Week 1 Discussion - African American Study

African American Study

WEEK ONE DISCUSSION PROMPT:

As noted in your readings for this week, the study of African American history has advanced a long way since the mid 20th century. From this time period until the present, one popular area of study and inquiry in this field has been the origins of slavery. When exploring the beginnings of American slavery, scholars have often argued back and forth over the role of race and economics in creating American slavery. Some scholars have favored race over economics, and others have argued the opposite. Based upon your examination of the timeline of African American history from 1619 to 1803, what would be your argument on what created the American institution of slavery? Was race the main driving force in creating American slavery? Was economics the main driving force? Was it something else? What facts would you draw from the timeline to support your argument? Feel free to bring in other historical material that you may have read in another course or during your leisure time

https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/timeline/index.html