Guests: Daina Ramey Berry, Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor in History at the University of Texas at Austin, and Leslie Harris, Associate Professor of History at Emory University in Atlanta
Host: Joan Neuberger, Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin
Slavery marks an important era in the history of the United States, one that is often discussed in terms of numbers and dates, human rights abuses, and its lasting impact on society. To be sure, these are all important aspects to understand, but one thing that is often given relatively short shrift is what it was like to actually be a slave. What were the sensory experiences of slaves on a daily basis? How can we dig deeper into understanding the lives of slaves and understand the institution as a whole?
Guest Daina Ramey Berry has given this question serious thought. In this episode, she discusses teaching the “senses of slavery,” a teaching tool that taps into the senses in order to connect to one of the most important eras in US history and bring it to the present.