Permission to reproduce image granted from the Harvard Theatre Collection, August 2004.

With growing concern about the global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the international debate over what it means to be American, a Presidential Task Force has been formed to create a time capsule representing American history and culture.  The time capsule would be buried in multiple secured sites as well as sent out into space.  As a result, space is limited and tough choices have to be made.  Materials included would represent many different fields of achievement, including one work of literature.  Uncle Tom's Cabin has been preliminarily proposed as the work of literature to be included in the capsule.  Because of your excellent liberal arts training at one of the country’s finest institutes of higher education, Saint Louis University, you have been chosen to make the final recommendation to the Task Force as to whether or not Uncle Tom’s Cabin should be included.

Task

Together with your team of researchers, you will explore the cultural significance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin both at the time of its publication in the 1850s and its enduring importance.  Each student should choose a role from the following list: historian, graphic specialist, literary critic, pop culture expert or political theorist.  It will be the job of each student to research that area and bring back insights and ideas to the group.  Together, you will design a PowerPoint presentation for the Task Force recommending why (or why not) Uncle Tom’s Cabin should be the work of literature chosen for the time capsule.

Process

You will be assigned to a team of 5 students.  After you have picked a role to play, you will begin to explore the web resources the Task Force has selected for your perusal.  Take notes on the aspects that will help you make your case to the Task Force and write up a two-page summary of your findings to share with your group.  (Make sure you use proper MLA citations for your sources and include a bibliography of all the sites you found useful, even if you don't cite them.)  For example, the "pop culture expert" might consider if particular issues in contemporary culture, such as human trafficking or hate crimes, suggest that we need to go back and, in the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe, "see to it that [we] feel right"?   Or the "literary critic" might consider if the language and sentimentality of Uncle Tom’s Cabin render it obsolete in comparison to contemporary examinations of slavery and freedom?  Remember, your group will have to make a single "yes or no" recommendation to the task force, but you might not all initially agree.  So arm yourself with enough information to be persuasive within your small group as well as to the larger Task Force.  Once you and your group have shared your findings and come to a design, begin to build your case.  Turn your argument into a PowerPoint presentation.

Resources

Historian -- You will take a look at a range of sites to discover the historical sources, cultural context and impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the time of its publication.

Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories

PBS American Experience - Underground Railroad

Africans in America

Graphic Specialist -- A big part of Uncle Tom's Cabin was its visual evocation of the horrors of slavery.  You will look at a range of sites to discover both how Uncle Tom's Cabin used images, as well as any images -- then and now -- which speak to the issues you are examining for the Task Force.

The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record

Illustrations page from Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture Site

American Memory Collection - Library of Congress

Literary Critic -- Uncle Tom's Cabin was first a best-selling novel, not a political speech or a painting or a play or a song.  You will look at a range of sites to learn about the literary significance, strategies and accomplishments of the novel.

Responses page from Uncle Tom’s Cabin & American Culture Site

American Memory Collection – The Nineteenth Century in Print

Sophia Cantave, "Who Gets to Create the Lasting Images? The Problem of Black Representation in Uncle Tom's Cabin" (Electronic Reserve)

Stephen Railton, "Black Slaves and White Readers" (Electronic Reserve)

Susan Belasco, "The Writing, Reception, and Reputation of Uncle Tom's Cabin" (Electronic Reserve)

Fredrick Douglass – The Heroic Slave

Richard Wright – Uncle Tom’s Children Chapter Excerpt

Pop Culture Expert -- Uncle Tom's Cabin was nominated for the time capsule not only because of its past significance, which is inarguable, but because of its contemporary relevance.  You will look at a range of sites to think about how contemporary issues relate -- or not -- to the argument of the text.  Do we still need to know this story?

What we've made of Uncle Tom

Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture -- Other Media

Official Bamboozled Site

The Uncle Tom Dilemma

Don't Blame Uncle Tom

Trafficking in Human Beings -- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The Legacy of Blackface

Political Theorist -- Uncle Tom's Cabin is, arguably, as much about political ideas (the nation, freedom, slavery, human nature, women's rights, religion) as about literary ones.  You will look at sites which will enable you to evaluate the text in terms of its contribution to political conversations. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture --Responses

PBS American Experience -- The Battle for Abolition

Africans in America -- Abolitionism

Emancipation Proclamation

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848

Thurgood Marshall's Bicentennial Speech

Evaluation

MLA Form

Your two-page summaries will be graded individually both in terms of the depth of your research as well as your proper use of MLA citation (see links below).

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format

Bibliographies: MLA Format

Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources

PowerPoint Presentations

Your PowerPoint presentations will be graded as a group. I will take into account both the effectiveness of the presentation (based on my own and student evaluations) and your adherence to the principles of good presentation (see links below).

Presentation Tips

PowerPoint Pitfalls

Grading

The two grades (two-page summary and PowerPoint presentation) will be averaged for your final WebQuest grade.

   

	F/D 1	C 2	B 3	A 4	Score
Two-page Summary	Less than 3 sources No comprehension of material Not in MLA form	Minimum of 3 sources Limited comprehension of material Not in MLA form	Minimum of 3 sources Solid comprehension of material In MLA form	Minimum of 4 sources Excellent comprehension of material In MLA form
PowerPoint Presentation	1-2 roles represented Key argument components missing Not persuasive No documentation of source material Ineffective presentation	3-4 roles represented Some key argument components missing Not persuasive Minimal documentation of source material Ineffective presentation	All 5 roles represented All key argument components present Not entirely persuasive Solid documentation of source material Uneven presentation	All 5 roles represented All key argument components present Entirely persuasive Solid documentation of source material Effective presentation

In-class Evaluation

Evaluation Form

This is a form you will use to evaluate the presentations of the other groups. While you will not be grading them, I will read and use your comments as part of my assessment of the groups. Please print out three copies and bring them to class.

Write a two-page response to your WebQuest and turn it in with your two-page "specialist" paper. What did you learn from the experience? Did you agree with your group's position? Did the process change your mind about any of the issues raised by the novel? about the novel itself? Feel free to write in the first person and to be reflective about the larger project.

Harvard Theatre Collection, permission granted for movie poster image.

Approaches to Teaching Uncle Tom's Cabin, editied by Elizabeth Ammons and Susan Belasco. New York: The Modern Language Assosication of America, 2000.

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.