How are people represented?
-
Abolition and the Amistad Case
A pivotal yet often overlooked moment in U.S. history is the case of the United States v. The Amistad. Although a landmark case involving questions of slavery, international law, and human rights, the Amistad rebellion is frequently underrepresented in standard history curriculum. Why is the Amistad not as widely taught…
-
Visual Depictions of Slavery
This learning module explores how visual media—especially charts and diagrams—can shape public understanding, emotion, and political action. Focusing on the iconic 1788 diagram of the Brookes slave ship diagram, students will examine how a single image helped transform abstract knowledge about slavery into a powerful, widely shared critique of its brutality.…
-
Seeking Asylum in the U.S. (2020s)
The focus of this module is the migration crisis of the 2020s. In chapter one, students learn a brief history of asylum seeking and refugee law, as well as the terminology. In chapters two and three, students go more in depth on two specific crises: Venezuela, and then Ukraine. The…
-
Finding Evidence of Slavery in the Archives
In this module, Finding Evidence of Slavery in the Archives, students investigate how the history of slavery is preserved in ordinary documents of everyday life. Focusing on archival materials such as advertisements, students will learn to recognize how slavery was embedded in the daily rhythms of American society. Using runaway…