The Memory of Slavery in Monuments, Museums, and Media

The Memory of Slavery in Monuments, Museums, and Media
HISTORY 228, Fall 2022
Instructor: Charles August Weisenberger
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This course examined how Americans have remembered and forgotten their nation’s troublesome history of racial chattel slavery. Monuments, museums, historic sites, archives, burial grounds, genealogical societies, and films have all contributed to the contested legacy of slavery in America. We considered how and why representations of slavery have changed over time and what those changes suggest about the larger society. We asked: How did representations of slavery and racism inform larger narratives of American identity? How did Black Americans respond to popular depictions of slavery, and create their own forms of public history? How did the memory of slavery inform the twentieth century Black freedom struggle? How does slavery continue to shape the contemporary United States, and how should we approach that legacy today? Students also worked with local museums and historic sites to produce projects focusing on the history of slavery in Connecticut.