PSCI 332 Fugitive Identities: Slavery and the Boundaries of American Politics (Not offered 1997-98)*

This course examines the stories told by and about fugitive slaves in this country, exploring the ways in which these stories have been used in struggles over the basic terms of political identity and boundaries of American governance. By reading such primary sources as slave narratives, ante-bellum fiction, newspaper stories, the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, court decisions, political tracts, and philosophical treatises, we will explore how Americans, black and white, thought and fought about not only the status of individual slaves, but the meaning of race and gender, freedom and subjection, property, law, sovereignty, constitutionalism, authority, and citizenship. By reading recent scholarly and literary writing about slavery, particularly the fiction of contemporary African-American writers, we will investigate how and why the story of the escape from slavery is being reworked and whether these revisions enable us to rethink the problems and possibilities of American politics. Requirements: regular, one paragraph response papers and a research paper.
Prerequisites: at least one prior course in theory, American history, or American literature or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 25.

REINHARDT