Reimagining History: The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (2016), winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, reimagines the historic Underground Railroad as a literal train moving beneath the American landscape. This imaginative framework allows the novel to explore slavery, resistance, and freedom in powerful and unexpected ways.

In this seminar, participants will discuss how Whitehead uses fiction to reframe historical reality, focusing on the different versions of the enslaved experience encountered by the protagonist, Cora, in each state she travels through. The conversation will consider how the novel illuminates enduring structures of racism and oppression, while also examining the role of storytelling in deepening our understanding of American history. During the third session, students may choose to complete a short reflective writing exercise exploring the book’s relevance to the present day, with time for sharing and discussion. Participants will enjoy the class most if they read the novel before class.

Len DeAngelis, who retired as the head of the English department at Middletown High School, was the 1990 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year. He has received Disney’s American Teacher Award and the 2018 Education for Service Award at UMass Boston. He has led seminars on “The Divine Comedy,” among other literature and writing seminars for many years. He is also the Rhode Island ambassador for the Portrait Society of America. Len is the author of “Our Time.”