In this immersive two‑week World History seminar at Cal Poly SLO, high school students dive into the history of the Transatlantic slave trade using authentic archival sources from the nineteenth century.

Participants engage deeply with handwritten logs and Vice Admiralty court documents taken from captured slave ships, applying critical thinking to uncover how the trade was organized and resisted by both abolitionists and captives. The curriculum challenges students to design and execute an original research project based on these sources, enhancing their analytical, writing, and historical inquiry skills.

Additionally, learners explore the process of securing academic grants and fellowships such as Fulbright, preparing them for future scholarly pursuits. By the end of the course, participants leave with hands‑on experience working with primary documents, a polished research portfolio, and insight into careers and studies in history and archival scholarship.