abolition

As a professor who heavily uses Reacting, including having used the Frederick Douglass game, I feel that the WSJ story is not a very complete report and also leans into the idea that Reacting decision makers are afraid to teach the history of race and racism in a frank and honest way. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, it is important to keep in mind that Reacting is a particular kind of pedagogy, and it helps students learn in a unique way. But it is not the ONLY way to learn. Prudence may demand approaching some subjects with pedagogies other than Reacting.

For Release:  Frederick Douglass Not Included in Forthcoming University of North Carolina Press Series

April 15, 2022

Jack, Jim, I absolutely share your sentiments. I am at a west coast institution where most of my students are BIPOC, and I have used the Frederick Douglas game, but after using it once, I modified it so that white supremacist ideas are presented through avenues other than character speeches. Aside from the triggering aspect, it just felt like I was giving too much of a platform to these ideas, and it seemed too much like it was offering those ideas some sort of legitimacy, which is of course the last thing that I want to do.

Hi Jack,

The final sentence of your disturbing post captures perfectly my deepest concern about the decision to cancel Mark Higbee's and my FREDERICK DOUGLASS, THE CONSTITUTION AND THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY-- In this case the fact that fully credentialed historians unilaterally cancelled the scholarship and pedagogy of their colleagues and peers because, as one such censor put it, it addresses the problem of slavery (this is the literal quote) "too forthrightly".---- .

Hi, I am the editor of the Frederick Douglass Papers, a documentary editing project based at IUPUI. I have been hosting a biannual symposium on Douglass' life and times since 2012. Last February, we moved this event online out of Covid19 considerations. As part of the program, I had planned a series of readings by IUPUI students of excerpts from some of Douglass's speeches attacking lynching, advocating women's rights, welcoming immigrants, and of course promoting the abolition of slavery.

[Ed ,note]: I wonder if any of our readers use this resource, and what their reaction might be to this development.  Below is an excerpt from the larger article. What are the strengths and pitfalls of role-play concerning highly emotional historical subjects?]

DOWNLOADABLE CONTEXT: WHY A HISTORIAN OF HAITI CAME TO STUDY VIDEO GAMES

Posted on December 13, 2021by Age of Revolutions

Dear Colleague,

Dear Colleague,

Dear Colleague,