The second part of the text solidifies this understanding further. The value of this is twofold: readers can more easily understand the complex court transcript, while simultaneously being entertained. The authors’ skills shine particularly in the graphic portion of the text, which provides readers with a visual representation of the individuals, discussion, and questioning that would have taken place in the courtroom.
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Quite the contrary, as I explain below, Getz and Clarke sympathize with Abina and they want to share the story of her courage – even though she ultimately loses the court battle (she does, however, remains in the capital as a free woman).īy providing a graphic history followed by a second section that presents the actual historical court transcript, readers are given a unique reading experience. The term ‘Important Men’ refers to Eddo as well as other slave owners and lawyers, but it is not meant to imply that they are superior to Abina. Set in Africa’s Gold Coast (present day Ghana) in 1876, the book follows the story of the wrongfully enslaved young woman Abina Mansah and her battle with the court system to convict her master, Quamina Eddoo. One of these limited but nonetheless powerful new forms of historical scholarship is the ‘graphic history,’ based on the popular graphic novel format, which combines dialogue and illustrations to recount historical events.Īn excellent example of this new genre is Abina and the Important Men by Trevor R. In the past few decades, however, this approach to presenting history has undergone significant evolution, with new methods becoming noticeably more frequent. Historiography has been dominated by researchers gathering information on a particular topic, critically analyzing the material and then presenting their arguments in the form of an article or book.