In your own words, answer the questions below based on the reading: “Atlanta” by Tera W. Hunter.
Remember to use complete, grammatically correct sentences (no bullet points). 3-4 sentences for each numbered item (9-12 sentences total).
Students may either type their responses directly in the text area, or upload a PDF file with their responses. If you need help converting your file to a PDF, please use this link: PDF Converter Link.
(Links to an external site.)
Questions:
1. What does Tera W. Hunter’s article, “Atlanta” tell us about the everyday lives of Black Americans during the Reconstruction period? How does she connect the Reconstruction period to the present (21st century)?
2. According to the text, what criticisms does Tera W. Hunter pose about the writings of 19th-century naturalist and explorer Ernest Ingersoll?
3. In this text, Tera W. Hunter critically analyzes Ingersoll’s writing. In examining Ingersoll’s biases, Hunter is able to see the gaps in his historical analysis. What does Hunter identify about Ingersoll as the author that makes his historical interpretation incomprehensive? How can we, as historians, mirror Hunter’s analysis when we are
examining other historical primary and secondary sources throughout this course? In other words, how can we “read between the lines,” as Hunter has, when examining sources to better understand the context of course material and how that context will shape the author’s historical interpretation?
A note on language: Please note that this source (and others that we will examine in this course) uses outdated language in selected quotes from the 19th century that reference Black people. This course WILL NOT tolerate any outdated or offensive language in any context in student responses and writing. If you are directly quoting a source, the quote must have surrounding quotation marks and outdated or offensive words or phrases should be censored. For example, if you wanted to use a quote from this week’s reading, but it contains an outdated term or offensive language, here is how you would quote the passage:
“Sherman town is a ‘random collection of huts forming a dense n**** settlement in the heart of an otherwise attractive portion of the place,’ Ingersoll noted” (Hunter, 239).
Note that the entire sentence appears in double quotation marks (“”) to show that this is the exact language from the reading, while the quote within the quote uses single quotation marks (‘’) to show that the author is quoting another source. Please use this formatting for this course and feel free to contact me with any questions, areas of clarification, or concerns.
