CORE 002 SC - Slavery in the Enlightenment

This course explores the contradictions between Enlightenment ideals of liberty and the reality of slavery, focusing on how figures like John Locke and Thomas Jefferson supported both freedom and the slave system. It highlights the contributions of enslaved people and abolitionists, who challenged these contradictions and expanded Enlightenment principles to advocate for true equality and human rights. Students will examine how the antislavery and abolitionist struggles created an “enslaved Enlightenment” that expanded the intellectual limitations of the European Enlightenment and helped redefine modern concepts of civil rights, justice, and equality.

Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.