The course examines perceptions of truth, history, and humanity by looking at official historical records alongside narrative such as gossip, secrets, and hearsay. This comparative study will open challenging conversations about authoritative history and power by surveying the slave and neo-slave genres alongside the critical texts of scholars such as Zora Neale Hurston and Saidiya Hartman. In doing so, students will develop an ethic of engaging difficult histories and violent transatlantic archives. By surveying the shaping of narrative from the 19th to the 21st century, students will tune their ears to hear the silences of Black stories and the erasures of master narratives. Prerequisite: One course in English with attribute GFWI.