This past Sunday, Oct. 10th, two EMU classes collaborated and took a group field trip to Charlottesville, Va. with the main goal of visiting Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The two classes– Global Literature three, taught by Kevin Seidel, associate professor of language and literature, and Race and Gender taught by Deanna Durham, assistant professor of social work– had slightly different objectives, but felt Monticello and the Charlottesville area were a good space to engage with some different ideas.
The Race and Gender portion of the group went with the focus of viewing race/racial inequality in the historic context of Monticello and also present-day Charlottesville. The Global Literature students went on the trip more through the lens of looking at freedom and how freedom has been achieved over time. Durham noted that “This trip feels like a good way to bring closure to our first portion of the class on race and segway our conversation into a more modern context.”
To start off the day, both classes gathered outside University Commons to give introductions and discuss what they were looking forward to. First-year Mya Hamlet shared, “I am looking forward to learning about Thomas Jefferson and knowing the real story behind him and Monticello as a whole. I am interested to go on this trip not only because it was a requirement, but because I enjoy learning about history. I enjoy learning more about what I do know and expanding on my knowledge on various different topics involving the people who play an important role in history.”
Once arriving at Monticello, the group went into the visitor center and walked around. Within the visitor center, there was a small movie theater where the group watched an introduction film, which gave some background knowledge on Thomas Jefferson and a timeline of his life. One EMU student on the trip,
Junior Shanon Cooper, stated she wanted to highlight that she learned from “exploring the grounds and the enslaved people’s tour. The foundation has implemented a system in diving into the history of specific enslaved people on the plantation, and sharing their stories and what they went through. By putting a name and real stories of these heroes who endured such brutality, it opens up the conversation of such a rich history without excluding the pages that many “would rather not talk about,”–we need to be having these conversations; It was wonderful to have that side of history acknowledged. The gardens were also so enchanting, and it felt like we were in another world. Monticello was a forty-year project, and you can definitely see the reward of waiting that long for such beauty”. Following the visitor center, the group toured the interior of the main house. The students then, in a more independent manner, toured the slave quarters and the upper garden before meeting for a tour and lecture on slave conditions at Monticello. The tour guide gave background information on how the tour has changed over time and focused more on discussing the lives of the enslaved people who lived there. Junior Shannon shared that “ This concluded the main portion of the trip, and students then separated and continued into downtown Charlottesville or returned to EMU. Once some students got back to EMU, they shared some of their thoughts of the trip, Sophomore Michelle Brunk, shared “ I learned that Monticello has become a place for healing and reconciliation between its past and its future. I’m very glad I went on the trip”
