FYW-1228 Writing Freedom: United States Abolition and Social Change

In this course we will investigate some puzzles of emancipation and consider a broad array of abolitionist strategies for change. Why did emancipation take so long? Who was responsible for ending it? Which approaches seemed to catalyze change, and which hardened opposition? Why, in contrast to so many other nations in the Atlantic world, did American emancipation involve such a violent ending? How did abolition overlap with other efforts to extend human rights in the same era? What kinds of human rights were involved in emancipation, and which were left out? Did we complete emancipation’s promise with the civil rights movement or is the process ongoing? 4 credits.