Begin your course with an exploration of the long war against slavery, which began centuries before the American Civil War. Professor Bell offers a survey of resistance among enslaved Africans in the 17th and 18th centuries and outlines five generational periods in the long struggle to end slavery. x

Slavery in the British Empire has its roots in the trading economy of the 16th century. See how the Englishman John Hawkins cut into the Portuguese slave trade in the New World, which led to the founding of the Royal African Company, the largest slaving operation in the Atlantic. x

The American slave trade began in Africa. It is an uncomfortable truth that African rulers and merchants played a hand in supplying slaves to Europeans. However, a look at the African continent also shows us the first strategies of resistance, from defensively trying to elude capture to offensive efforts to get away from the hellish confinement of European forts. x

Leaving the continent of Africa, the second place for resistance was aboard the slave ships as they departed for the Caribbean. Although we have limited historical records, this lecture explores the suicides, runaways, and revolts on slave ships, as well as the efforts made by Europeans to control the enslaved. x

Shift your attention to the Chesapeake tobacco economy in the 17th century, a time when colonial law changed in a way that would promote the slave economy. First, you will meet Anthony Johnson, a freed slave who in turn held his own slaves. Then, see how Bacon's Rebellion paved the way for slave codes that changed the social order in Virginia. x

Where were the moral voices among white Europeans speaking out against the heinous system of slavery? The American Quaker community had a long history of antislavery activism, from legal pamphlets to spiritual protests. Learn more about the Quaker community, its views on slavery, and its limitations in the early American economy. x

One hallmark of the plantation economy in Barbados, Jamaica, and South Carolina is that black slaves outnumbered their white masters by a wide margin. As such, see how whites used dehumanizing tactics to control the slave population. Then review Tacky's Revolt, one of the largest slave rebellions in the British Atlantic world during the 18th century. x

Among runaway slaves, men outnumbered women nearly two to one, but that doesn't mean women played no role in resistance. As this lecture will make clear, women practiced several strategies for resistance-critically important because of the prevalence of assault on plantations. A woman named Phibbah provides a fascinating case study. x

Although there may have been several hundred slave uprisings in British North America and the United States, most of them were minor-or possibly even imagined by paranoid slave masters. Here, delve into the Stono Rebellion of 1739, which was the only significant armed challenge to slaveholders' supremacy on the mainland before the 19th century. x

Runaway slaves in Virginia and the Carolinas had limited options. They could head for the coast or down to Spanish-controlled Florida, but some runaway slaves simply disappeared into the backcountry. Find out where these maroons" went, how they lived, and what dangers they faced if discovered." x

Meet three important Quaker activists from the 17th and 18th centuries: a fiery hermit writer named Benjamin Lay, a shopkeeper and essayist named John Woolman, and a schoolteacher named Anthony Benezet, who set up Philadelphia's first Free African School. Reflect on the transformation in attitudes that was occurring during the 18th century. x

While American colonists fought for independence against their British oppressors, the war provided free and enslaved African Americans an opportunity to fight their own war against slavery. Professor Bell introduces you to black militiamen and soldiers on both sides of the Revolutionary War, and reveals the setbacks they faced after the war. x

The American Revolution marked a watershed in the history of opposition to African slavery in America. In northern states, Pennsylvania led the charge in legal changes that would lead to gradual abolition. While abolition efforts failed in southern states, some individual slaves were able to strike deals with their masters for manumission. x

While many abolition efforts started to take hold after the American Revolution, an equally powerful revolution was underway to secure the slave system. Here, you will review the reprehensible three-fifths clause and other pro-slavery measures in the 1787 Constitution, which would take antislavery activists decades to undo. x

Between 1791 and 1804, the Haitian Revolution tore apart a French Caribbean colony. As you will learn, not only was it the single largest slave revolt in the history of the world, it was the only one that had succeeded so far. Delve into this radical and violent revolution to meet the players and uncover what happened in these 13 astonishing years. x

Many of us have a story about ourselves that we want to tell, but some of us are scared to tell the messy, complicated truths about a human life. In this introductory lesson, discover why it's the moments of discord and conflict-moments we often try to keep secret-that make for the most memorable personal memoirs. x

What if you have no idea what to write about? One strategy for getting started that you'll learn about here is making a list of all your obsessions in life. Once you've done that, it's time to go a little deeper, and ask: Why are you obsessed with the things on your list? x

When sitting down to write the story of our life, we have a tendency to talk about other people (say, our fascinating grandmother) or to simply run through a resume of big events. In this lesson, learn the importance of sticking to your story-not someone else's-and taking your reader on an adventure. x

Here, Maynard teaches you how to move your personal story along by identifying the journey it will take. You used to be A, and now you are B. It's a simple formula, but when you plug in variables from your life, it indicates motion and change. It can also become the skeleton of the story you have to tell. x

You've identified what you want to write about. Now what? It's time to take your story apart. Consider the importance of the point of view from which you plan to write. Are you looking back on earlier events? Are you writing as if you were living an event in the moment? x

Using powerful examples from essays by authors and columnists, discover why it's so important to determine where your reader lands at the beginning of your journey. What makes a unique point of entry for a personal essay? Is it always smart to begin at the very beginning? x

Writing a good personal story is, first and foremost, about having courage. Here, learn why it's not your job to take care of all the other characters in your life and why every good memoirist writes as if they were an orphan-an idea that's at the core of exceptional memoir writing. x

