HIST 4000: Justifications and Divisions: Racial Politics and Generational Trauma in

Fictional and Historical Narrative

Course Description
This course will introduce students to the history of race violence, as well as the justifications for
it, in the United States by using both fictional and historical works. Focused upon works from
the middle 19th century onward, this course will show how fiction was used, and can still be
used, to fight political battles, especially along the lines of race. Along with supplementary
historical material that will give background to the fictional works, students will grapple with
how different mediums have been used as propaganda pieces in their times, and how historians
can use these pieces to piece together the cultural moment in which they were written. The
class will conclude with modern-day fictional pieces that continue to comment on our racial
past, prompting questions about how students can use different mediums to convey historical
information to broader audiences.

Reading List

Fiction

Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe

Perhaps the most influential fictional work of the Antebellum period, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s story
portrays the horrors of a slavey society through Uncle Tom’s many trials on the road to his death. The
backlash this book received in its time, as well as the more modern discourse around the titular
character, make this a fascinating discussion piece for a class that aims to understand the impact fiction
has on historical narrative.

Little Eva, the Flower of the South (1850s-1860s)

https://ia803002.us.archive.org/6/items/littleevaflowero00stow/littleevaflowero00stow.pdf

An Anti-Tom Children’s book written in the Antebellum South, this works serves as an example of how
pro-slavery Americans attempted to justify the peculiar institution to their children. Using the “happy
slave” narrative and showing how slaves supposedly were necessary to protect Southern children, this
book offers a grim reminder of how ingrained slavery was to the economic and cultural lifestyle of the
American South.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Written in 1960, and still read in many high schools throughout the country today, To Kill a Mockingbird
shows the world through the eyes of a six-year-old girl living in Alabama during the Depression.
Following the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman, this work gives the cultural
background of a society that sought retribution through mob violence and justification of racial hatred.
While this work may already have been read by some of you, a reexamination of its material alongside
the secondary sources supplied to the class will allow for better understanding.

The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden—1865–1900 – Thomas Dixon Jr.

Part of a trilogy written in the early 20th century, this work valorizes the efforts of the Ku Klux Klan while
offering a response to the interpretation of the Antebellum South offered in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Using
several of the names of characters depicted in Stowe’s book, this fictional piece not only shows how
fiction was used to justify political causes, but also how important books as a medium were to crafting
and contesting the greater historical narrative. Upholding white supremacist ideals while undermining
the work of Reconstruction, The Leopard’s Spots is an uncomfortable read today; and that is precisely
why we should read it.

The Hindered Hand - Sutton E. Griggs

Moving out of the Reconstruction Period, Griggs’s depictions of horrible lynchings and plots of rebellion
by African Americans in the south showcase a volatile and racially hostile period in American history. In
addition, Griggs was responding to other novels at the time that attempted to justify racial violence
against blacks, fighting against a rising tide of white supremacy that soon culminate in the popularity of
the Ku Klux Klan. Fiction served as one of the battlegrounds on which history was contested and re-
written for the purposes of present action, shown by this back and forth between authors.

Kindred - Octavia E. Butler

A science fiction novel written in 1979, Kindred follows Dana, an African American writer, as she time
travels back to the Antebellum period and has to live on a plantation in Maryland. Giving a more modern
perspective on the Antebellum South, Butler’s work ties the legacies of slavery to the present (at least at
the time of the book’s publishing), showcasing the horrors experienced by slaves, and especially slave
women, during this time. Butler’s work shows how fiction can convey a very real circumstance in a
fantastical setting, and how this can be appealing to a broader audience.
Films

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Released in 1962 adapting the novel of the same name, To Kill a Mockingbird was brought to a broader
audience through the medium of film and was met with wide critical acclaim. For the purposes of this
class, we will be comparing how the novel and movie differ, as well as review how a visual medium can
better convey historical concepts, even if the content is fictional, to a broader audience.

Amistad (1997)

Released in 1997, Amistad is a historical drama that follows the slave rebellion that took place aboard a
Spanish ship in 1839. A critical success, the movie graphically depicts the gruesome conditions that
slaves endured while being shipped across the Atlantic and displays the political struggles that were
inherent to this time period. While there are historical inaccuracies, Amistad is an example of a historical
narrative breaking through to a modern audience in a visual medium.

Historical Scholarship

History Meets Fiction – Beverly Southgate

Specific chapters will be chosen to spark discussion around where fiction and history are either similar or
distinct. These chapters are focused upon the evolution of history as a discipline, and how the methods
employed to gain a semblance of “truth” are often closely linked to the discipline’s roots in narrative
creation. For this class, these chapters will serve as the tie between their work as historians and the
reading of historical fiction.

