The First SEA Common Reading Initiative, or, How to Break Down Old and New Barriers to Teaching Phillis Wheatley Peters

This reflection essay surveys the Society of Early Americanists' first Common Reading Initiative in 2020–21, which used as a common text Honoreé Fanonne Jeffers's The Age of Phillis to involve current undergraduates in the study of early America—specifically of Phillis Wheatley (Peters). I further offer the Common Reading Initiative as a creative pedagogical tool for teaching slavery, race, and racism in the face of politicized efforts to insulate students from critically engaging with topics of such vital importance to free academic inquiry and the health of our democratic system of government.