Reading the Underground Railroad

Overview

This module examines the intersection between the genre of biography and the history of the underground railroad. Students learn to interpret African American biography through the literary forms that distinguish the genre as well as through the historical contexts that shape knowledge-making and personal narration.

Potential Course Applications

  • American Literature (Biography)
  • (African) American History
  • History of Technology

Readings

Day 1

    • Casmir-Paz, “Footprints of the Fugitive”
    • From Douglass, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (Ch. 1-5)

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

    • Perry, from South to America (“Introduction,” “Mary’s Land”)

Lessons

Lesson #1: Intro to African American Biography

Lecture: Genre of biography, traditions of self-narration

Solo Writing: How do you share your life’s story? What might have prevented Douglass from doing the same? 

Group Discussion: what does Casmir-Paz mean by the “autobiographical pact”? How might this apply to your group’s assigned chapter?

Class Discussion: what risks come with self-narration?

Lesson #2: Biographical Form

Lecture: Historical fact, subjective experience, literary style

Group Close Reading Activity: compare a historical fact with an emotional response described in your assigned chapter.

Class Discussion: what is an autobiographer’s duty to their reader?

Writing workshop: begin your essay by conducting a close reading of a short passage from Douglass. Carefully examine the language’s form and style.

Lesson #3: Biographical Contexts

Lecture: Black literacy, record-keeping, transmission

Solo Writing: describe Douglass’s or Brown’s relationship to technology. How did it shape their stories? 

Group Activity: Examine the technology assigned to your group from the Bound for Glory menu. Explain how it transformed the life of one Black American.

Class Discussion: what technologies or infrastructures shape your life? What do you know about their history?

Lesson #4: Black Biography Today

Lecture: Positionality, digital archives, biography in new media

Solo Activity: research yourself on the internet. Who does it say you are? What got left out?

Group Activity: discuss how Perry’s subjective experience interacts with her research. How objective should historical reserach be?

Writing Workshop: craft a thesis for your essay that connects biographical form to historical context.

Assignments

Biographical Contexts Essay

For this essay, students combine lessons on biographical form and historical context. They will examine a short passage from The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass or Biography of an American Bondsman and explain its 1) biographical significance, 2) its literary style, and 3) one element of American infrastructure that shaped it.

Biographical Annotations

For this assignment, students will apply various annotation techniques to their assigned reading. They will 1) create a short timeline, 2) identify three literary forms, 3) ask three questions, and 4) select one figure, event, or object and investigate it.