Additional Readings: Harper, Douglass, and Lincoln

Hi, class,

It's only Week 2, and I am already having to make modifications in our reading schedule--lol! I have cut Douglass's "Claims of the Negro, Ethnologically Considered," as it is a long piece, but I will go over the main points Douglass makes as he confronts the pseudo-scientific challenges to black humanity.

Here are links to the additional readings I placed on the syllabus. In addition to this week's discussion of Frederick Douglass's novella, The Heroic Slave, we will be discussing the following:

Frances E.W. Harper readings:

I have cut a couple of the Harper readings, but have added one. They are relatively short pieces--we will take a look at the poems and the short story "The Two Offers" (1859) tomorrow, and the speech "We Are All Bound Up Together" (1866) on Thursday.

From Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1854):

"The Slave Mother"

"Bury Me in a Free Land"

"The Slave Auction"

Short Story 

"The Two Offers" (click on link)

Speech

"We Are All Bound Up Together" (click on link)

Abraham Lincoln readings:

These are short pieces that we will take a quick look at on Thursday as we attempt to wrap up our discussion of the Douglass novella. They are extremely important in the context of African American post-Civil War struggle.

Gettysburg Address

2nd Inaugural Address

As with everything that we will be reading this semester, please be ready to comment on a section that you find particularly significant--pay attention to diction, language, tone, and theme.