On Being Brought from Gambia or Ghana to Colonial Boston: Teaching Phillis Wheatley and Place

Authors

Quentin Miller, Suffolk UniversityFollow

Author Biography

D. Quentin Miller teaches at Suffolk University in Boston. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of sixteen books and over one hundred shorter works including essays, reviews, and short fiction. He is the series editor of *The Routledge Introductions to American Literature."

Abstract

In this pedagogical article, I describe my classroom practice in which the context of place becomes supremely important when introducing Wheatley’s work to students. With the help of experiential learning in the form of a walking tour of Wheatley's Boston and some maps, I call attention to spatiality as a crucial context for framing the poet’s most persistent concerns. The article contains images that can be useful to instructors who do not have the benefit of teaching Wheatley in Boston.

Keywords

Pedagogy, Phillis Wheatley, Phillis Wheatley Peters, cartography, Boston

Recommended Citation

Miller, Quentin (2025) "On Being Brought from Gambia or Ghana to Colonial Boston: Teaching Phillis Wheatley and Place," ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830: Vol.15: Iss.2, Article 12.
http://doi.org/10.5038/2157-7129.15.2.1473
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/abo/vol15/iss2/12