First-year undergraduate students were asked to reflect on the use of graphic history as a critical approach to Canadian History in HIST 104: Pre-Confederation Canada: A History of the Present, taught by Dr. Steven Maynard. Of several project options, the three students below chose to engage with Black history through analyzing the poster: "She screamed violently and made resistance:" Chloe Cooley and Slavery in Canada by Naomi Moyer with introduction by Funké Aladejebi, published by the Graphic History Collective.
By examining Chloe Cooley's story through scholarly articles and through the visual representation depicted on the poster, student Rose Zand identifies graphic history as:
A potent tool for fostering a more inclusive historical discourse, effectively humanizing silenced figures by giving them a tangible identity through visual illustrations. The poster of Chloe Cooley, symbolic of her resistance to her captors by fighting back, illustrates how graphic history may reclaim forgotten historical heroes by giving a visual identity to individuals like Chloe who have been marginalized in history, despite their incredible efforts.
Further, student Riley Matlock explains how the poster positions Cooley's story:
Within Moyer's poster, Cooley's narrative is centred. She is the only figure present on the page, there is no depiction of her captor or any witnesses present. By exclusively focusing on Cooley, viewers are incentivized to view the event through her lens; it is her visual expression that sets the tone. Much of the information known about Cooley is framed through knowledge of her captor. In this visual, Cooley is stripped of her tie to him, effectively decentering the culturally dominant view of the wealthy white male from her poster.
Finally, student Olivia White reveals the essential role of graphic history when learning about the past through its ability to highlight marginalized stories, like Cooley's:
Compared to scholarly writings, artists have the freedom to present historical characters in new ways, unearthing truths that have traditionally gone unacknowledged. Although graphic history struggles as a standalone learning tool, its lack of explicit meaning invites learners to dig deeper into historical events. The combination of graphic history and corresponding academic sources are crucial for the development of a fully formed historical consciousness.
Read the full papers below:
- "Unlocking Graphic History: A New Way of Expanding Historical Education - Chloe Cooley and the Resistance of Slavery in Upper Canada, 1793", Rose Zand
- "Picturing the Pre-Confederation Canadian Past: Graphic History as a Critical Approach to Canadian History through Naomi Moyer's Chloe Cooley and Slavery in Canada," Riley Matlock
- "Exploring Slave Resistance Through Graphic History," Olivia White
In honour of Black Histories and Futures Month, the Department of History is featuring undergraduate student research that addresses Black histories, Black cultures, and Black experiences. Throughout the month of February, we will post the projects deemed to be the strongest by our faculty. The selected papers were produced for courses in the Department of History.
We hope you enjoy reading our students’ work! Learn more about events on campus and in Kingston celebrating Black Histories and Futures Month here.
