LITR 4232: American Renaissance

UHCL, spring 2002

Student Research Proposal

Leigh Ann Moore

Dr. White,

I have been going back and forth on topics all semester but I think I have settled on a subject but am having problems narrowing.  I was fascinated by the portrayal of slavery in the literature we have done,  the attitude about the slave holders, the institution of slavery, and how the women's issues are intertwined with that of abolition.  I have reverted back to the idea of doing the paper instead of the journal on this particular topic.  I don't have anything against the journal if you think that format would fit the subject matter better.  Of  particular interest was the middle road of the women between the white men and the slaves.  This was shown in particularly clearly in Douglass and Stowe.  Women's station, although not the same as the slave's, was similar.  The similarities are also alluded to in Fuller.  The voices of both the slave and the women seem to be intertwined.

As you can see, I am still wavering.  Any help you could offer in narrowing this topic would be helpful.

Thank you,

Leigh Ann Moore

Dear Leigh Ann,

I agree that this sounds more like a paper. My only misgiving is that, to some degree, you're going over ground that we've covered somewhat in class, but that's not necessarily a problem. You can even duplicate some of the readings and points we raised as they're helpful. But the main need would be to do some research and develop some insights beyond what we said in class. This shouldn't be that hard, and the only reason I pause is the natural impulse of someone who's been down a road several times but gone only so far, so it's a challenge to think of going further.

My first move, the one guaranteed to get some results, would be to do some research on the subject. Try the ML A and Social Sciences Indexes in the library. Type in keywords like women and abolition and see what starts coming up. Also consider looking in Angela Howard's Handbook to American Women's History in the reference section of the library under Abolition or Slavery. Those steps in research will probably give you a fast start in terms of surveying some other possibilities for the subject. Also in your digital searches you could try some of these words and phrases in combination with your authors' names.

It's a great subject, so by all means stay with it (unless, of course, it leads you somewhere else even better).

Dr. White,

Over spring break, one of the things that I like to do is to pick a book that has particularly interested me (something that I would read for fun) and read over spring break. This year, the book that I felt I was most curious about, that we did not read enough of in class, was Uncle Tom's Cabin. Although I am not completely through the book, I find Stowe's presentation of women thus far very interesting. Although in class, we looked at Eliza, we didn't get to examine Mrs. Shelby, Aunt Chloe, Mrs. Bird, or even enough about Eva (which to my surprise there are poems written about).

I know we have talked about many different topics over the past few weeks, all of them seem to have a central focus on women. What I would like to do is examine the female figures in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Their presentation (as least as far as I have read) seem to be that of morality. Although at this point, they have no "real" power, they are committed and courageous to their purpose at hand. Stowe portrays women positively. They are portrayed as being morally superior to their male counterparts.

The only research I have done (other than reading) is briefly looking on the web but I found nothing significant (but it was only a cursory look and I am not the most proficient web researcher - I am much more comfortable in a library). Once again, this would be a paper instead of a journal. I am sorry to continue to change my topic. It seems as I look at the topics in more depth I continue to find another more specific interesting route to take. My plan is to be at the school this afternoon (assuming my children cooperate) to pick up my exam and to talk with you briefly about this topic. The significance of the way that these women characters were portrayed is intriguing.

Thank you,

Leigh Ann Moore