question into essay

RACE, GENDER, AND SLAVERY

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Assignment: Read Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Parts 1 and 2 only, skip Part 3

with the related documents) and Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Parts

1 and 2 only, skip Part 3 with the related documents), and watch the 2014 film 12 Years a Slave

(available for rent via Amazon), which is based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir (note that the

memoir is a primary source, but the film is a secondary source). Then, think analytically and

comparatively about the following:

While slavery was an oppressive and “peculiar institution,” slave experiences varied based on gender

(and other factors). After reading these two slave memoirs and watching the film based on a third

memoir, write a 3-5 page paper that compares their treatment of race and gender in slavery and answers

ONE of the following questions.

 Harriet Jacobs wrote, “slavery is terrible for men, but is far more terrible for

women.” Assess the accuracy of this statement, citing how she supported this claim. How

would Frederick Douglass and Solomon Northup respond?

 Jacobs and Douglass discuss relationships with various white people in their lives in their

books and we see Northup’s interactions with whites in the film. Discuss the ways that

gender played into how they interacted with whites. How did Douglass’s and Jacobs’

relationships with whites change after they escaped bondage? While we do not know for

certain from the film, how would Northup’s relationships with whites change (if at all)?

 How did Jacobs, Douglass, and Northup relate to blacks of the opposite sex? Are there

gender inequalities even within slavery? Pay attention to when or if female (for Douglass and

Northup) and male (for Jacobs) characters speak, how they relate to them, and how they

depict them.

All papers must be word processed, double spaced, have one-inch margins, and use standard font (12 pt

Times New Roman). You do not need a title page. You MUST cite your sources using a standard

citation convention that includes the author, title, and page number (see sample citations

below). Footnotes are preferred. Make sure you have a clear thesis and consistently use documents to

prove your thesis. In order to earn a grade higher than a C, you must answer the entire question AND

explicitly use documents (see comments regarding primary vs. secondary sources above). Please refer

to the "How To Write" document and grading rubric available in the syllabus and on Canvas.

Papers must be submitted electronically via Blackboard on your breakout section's Canvas site. This

will automatically run your paper through anti-plagiarism software. Emailed and late papers are not

accepted. If your GTA requires a hard copy as well, submit that too.

Keep in mind that your analysis of these three sources should be fairly evenly balanced and, if you do

have some uneven treatment, you should have more on one of the two books assigned. Do not write a

paper that overwhelmingly uses the film. The film should be incorporated, but do not lose track of the

two books assigned.

Sample Citations (Chicago Style):

Book:

 Footnote: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself with Related Documents, Jennifer Fleischner, ed. (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010), __.1

 Works Cited/Bibliography: Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself with Related Documents. Jennifer Fleischner, ed. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2010.

Film:

 Footnote: Steve McQueen, et al. 12 Years a Slave, 2014, __.2

 Works Cited/Bibliography: McQueen, Steve, et al. 12 Years a Slave. 2014.

See Course Schedule for due date.

1 This blank is where you include the page number(s) used for this footnote. 2 This blank is where you include a time stamp for the scene you are referencing in the film. Example: 1:02 for 1 hour and 2

minutes, or 00:35-00:40, for a 5 minute scene that begins 35 minutes in.