The Making of a Lynching Culture: Violence and Vigilantism in Central Texas, 1836-1916 – William D.
Carrigan

This book discusses the lynching of Jesse Washington, bringing context to how mob violence could arise
in the American South within acceptable parameters of a deeply religious culture. Reaching as far back
as the Texas Revolution, Carrigan’s work offers a survey of Texas history through the Civil War and
Reconstruction, giving the class a backdrop for understanding lynching culture. In addition, Carrigan
focuses on historical memory and how people are able to justify horrible acts through the distortion of
the past, something to surely spark discussion in conjunction with the next book.
The First Waco Horror: The Lynching of Jesse Washington and the Rise of the NAACP – Patricia Bernstein

Bernstein discusses the Lynching of Jesse Washington through the eyes of Waco residents in 1916, and
the public backlash that occurs outside of the small town afterwards. Rather than analyze mob violence
and its repercussions, Bernstein takes a more personal approach, trying to understand individual
responses and how the memory of the lynching has been felt generations afterwards. With the previous
work, students are left with an understanding of how different approaches can greatly affect the
outcome of historical research and can better understand the impact of historical memory.

The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas - Monica Muñoz Martinez

A study on vigilante violence through the eyes of surviving family members, Monica Muñoz Martinez’s
work not only serves as a connection from fictional accounts of violent acts to real events, but also as an
example of how to use history outside of academia. With each chapter discussing a separate event
involving Texas Rangers vigilante actions in the early 20th century, Martinez uses oral histories and
museum exhibits to contest the dominant historical narrative that valorizes the Texas Rangers, showing
resistance and survival of those that were persecuted. For this class, The Injustice Never Leaves You will
be used to show how much the past bleeds into the present, and how much historical narrative can
change depending upon the sources you interpret.

Course Assignments
Film Reviews: Students will write a review of two films during the semester, watching them outside of
class on the days listed in the syllabus. After a brief summary of the contents of the film, the majority of
the review should be focused on how the film is able to depict the time period they are focused on, and
how the film medium either helps or hinders the ability to connect with a broader audience. Feel free to
compare the film with other works we read throughout the semester. 750-1000 words.

Presentation/Proposal: The last week of class, you will present a research topic of your choosing and
describe how you would use a different medium (whether that be fiction, film, art, or any number of
things) to enhance your work. If you already have a research topic for another seminar, feel free to
expand beyond what we have covered in this class. I will be meeting with each of you to either help you
come up with research questions or help you to expand upon the ones you have. This should be an
expansion upon your traditional academic work and be more of an exercise to utilize other mediums to
reach a broader audience.
 Schedule

Week 1: Generational Justification

Jan. 17th – Little Eva, the Flower of the South, begin reading for Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Week 2: The Fight over the Slave Image

Jan. 22nd – Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Volume I

Jan 24th – Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Chapters 19-32

Week 3: From Slavery to Freedom; a Continued Fight for Survival

Jan. 29th – Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Chapters 33-45

Jan. 31st – To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 1-6

Week 4: Through the Eyes of a Child

Feb. 5th – To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 7-13

Feb. 7th – To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 14-22

Week 5: Through the Eyes of a Child

Feb. 12th – To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapters 23-31

Feb. 14th- Film Day- To Kill a Mockingbird – Review Due by Feb. 19th

Week 6: Mob Rule and Generational Anger

Feb.19th – The Making of a Lynching Culture, Chapters 1-4

Feb. 21st- The Making of a Lynching Culture, Chapters 5-7

Week 7: Mob Rule and Generational Anger

Feb. 26th- The First Waco Horror, Chapters 1-5

Feb. 28th- The First Waco Horror, Chapters 6-11

 Week 8: How Can We Use Fiction?

Mar. 4th- History Meets Fiction, Chapters 1 & 2

Mar.6th- History Meets Fiction, Chapters 4 & 5

Week 9:

Spring Break- No Class

Week 10: Fiction as the Battleground for Control of the Past

Mar. 18th- The Leopard’s Spot, Book One

Mar. 20th- The Leopard’s Spot, Book Two

Week 11: Fiction as the Battleground for Control of the Past

Mar. 25th- The Leopard’s Spot, Book Three

Mar. 27th- The Hindered Hand, Chapters 1-20

Week 12: From Political Battles to Science Fiction

Apr. 1st- The Hindered Hand, Chapters 21-40

Apr. 3rd- Kindred, Chapters 1-4

Week 13: Modern-day Use of Other Mediums

Apr. 8th- Kindred, Chapters, 5-8

Apr. 10th- Film Day – Amistad, Review Due by Apr. 15th

Week 14: Back to Traditional History

Apr. 15th- The Injustice Never Leaves You, Introduction-Chapter 1

Apr.17th- The Injustice Never Leaves You, Chapters 2-3

Week 15: How do we Connect the Past and Present?

 Apr. 22nd- The Injustice Never Leaves You, Chapters 4-5

Apr. 24th- The Injustice Never Leaves You, Chapters 6-Epilogue

Week 16: Presentations

Apr. 29th- One-on-One Meetings

May 1st- Presentations