(Read one in full): • William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967,
Random House; severalreprint editions available) • Barbara Chase-Riboud, Sally
Hemings(1979, Viking/Penguin; several reprint editions available, but none currently in
print, so you will need to find this one used if you choose to read it)
Then please write at least a paragraph or two (150-300 words) reflecting on what you have heard about one of
the key figures or events about which we’ll be reading this semester, and where you heard it: the European
settlers, Native Americans, and/or African captives who interacted at Jamestown in the early 17th century;
Thomas Jefferson and his family, including enslaved members of the Hemings family; or Nat Turner and other
participants in the 1831 insurrection in Southampton, Virginia. Please describe with as much detail as possible
where you read or heard about the figure or event in question, what you heard, and under what circumstances
you heard it (as part of a school lesson or museum trip? via some sort of media? In a conversation?). If you’ve
heard about the figure or event from a number of sources, please choose one or two that made the strongest
impression on you and reflect on those. Finally, spend a bit of time reflecting on why the story was told as it
was, in the context it was – what was the purpose of telling that story in that place, time, and manner, with or
without the specific details that were included or excluded? What larger messages were being conveyed about
how the specific figure and/or story fit into a larger narrative about Virginia, the United States, or some other
group or entity?
If you’ve never heard anything about any of the figures or events named above, you may pick one of the
following two options:
• describe and reflect on a specific story you have heard about Virginia and/or the United States, including the
same sort of detail and analysis as described above, OR
• describe and reflect on a specific story that is told about a similar figure (a founder, or a rebel/insurrectionist)
associated with a place (state, region, or nation) with whose stories you are familiar, including the same sort of
detail and analysis as described above
Sample Solution