For this assignment, you will read two slave narratives, one written by Frederick Douglass and one by Harriet Jacobs. After reading the narratives, you will write an essay on the following question:

In what ways did gender affect the experience of slavery?

THIS ESSAY IS DUE FRIDAY OCTOBER 3 IN CLASS.

REQUIRED READING:
Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, Narrative of Frederick Douglass and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Penguin Modern Library Classics edition, 2004.

I recommend that you begin reading this book the week of September 8.

Recommended reading: Through Women’s Eyes, 28-35, 204-19.
Additional primary sources: 47-51, 101-102, 225-232, 244-47.

DISCUSSION OF GENDER AND SLAVERY ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1:
To help you write the paper, we will have a discussion of the two slave narratives on Wednesday October 1.

Students with last names A-L should come to class with examples of how the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass illustrates the impact of slavery on men.

Students with last names M-Z should come to class with examples of how Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl illustrates the impact of slavery on women.

DEVELOPMENT OF PAPER:
You will not be able to cover every aspect of gender and slavery. Pick a theme or themes that you wish to analyze.

Be sure to develop an introductory paragraph with a strong thesis at the beginning of the paper. Your paper must cover both narratives.

Some questions to help you get started (but which are not required to be covered):

• Were there crucial differences between male and female slave experiences and perspectives? Or did the similarities of human bondage outweigh gender differences?
• How did gender norms and relations within slave communities differ from those among slaveowners?
• How did Douglass and Jacobs appeal to 19th-century notions of gender to make a case against slavery?
• Some historians have argued that slavery created two “tracks” of womanhood. Did it also create two tracks of manhood?
• How did slaveowners use gender to maintain the slave system?

SOURCES AND CITATIONS:
No further outside sources are required. If you do use additional sources, please cite them according to a standard method of citation. Quotes from Douglass and Jacobs should be cited parenthetically within the text. You may also quote from lecture.

PAPER SPECIFICATIONS:
Papers should be typed in 12-point font with 1” margins all around. Essays should be 4-6 pages.

GRADING:
Your essays will be graded on the basis of the following factors:
• The strength of your thesis;
• The organization of your essay;
• Your use of examples and specific details to back up your thesis;
• The depth of your analysis;
• How well and clearly you express yourself;
• Your grammar and spelling.

An “A” essay is of exceptional quality. It is well written and organized, with a strong and clear thesis, introduction, body, and conclusion. It reveals strong analytical skills and interpretation. It uses much specific evidence from the assigned readings. It is all but free of errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling and does not include irrelevant material.

A “B” essay or its thesis is somewhat limited. It uses some specific evidence from the assigned readings. It is relatively free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors.

A “C” assignment or exam is acceptable. Basically, it fulfills the assignment. However, it may contain several structural errors, have a weak thesis, and fail to address all parts of the assignment, and/or lack evidence.

A “D” assignment or exam is marginal at best. It makes a poor effort to develop an argument or provide evidence to support a viable thesis. Often it contains factual errors and many structural errors.

An “F” assignment or exam is unacceptable. It usually falls well short of the length requirements and basically ignores the assignment. Plagiarism will result in an F, too.

THIS ASSIGNMENT IS WORTH 20% OF YOUR GRADE.

DUE FRIDAY OCTOBER 3 IN CLASS.