Race, Gender and Power in the American South: From Slavery to Segregation

AMER62002 Race, Gender and Power in the American South: From Slavery to Segregation 15 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 6 David Brown Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 This course examines the origins, development and legitimisation of race and ‘whiteness’ – a powerful form of institutional power granting white men legal, social and psychological authority over blacks, Indians and women – in the American South, from first settlement in the seventeenth century to the establishment of Jim Crow segregation in the southern states in the late nineteenth century. It outlines the complex and contested process by which different groups of southerners, Native Americans, Europeans and Africans, internalised or sometimes challenged notions of racial identity and came to regard themselves, and those around them, as ‘white,’ ‘black’ or ‘red’. Students will consider the broad significance of race to the historical development of the South and to scholarly debates about the nature of southern society. The course will provide points of comparison, assessing southern race relations within a broader national and international framework.  Perhaps the most important area of recent critical inquiry in American history has been the significance of ‘race’ and racism to the development of the colonies in North America that eventually became the United States. This module examines the interaction of Europeans, Native Americans and Africans in the American South. It begins with the founding of Virginia in 1607 to consider European-Native American relations and moves onto the systemisation of plantation slavery in the 18th century and the phenomenal growth of cotton slavery in the 19th century which had global ramifications. The Civil War (1861-65) delivered emancipation and citizenship but that respite proved temporary and the final section evaluates the imposition of segregation in the southern states. Within this broad framework, the module focuses on changing racial and gender constructions at key historical moments between 1607 and 1900. This was a critical period in the formation, dissemination and consolidation of ‘whiteness’ – a potent form of social and institutional oppression granting white men legal, social and psychological authority over blacks, Indians, and women. Major themes include: the relationship between slavery and the development of racial ideology; the intersection of race with class and gender; and the significance of efforts to maintain, and to resist, white supremacy to understanding the evolution of the American South.  - Consider the origins, consolidation and enduring significance of race in the American South - Explore historiographical debates considering race and the development of the southern colonies that became the southern states after the American Revolution  - Develop skills of critical thinking and close analysis through a detailed engagement with a range of primary and secondary sources  - Hone students’ research, presentation, and writing skills as well as their capacity to construct a sustained and coherent argument of a standard appropriate to MA-level work   By the end of this course, students should be able to: - to recognise that race has multiple and contested meanings;  - to appreciate the interconnection of race, class, gender and other markers of status and identity; - to coherently evaluate the utility of race to the historical development of the American South, using primary and secondary sources  By the end of this course, students should be able to: - to understand the ways in which race underpinned power relations and the southern social structure at particular historical moments; - to be familiar with the major contentions of the substantial scholarship, in different fields, exploring the social construction of identity - to confidently navigate historiographical debates concerning race and the American South over a long duration  By the end of this course, students should be able to: - plan and execute independent research essay; - make good use of library, electronic, and online resources pertaining to the course; - speak and write clearly about the historical evolution of race and racism in the American South;  - organise, synthesise and critically evaluate material from a range of different sources, including library, electronic, and online resources; - produce written work using appropriate language for an academic audience;  - produce written work that collects and integrates primary and secondary sources to develop a critical argument;  - demonstrate good teamwork skills by acknowledging the views of others and working constructively with others  The course will be taught by means of one 90 minute seminar per week; sessions will include lectures at times teaching, materials including lecture slides, bibliographies, & handouts (posted on Blackboard) Students will be encouraged to use Blackboard discussion boards   2 Written assignment (inc essay) 100% <table aria-rowcount="4" border="1" data-tablelook="480" data-tablestyle="MsoNormalTable"> <tbody> <tr aria-rowindex="1" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369" role="rowheader">Feedback method  </td> <td data-celllook="4369" role="columnheader">Formative or Summative </td> </tr> <tr aria-rowindex="2" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369" role="rowheader">Numerical grade and written comments on essay within 15 working days </td> <td data-celllook="4369">Summative </td> </tr> <tr aria-rowindex="3" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369" role="rowheader">Verbal feedback on essay plan </td> <td data-celllook="4369">Formative </td> </tr> <tr aria-rowindex="4" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369" role="rowheader">Individual consultation in office hours or by appointment </td> <td data-celllook="4369">Formative </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table aria-rowcount="5" border="1" data-tablelook="0" data-tablestyle="MsoNormalTable"> <tbody> <tr aria-rowindex="1" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369">Available on which programme(s)? </td> <td data-celllook="4369">English and American Studies MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture MA  History MA Other humanities MAs as appropriate </td> </tr> <tr aria-rowindex="2" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369">Available as Free Choice (UG) or to other programmes (PG)? </td> <td data-celllook="4369">Yes (PG only) </td> </tr> <tr aria-rowindex="3" role="row"> <td data-celllook="4369">Available to students on an Erasmus programme </td> <td data-celllook="4369">No </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Y David Brown and Clive Webb, Race in the American South: From Slavery to Civil Rights (Gainesville, 2007)  Kathleen M. Brown, Good Wives, Nasty Wenches and Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race and Power in Colonial Virginia (Chapel Hill, 2003) George M. Fredrickson, Racism: A Short History (Princeton, 2002)  Stephen Kantrowitz, Ben Tillman and the Reconstruction of White Supremacy (Chapel Hill, 2000) Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (New York, 2016) Nell Irvin Painter, The History of White People (New York, 2010) Theda Perdue, Mixed Blood Indians: Racial Construction in the Early South (Athens, 2003) Joshua D. Rothman, Notorious in the Neighborhood: Sex and Families Across the Color Line in Virginia (Chapel Hill, 2003)  Seminars 16.5 0 133.5