     What year did George Washington feel the need enlist African American soldiers in the Revolutionary war?  Why?

4.     What precautions coincided with the British Armies surrender?

5.     Why did the import of Africans increase after the Revolutionary War? Hint: consider our class community theory of commodified bodies.

6.     Explore the ideology associated with the 3/5ths rule.  How did this rule aid in the forming of the United States of America?

7.     The census of 1880 indicated what figures concerning populations of free versus enslaved African Americans in the US colonies? 

The Impact of Intersectional Identity in Slave Communities

Study the Masters Lucille Clifton

like my aunt timmie.

it was her iron,

or one like hers,

that smoothed the sheets

the master poet slept on.

home or hotel, what matters is

he lay himself down on her handiwork

and dreamed. she dreamed too, words;

some cherokee, some masai and some

huge and particular as hope.

if you had heard her

chanting as she ironed

you would understand form and line

and discipline and order and

america.   

-  Callaloo 22.1 (1999) 54

Greetings, Class. 

Over the course, we have explored the ways gender differences may have impacted the experiences and choices of enslaved people.  Today, we explored those experiences more closely.  This poem helped us to unpack some of our discoveries.  

Consider how intersectional identity, being both Black/African and a woman, impacted the individual experiences of women in enslaved communities.  You may include examples from the The African American Odyssey or A Mercy.  Feel free to include links and additional resources as examples or helpful information. 

Yours truly, 

Dr. Hill

Chattel Slavery, Demographics of the Colonies and Miscegenation in the Americas

Greetings, Class.

Over the past week we have discussed demographic information associated with the Trans-Atlantic Slavery, the establishment of the Chesapeake Region and Carolinas, as well as ideas and policies associated with miscegenation (bi-racial, multi-ethnic identity). 


Considering what you read and previously understood about slavery in the Americas, list or describe what new information you have acquired or your new understanding about slavery in the Americas.


How does it complicate or change your previous notions about slavery in the Americas and African American life and culture?


Yours truly,

Dr. Hill

10 People You Probably Didn’t Know Were Black

10 People You Probably Didn’t Know Were Black by Laurie L. Dove

I did not know that many of the people in this article were "Black".  It is interesting that some of the facts from The African American Odyssey are very present in these short biographies.

Let me know what you think.  :)

ASK A SLAVE - Youtube Series

There is a series of viral videos that show a re enactment of questions that were actually asked to a woman who portrays a slave at Mount Vernon (George Washington estate). The three videos are meant to be a satire and show how ignorant some questions can be about slavery. I was wondering what you think of the series and if it is actually being informative or not. 

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, The Middle Passage and Building the Americas

Greetings.

This week in class we have been discussing early conceptions of slavery in the American colonies.  We explored the connections between biological Blackness, laws, and establishing 'civil' societies.  We also explored the origins of our modern concepts of slavery. And how these origins relate to our understanding of African Americans and associated studies.

You may find this website helpful - http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces

What conclusions did you draw from the readings, class discussions, previous knowledge and independent research?

Intersections and Overlap

Greetings.

In class we are discussing African Americans in Colonial America. Do you recognize any overlapping information or intersecting ideas from the novel A Mercy, "Chapter 1" from The African-American Odyssey, and Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation?

Please post your conclusions here.  If you worked with others, please include their names when discussing collective ideas. 

Dr. Hill

Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation (1450-1750) and Questions

Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation (1450-1750) and Questions

Please review this link of Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation (1450-1750)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVIHLD63BfE

After you watch the video, please take a moment to answer the questions in the comments section of the blog.

1. Make a list of the various groups of people who inhabited the early Americas and American colonies. How might race, class, gender, national origin, and other factors influence an individual's or a group's legal and economic status? 

2. Who benefited from the establishment of British colonies in the Americas?

3. What kinds of hardships did the establishment of the colonies create for Europeans, for Africans, and for Native Americans? What opportunities did it create?

4. What made the enslavement of Africans in the 17th century different from previous forms of slavery? Discuss ways in which Africans resisted enslavement. Give examples from the program of Africans making alliances with other groups.

Defining African American Studies and Establishing Roles

Greetings. 

This past week focused on an introduction to African American Studies. 
Using information 
learned in our class community and your previous knowledge, please take a moment to define African American Studies.

Also take a moment to consider your role as a student and/or member of this community. Identify if you are an ally, a student, an advocate, a scholar, a documentarian, a poet, an artist, an activist, an educator and ect. 

Please post your thoughts in the comments section of this blog post. 

Dr. Hill

Helpful Links for African American Studies

Greetings.

In class, we discussed the role of student activism in the development of Black Studies in academic (college and university) settings.   Your opinions about African American life and culture are important and desired.

Please post any websites you find helpful concerning African American Studies on this page throughout the semester. You may include a one sentence or phase summary about the website next to the link.

Thanks in advance for helping to build our digital library.  :)

Yours truly,

Dr. Hill