The Invisible African: Integrating the Black British Experience in 18th and 19th Century British Literature Survey Courses

While Britain was a major player in the slave trade starting in 1640 and served as an educational hub for Africa’s elite starting within that same century, the experiences and voices of the Africans who traversed Britain’s empire during the 18th and 19th centuries have been practically absent from British literature courses, outside the inclusion of a few select slave narratives within US higher educational institutions. By centering the works of and about Black British people during the 18th and 19th centuries using Black Atlanticism and New Historicism, this project explores what these people were writing and experiencing, which is important for reclaiming these lost voices in order to show the full colorful picture of Britain during these time periods, especially for English majors as these students represent possible future educators. By normalizing the diversity of Britain and its literature, these students can then pave the way for further work in diversifying British literature for generations to come. By exploring the integration of Black British voices in 18th and 19th century British literature, such as Ignatius Sancho, Mary Seacole, Dido Elizabeth Belle, Henrietta Esdale, and Colonial American Black writers, Phillis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, and Lucy Terry Prince, this project seeks to push British literature towards decolonization and equity. Instead of the creation of a separate Black British literature course, this project seeks to provide the blueprint for total inclusion of Black British voices into British literature courses so that these voices can begin to be considered ordinary and part of the total British literary experience.