In this inspirational lesson, Maynard helps you come to terms with the anxieties that can plague a writer setting out to tell a personal story. Even if what you end up writing stays in a drawer forever, you'll have told the truth-and you'll be a different person for it. x

Turn now to some important tools that can help create drama, tension, color, and surprise in your writing. Here, the focus is on descriptive versus interpretive language. Discover why it's more important to use language that allows readers to make their own assessments of the pictures you paint with words. x

Diagramming your sentences isn't just about old fuddy-duddy grammar. It's about identifying whether or not you're accomplishing what you're trying to do in your writing. Maynard diagrams some student sentences to highlight how they do (and do not) tell a story in the most powerful, dramatic way possible. x

So many of us, when writing, want to check the word count to make sure we have the most words down possible. But good personal writing isn't about how many words you use-it's about using the right words. In this lesson, learn the benefits of writing as if every word you use costs you five dollars. x

How do you create rhythm in your writing? What goes into powerful dialogue? Learn the answers to these questions in this lesson that tackles how to write dialogue that sounds like real life (but better) and how to employ-and improve-the rhythm of your writing by varying the length of your sentences. x

In this lesson, Maynard runs you through six common (and easily fixable) mistakes writers make. Among these red flags you'll learn to keep an eye out for: the glaring overuse of the verb to be" and an overdependence on adverbs and exclamation points to do all your work for you." x

Examine the many compelling reasons to study the ancient Greeks, from their phenomenal art and architecture to their philosophy, religion, and inventions of drama and democracy. Consider how we identify the Greeks, in cultural, historical and linguistic terms. Finally, note the influence of Greece's landscape and physical environment on the development and character of Greek civilization. x

Trace the origins of human habitation on the mainland and islands of Greece. Study the Bronze Age cultures of the Cycladic islands; the famed Minoan civilization centered on Crete, with its palaces and religious ritual; and the Mycenaean civilization, with its monumental architecture and cultural artifacts. Learn about Mycenae's connection with the Trojan War, and what may have led to its collapse. x

Grasp the contours of Greece's Dark Age (1100-750 B.C.E.), an era of restricted trade and a breakdown of centralized power. Take note of the achievements of this epoch, such as iron technology, the Greek alphabet, and the advent of the Olympic Games. In the following Archaic Period, chart Greece's geographical expansion, creation of city-states, invention of coinage, and movement toward democracy. x

Take an overview of Greece's Classical Age, an astonishing period of human accomplishment, which the course will treat in detail. Explore defining events of the period, from the 479 B.C.E. defeat of the Persians, through the period of the Peloponnesian War, to the emergence of Macedonia as a great power and the exploits of Alexander. Learn about major innovations of the era, and discover the unique nature of Spartan society. x

The conquests of Alexander the Great gave birth to the world we call Hellenistic. Observe how Alexander's military expansionism brought a vast geographical area under the influence of Greek civilization. Note how the conquered peoples embraced Hellenistic culture, how Alexander's empire fragmented after his death, and how the majestic city of Alexandria became a major center of learning. x

Explore the fascinating and conflicted relationship between the Greeks and their Roman conquerors. Take account of the profound impact of Greek culture on Rome, and how the Romans both despised and admired the Greeks. Witness the founding of the Byzantine Empire, its flourishing of scholarship and theology, and the major role of Islamic scholars in preserving and disseminating Greek learning. x

With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, learn how the Greeks fared under Ottoman rule. Then trace the processes through which Europe rediscovered classical antiquity. Grasp the philosophical spirit of the Renaissance, which brought a sudden interest in the ancient Greeks. Chart the huge influence of Greek mythology on Western art, and how Greek literature was widely disseminated in the West. x

Here, follow the struggle of the Greeks under the Ottomans, which became a bloody political movement for Greek independence. See how European intellectuals, artists, and Europe's major powers supported the movement, leading to the founding of the nation-state of Greece in 1830. Track Greece's territorial expansion through the ensuing century, and its tumultuous modern history up to the present. x

Delve into the nature and roles of mythology in Greek civilization. Explore the subject matter of Greek myths, as they figure in literature and art. Contemplate the function of mythology, as it helped the Greeks interpret the world and come to terms with the dark side of human experience. In particular, study the figure of the hero, and the features and meaning of the hero's journey. x

For the ancient Greeks, every human activity contained a religious dimension. Examine the underlying worldview of the Greeks' polytheistic religious beliefs, and where we find it represented in literature. Look at each of the major Greek gods, and their characteristic roles and qualities. Grasp the very human moral and psychological attributes of the gods, and what constituted piety and impiety. x

The sublime sculpture of the ancient Greeks is among their most enduring cultural artifacts. Study the six periods of Greek sculpture, from the Archaic through the Classical and Hellenistic. In each, look at masterful examples, noting how the practice of sculpture constantly evolved. Take account of sculptural techniques, and how the sculptors achieved such sensual appeal and expressive power. x

Study the primary forms of Greek architecture, which emblemize Greek civilization and have profoundly impacted architecture in the West. Visit the Acropolis of Athens as the ancient Greeks would have seen it; take in the magnificent features of the Parthenon, as well as those of other temples and civic structures. Learn also about Greek domestic architecture, house plans, and town planning. x