Anatomy of a Myth: The Collective Memory of Black Confederates in the Age of Obama

• In Event: 63.083 - Historical Representation and Instruction in Social Studies

Abstract

This paper reports some findings from a mixed-method study (N=3,481) that explores the collective memories of the Civil War conducted at a large public research university in Virginia. The sample includes students, staff, and faculty. This paper reports findings from a secondary analysis of qualitative data that explores the narrative contours of an unfounded myth of African American involvement with the military forces of the Confederate States of America. First, the qualitative analysis will yield several narrative categories from that sub-set of responses. Second, we will quantitatively test several hypotheses about the demographic differences among the various narrative categories that emerge from these responses. We discuss the implications in regards to more socially just approaches to teaching the Civil War.

Authors

• Gabriel Aaron Reich, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Amy Corning, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor