The central axiom of Teaching the Transatlantic Eighteenth Century is that the classroom functions as a site for research and collaboration: not only as a space that reflects the research of individual teacher-scholars, but as a generative site to put ideas, theories, and methodologies into play. Whereas transatlanticism has transformed research practices over the last decade, the present collection is concerned with exploring what this transformation looks like in the classroom, and how the classroom continues to shape research practices in the field. Contributors address issues such as how the traffic in ideas, people, and commodities between Europe, Africa, and the New World are considered in classroom settings; how inter- and intra-departmental collaborations reshape our approaches to teaching the eighteenth century; how and why Transatlantic Studies can function as an introduction to college study; and how it can help more advanced students to revise their notions of nation, place, and identity. By now, there are a number of anthologies available to help instructors determine what transatlantic material to teach, but none that engage why and how to teach it, or what teaching it can do for us, our students, and our profession. Rather than simply providing reading lists or a collection of anecdotes about lesson plans, Teaching the Transatlantic Eighteenth Century emphasizes theorizing critical engagements with, interdisciplinary focus on, and the transformative potential of Transatlantic Studies. The primary market for Teaching the Transatlantic Eighteenth Century is university, college, and community college professors, researchers, and students, with three specific subgroups: 1. Teachers new to Transatlantic Studies Teachers coming to Transatlantic Studies for the first time will find both suggestions for materials or topical units to be integrated into existing courses (e.g., a unit on transatlantic exchange that could figure in an eighteenth-century literature survey course) and ideas for developing new courses altogether. 2. Teachers already teaching and/or researching in the field of Transatlantic Studies Such scholars will find material to broaden their approach to familiar courses and subjects: inter- or cross-disciplinary focus, new texts, successful clusterings of texts or themes or approaches, and ideas for team-teaching or linking courses with other faculty. 3. Teachers involved in Transatlantic Studies programs, especially those that focus on contemporary/Post WWII context (e.g., at the University of Dundee, the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and the University of Birmingham) Teaching the Transatlantic Eighteenth Century will provide historical context for current geopolitical studies: perspective on the dynamics and historical and political forces occurring in the eighteenth century and contributing to 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century politics, nations, and paradigms.

The Woman of Colour is a unique literary account of a black heiress’ life immediately after the abolition of the British slave trade. Olivia Fairfield, the biracial heroine and orphaned daughter of a slaveholder, must travel from Jamaica to England, and as a condition of her father’s will either marry her Caucasian first cousin or become dependent on his mercenary elder brother and sister-in-law. As Olivia decides between these two conflicting possibilities, her letters recount her impressions of Britain and its inhabitants as only a black woman could record them. She gives scathing descriptions of London, Bristol, and the British, as well as progressive critiques of race, racism, and slavery. The narrative follows her life from the heights of her arranged marriage to its swift descent into annulment and destitution, only to culminate in her resurrection as a self-proclaimed “widow” who flouts the conventional marriage plot. The appendices, which include contemporary reviews of the novel, historical documents on race and inheritance in Jamaica, and examples of other women of colour in early British prose fiction, will further inspire readers to rethink issues of race, gender, class, and empire from an African woman’s perspective.

The eighteenth century was a golden age of adaptation: classical epics were adapted to contemporaneous mock-epics, life-writing to novels, novels to plays, and unauthorized sequels abounded. In our own time, cultural products of the long eighteenth century continue to be widely adapted. Early novels such as Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, the founding documents of the United States, Jane Austen's novels, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-all of these have been adapted so often that they are ubiquitous cultural mythoi, even for people who have never read them. Eighteenth-century texts appear in consumer products, comics, cult mashups, fan fiction, films, network and streaming shows, novels, theater stagings, and web serials. Adapting the Eighteenth Century provides innovative, hands-on pedagogies for teaching eighteenth-century studies and adaptation across disciplines and levels. Among the works treated in or as adaptations are novels by Austen, Defoe, and Shelley, as well as the current worldwide musical sensation Hamilton. Essays offer tested models for the teaching of practices such as close reading, collaboration, public scholarship, and research; in addition, they provide a historical grounding for discussions of such issues as the foundations of democracy, critical race and gender studies, and notions of genre. The collection as a whole demonstrates the fruitfulness of teaching about adaptation in both period-specific and generalist courses across the curriculum. SHARON HARROW is Professor of English at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. KIRSTEN T. SAXTON is Professor of English at Mills College.

In this timely collection, teacher-scholars of “the long eighteenth century,” a Eurocentric time frame from about 1680 to 1832, consider what teaching means in this historical moment: one of attacks on education, a global contagion, and a reckoning with centuries of trauma experienced by Black, Indigenous, and immigrant peoples. Taking up this challenge, each essay highlights the intellectual labor of the classroom, linking textual and cultural materials that fascinate us as researchers with pedagogical approaches that engage contemporary students. Some essays offer practical models for teaching through editing, sensory experience, dialogue, or collaborative projects. Others reframe familiar texts and topics through contemporary approaches, such as the health humanities, disability studies, and decolonial teaching. Throughout, authors reflect on what it is that we do when we teach—how our pedagogies can be more meaningful, more impactful, and more relevant. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.

New and original collection of scholarly essays examining the literary complexities of the Atlantic world systemThis Companion offers a critical overview of the diverse and dynamic field of Atlantic literary studies, with contributions by distinguished scholars on a series of topics that define the area. The essays focus on literature and culture from first contact to the present, exploring fruitful Atlantic connections across space and time, across national cultures, and embracing literature, culture and society. This research collection proposes that the analysis of literature and culture does not depend solely upon geographical setting to uncover textual meaning. Instead, it offers Atlantic connections based around migration, race, gender and sexuality, ecologies, and other significant ideological crossovers in the Atlantic World. The result is an exciting new critical map written by leading international researchers of a lively and expanding field. Key FeaturesOffers an introduction to the growing field of Atlantic literary studies by showcasing current work engaged in debate around historical, cultural and literary issues in the Atlantic WorldIncludes 26 newly-commissioned scholarly essays by leading experts in Atlantic literary studiesFuses breadth of historical knowledge with depth of literary scholarshipConsiders the full range of intercultural encounters around and across the Atlantic Ocean

Investigating the meanings and uses of "spiritus" in a variety of early modern disciplines and fields - natural philosophy, theology, music, literature and the visual arts - this book revisits the ambivalent history of a central ancient concept in a period of crisis and change.

There are many areas of the formal education system, at the secondary level, in which teaching the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans (TTEA) can be integrated in history, social studies, culture, heritage studies, human rights, literature, the Arts, geography, and science among others. In this book, the author uses the findings of a qualitative multi-site case study on teaching the TTEA in selected countries in the Caribbean and the Americas, Africa and Europe to offer readers and especially teachers, multiple understanding of this complex and emotive subject. This is done through an examination of content, which she explores thematically, as well as through a discussion of teachers' thinking, planning and delivery of this content. Dr Gift also addresses the challenges teachers face negotiating the emotional issues associated with both teaching and learning the subject. The TTEA is heavy with content related to race, prejudice and discrimination, all of which are emotive issues. The lessons are learned from the case study which informs the book assist in the anticipation of such challenges and provide strategies and signposts for teachers. Secondary school teachers in the English-speaking Caribbean will find this book an invaluable resource in their practice of teaching the TTEA. However, it can also offer valuable insights to teachers in the Spanish and French-speaking Caribbean, the USA, Brazil, West Africa and in the UK and Europe.