Emory University professor Erica Dunbar is extending her scholarship beyond the classroom and into Sunday night television. As co‑executive producer and lead historical consultant for HBO’s series The Gilded Age, she helps shape scripts, verify period details, and bring the experiences of 19th‑century Black women to a broad audience.
Ensuring authenticity on a prime‑time drama
Since production began in 2020, Dunbar has worked closely with creator Julian Fellowes and the writing team. Season three earned eight Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, and season four premieres on November 1. Dunbar’s role includes checking language, clothing, and everyday conversations for historical accuracy, often flagging anachronisms such as words that did not appear until the 20th century.
“There’s a way in which the historical authenticity that’s really demanded in our show is a portal for scholars like myself to leave their fingerprints over television, so that audiences can make connections between the past and the present — and perhaps the future,” Dunbar said.
Highlighting Black elite and women’s stories
The series traditionally focuses on wealthy New York families of the 1880s, but Dunbar has helped expand the narrative to include the city’s Black elite. She worked with the writers to reimagine the character Peggy Scott, originally conceived as a domestic servant, into an aspiring writer and journalist. This shift offers viewers a richer view of Black womanhood and challenges the myth of the North as a universal haven of freedom.
Episodes also explore internal community tensions, such as a white physician refusing to treat a Black patient and a Black acquaintance distancing himself from a formerly enslaved man. Dunbar emphasizes that, despite oppression, Black people of the era found love, work, and moments of joy.
Scholarship meets storytelling
Dunbar’s academic work focuses on 18th‑ and 19th‑century African American women. She is the author of seven books, including the National Book Award‑finalist Never Caught, a biography of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who escaped George Washington’s household. She also consults on documentaries such as Ken Burns’s Benjamin Franklin and PBS’s The Abolitionists.
Beyond research, Dunbar sees television as an extension of the classroom. “If I sat at the front of the classroom and spewed out a bunch of dates, that would mean nothing,” she said. “These days, it’s my job to take themes and people and weave them into a tapestry that allows all of my students to see themselves in the founding of this nation through the 1800s.”
Recognition and future work
In addition to her role on the series, Dunbar chairs Emory’s Department of African American Studies, holds the NEH Professorship in the Humanities, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in April. As season four rolls out, she continues to guide the show’s historical fidelity, ensuring that each episode reflects the complexities of the era while resonating with today’s viewers.
Original reporting: SaportaReport — read the source article.
