GLOBAL STUDIES MODULE FORMAT
Ivy Tech Community College North Central- Global Studies Program
Name: Laura Bergstrom
School: Ivy Tech Community College
Course Number and Title: HIST 210: African-American History
Module Title: The Abolitionist Movement in a Global Context
Description of the Module: This module focuses as the abolitionist movement and
puts it into an international context. This includes abolitionists’ trans-Atlantic
connections, the American Colonization Society & Liberia, as well as Underground
Railroad.
Educational Objectives of the Module (should constitute a minimum of 12% of
the course):
1. Evaluate the significance of the American abolitionist movement and its
transnational connections
2. Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of African-Americans on United States
history, from colonization to the modern era.
3. Demonstrate writing and research skills, including ability to develop a research
question, review relevant literature, collect information and data from a variety of
sources, and support an argument with evidence.
4. Develop analytical and collaboration skills to analyze both historic and contemporary
issues.
Outline of Lectures/Discussions:
1. Lecture/Discussion: This lecture will deal with the early anti-slavery societies, like
the American Colonization Society and the creation of Liberia.
2. Lecture/Discussion: Focus on the abolitionist movement--William Lloyd Garrison,
the Grimke sisters, Frederick Douglass, etc., and their trans-Atlantic connections
with the British abolitionist movement (i.e. William Wilberforce). Discuss the
abolitionist movement in comparison to the modern day movement to end human
trafficking.
3. Lecture/Discussion: The Underground RR in international context. Many slaves
fled to Canada as well as Haiti. In the lecture on this, also provide the Canadian and
Haitian perspectives on the Underground RR.
Listing of Resources Used to Support the Module (readings, videos, podcasts,
documentaries, etc.):
Readings:



Excerpt from Frederick Douglass’, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass:
His Early Life as a Slave, His Escape From Bondage, and His Complete
History. New York: Collier Books, 1892. Also available as an ebook.
Selection from Harriet Jacob’s, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl on the
“Results of the Fugitive Slave Act:”
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primaryresources/lincolns-jacobs/
Excerpts from Benjamin Drew’s, The Refugee: Or the Narratives of the
Fugitive Slaves in Canada. Related By Themselves. Boston: John P.
Jewett & Co. Google ebook: http://books.google.com/books?id=BEox8q9hKEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=o
nepage&q&f=false
Videos & Documentaries:
 PBS American Experience, The Abolitionists (2012)
 Amazing Grace (2006)
 HBO: Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
(2003)—Second half is on the Underground RR
 PBS American Experience, John Brown’s Holy War (2000)
Visual Aids & Media for Class
 Swarthmore College and Haverford College, “Quakers and Slavery
Exhibit,”
http://trilogy.brynmawr.edu/speccoll/quakersandslavery/resources/image_l
ist.php
 Indiana Department of Natural Resources, “Underground Railroad Sites in
Indiana,” http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/4120.htm
Description of the Assignments Used to Facilitate an Understanding of the
Module Objectives (writings, interviews, reflections, experiential projects or
field work):
 Compare and contrast abolitionist reform literature in England and U.S.
 Assessment on Liberia and American Colonization Society. Discussion
on present day Liberia. How is their present day status a product of their
past.
Evaluation/Testing Used to Assess the Comprehension of the Module:
 Research Paper--watch the movie Amazing Grace and analyze its historical
accuracy. In addition students will discuss the international connections of
abolitionists in England and the U.S.
 Historic Book Exam: Students can choose to read from a selection of
abolitionist texts and put them into historical and international context.
Resources (Bibliography) used to Develop/implement the Module:

Library of Congress, “The Creation of ‘Amazing Grace:”
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200149085/default.html

McDaniel, W. Caleb. The Problem of Democracy in the Age of Slavery:
Garrisonian Abolitionists and Transatlantic Reform. Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 2013.