Liberated Arts: a journal for undergraduate research

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Writing Rights, Righting Wrongs: Transatlantic Narratives of Race

Introduction

Liberated Arts is proud to present the best undergraduate research papers from the Writing Rights, Righting Wrongs: Transatlantic Narratives of Race interdisciplinary student conference that took place at Huron University College, April 10-11, 2018. The conference showcased undergraduate research on racial slavery, narratives of race, antislavery resistance, and civil rights, focusing on the regional culture of the Great Lakes and its links to the wider currents of the Atlantic world. In keeping with the theme of crossborder and transatlantic perspectives, the conference featured original research papers and presentations from undergraduate students representing Bath Spa University, Huron, Oberlin College, and SUNY-Geneseo, our partner institutions in the wider Phantoms of the Past undergraduate research collaboration. These papers represent research from each university, and showcase the various ways that students have examined the impact of slavery and race on American history and literature, from African-American feminist Lucy Stanton at Oberlin College, to writer Gwendolyn Brooks, to the autobiography of former slave Sylvia Dubois and the legacy of the Colfax massacre. The publication of this special issue highlights the vital contribution of original undergraduate scholarship to public discourse on history, memory, and the role of historical consciousness in contemporary movements for social change.