Schedule

Note: given the financial insecurity of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have tried to keep your costs for course materials to a minimum. With some exceptions, most of the assigned articles, videos, podcasts, etc. are available for free online and there are no required books or textbooks to purchase.

The Present

M., 8/17: Introductions

W., 8/19: The Civil War & Reconstruction in 2020

Slavery and US History

M., 8/24: Slavery’s Origins

W., 8/26: King Cotton | Podcasting Workshop

  • Group B post questions to #discussions channel
  • Listen to ONE of the following podcast episodes:
    • HIST 4212: Rebecca Onion and Jamelle Bouie, “When Cotton Became King” The History of American Slavery podcast (August 24, 2015).
    • HIST 5212: Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika, “The Assets” Uncivil podcast (December 20, 2017).
  • As you listen to the podcast, take notes on both the content and the structure of the podcast. Use the running time (minutes/seconds) to note things like introductions, music, advertisements, interviews, transitions, etc. Take notes, too, on things like speaking clarity, sound quality, speaking style, etc. What works in this podcast? How would you improve it?
  • Download and install Audacity and the LAME .mp3 encoder [update: only Linux computers need to install the LAME .mp3 encoder] on laptop and have it ready for class.
  • HIST 5212:
    • Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman, “Introduction” in Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman, eds. Slavery’s Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development (2015), 1-27.

M., 8/31: Half Slave, Half Free

  • Group A post questions to #discussions channel
  • Watch the film: 12 Years a Slave (2013), available to rent/buy on Amazon, Microsoft Store, Google Play, Youtube, iTunes.
    • Warning: 12 Years a Slave is one of the most visceral and realistic depictions of slavery in a major motion picture, and contains graphic scenes of murder, rape, and torture. If you do not wish to watch this content, please email me and we will come up with an alternative reading that still allows you to engage with these topics (ex. the film Harriet (PG-13), selected episodes from Underground, etc.).
  • HIST 5212::
  • Presentation: Lindy

W., 9/2: Sectional Conflict and Western Expansion

  • Group B post questions to #discussions channel - include reflections on the process of recording.
  • Erica Armstrong Dunbar, She Came to Slay (2019): Introduction (p. xiii-xiv), Part I (p. 3-39), Part II (p. 40-79).
  • Listen to the second half (starting at 14:15 min) of Nick Quah’s interview with Catherine Saint Louis: “What Does a Podcast Editor Do?”, Servant of Pod (August 5, 2020).
  • Record a 30-second introduction to yourself using Audacity that includes at least one piece of music or sound effect (this can be as silly or as serious as you like), export it as a .MP3 file, and upload it to the #podcasts Slack channel prior to the start of class. The point of this assignment is to practice the mechanics of recording, editing, and exporting audio.
  • Presentation: Parker

M., 9/7: No Class, Official Holiday

  • Work on Podcast #1 over the long weekend!

W., 9/9: Abolitionism and the 1850s | Introduction to Reacting to the Past

  • Class is postponed today. Professor Blevins is participating in the Scholar Strike for Racial Justice, a mass action of higher education professionals protesting racist policing, state violence against communities of color, mass incarceration and other manifestations of racism. Instead of class, I will be holding an open forum for students to discuss these issues on our regular Zoom call. Please see this video and my class-wide email for more information.

Podcast #1 due Friday, September 11th by 11:59PM

Peer Review #1 due Sunday, September 13th by 11:59PM

Reacting to the Past: The Fate of John Brown, 1859

M., 9/14: Abolitionism and the 1850s | Introduction to Reacting to the Past

  • Peer Review #1 must be completed by Sunday, September 13th by 11:59PM (sent over Slack DM to the podcast creators + Professor Blevins)
  • Read The Fate of John Brown, 1859 Gamebook, Sections 1, 2, 3 (p. 1-20) - see class email for link to reading.

W., 9/16: Set-Up Session

  • Read The Fate of John Brown, 1859 Gamebook, Sections 4, 5 and your Role Sheet. Pay particular attention to your goals, when you are required to give your speech, and any special objectives.
  • Change your Slack profile to the name of your Role

M., 9/21: Session 1

  • Read your assigned Core Texts for your role (see Role Sheet)
  • Prepare Session 1 Speeches (see Role Sheet)

W., 9/23: Session 2

  • Prepare Session 2 Speeches (see Role Sheet)

Written Reflection for John Brown, 1859 due Friday, September 25th by 11:59PM.

The War

M., 9/28: John Brown, 1859 Debrief | War Begins, 1860-1861

W., 9/30: Why They Fought | 1861-1862

M., 10/5: Emancipation: Who Freed the Slaves? | 1862-1863

W., 10/7: Home Fronts

M., 10/12: Turning Points | The Summer of 1863

  • Group A post questions to #discussions channel
  • Watch film Glory (1989). Available on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft.

W., 10/14: The Wider World of War | 1863-1864

Podcast #2 Due Sunday, 10/18, by 11:59PM

M., 10/19: Total War | 1864

  • Group A post questions to #discussions channel
  • Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika, “The Soldiers” (November 1, 2017) from Uncivil podcast.
  • Dillon Carroll, “Civil War Soldiers’ Wet Dreams” Nursing Clio (November 1, 2017).
  • Watch Ken Burns, The Civil War, Episode 7, Segment 1 (0:10-1:02) & Segment 6 (10:22-14:13)
  • Presentation: TJ

Peer Review of Podcast #2 Due Wednesday, October 21st by 2:30PM (start of class)

W., 10/21: Endings | Peer Review Podcast

Reconstruction

M., 10/26: A Moment of Possibility

W., 10/28: The Second American Revolution

  • Group B post questions to #discussions channel
  • Watch Part 1, Hour 1 of Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, PBS (2019).

M., 11/2: Revolution and Counterrevolution

W., 11/4: Greater Reconstruction

M., 11/9: The End of Reconstruction

  • Group B post questions to #discussions channel
  • Jack Hitt and Chenjerai Kumanyika, “The Spin” (November 8, 2017) from Uncivil podcast.
  • Mildred Lewis Rutherford, “Wrongs of History Righted” (November 13, 1914), p. 3-5, 14-17.
  • Come to class with an “elevator pitch” for your final project.
  • Presentation: Jeffrey

W., 11/11: Reunion and Memory

  • Group A post questions to #discussions channel
  • Caroline Janney, “Prologue” in Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation (p. 3-11)
  • Watch documentary “Birth of a Movement” (2017) by Susan Gray and Bestor Cram (54 min.)

The Legacy of the Civil War and Reconstruction

M., 11/16: Jim Crow and “Second Reconstruction”

W., 11/18: Reparations

  • Groups A AND B post questions to #discussions channel
  • Nikole Hannah-Jones, “What is Owed” New York Times Magazine (June 30, 2020).

M., 11/23: No Class, Thanksgiving Break

W., 11/25: No Class, Thanksgiving Break

M., 11/30: Project Presentations

  • Prepare a “Work in Progress” of your final project to present in class. You should give a short verbal overview of the topic, demo its format (ex. play a 30-second audio or video clip that you’ve produced, share your screen to show a page from your website, etc.), and discuss challenges or anything you would like feedback on from your classmates.

W., 12/2: Wrap Up

  • TBD

Final version of project due Sunday December 6th by 11:59PM.