CALL FOR PAPERS: /Bridging Two Oceans: Slavery in Indian and Atlantic
Worlds, Cape Town, South Africa, 19-22 November 2009./

An International Conference organised by the Wilberforce Institute for the
study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull, UK.

Taking place in the Iziko Slave Lodge in Cape Town, South Africa, in
November 2009, this conference will coincide with the arrival of the
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2009-10 in Cape Town harbour.
Mirroring its aims to broaden knowledge and understanding and promote
tolerance through teamwork, new relationships and the sharing and
development of skills, the conference seeks to encourage researchers to
open a conversation on the subject of slavery in the worlds of the Indian
and Atlantic oceans. The four-day conference, which will bring together
early career researchers and leading world scholars, will be
interdisciplinary in nature and chronologically diverse, in order to
encourage a fruitful cross-fertilization of ideas, sources and methods.
The histories of slavery and the slave trade in the Atlantic and the
Indian Oceans have been the focus of a substantial body of research; this
conference aims to unite the perspectives of researchers in these parallel
fields to promote a culture of exchange and cooperation in the innovative
context of Twin Ocean Slavery. Crucially, there will be opportunities for
postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, educators and museum
professionals to interact with prominent academics from across the world:
confirmed speakers for the conference include Edward Alpers; Gwyn
Campbell; David Eltis; Paul Lovejoy; John Oldfield; Nigel Penn and David
Richardson.

The Twin Ocean theme will be the focus of this four-day event, but the
first two days of the conference will be reserved exclusively for early
career researchers and interested professionals, from whom we seek to
encourage papers that examine past and present connections between the
Indian and Atlantic worlds. Perspectives on the subject of Twin Ocean
Slavery could incorporate aspects of memory, conservation and museology,
the teaching of slavery, material cultures of slavery, economic and
political aspects of the slave trade in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,
historical and contemporary abolitionist and anti-slavery activism,
African and Indian diasporas and movements between oceans, and
reparations in the context of Twin Ocean Slavery.

Interested individuals are therefore invited to submit proposals along the
following lines:

· Museology, material culture and representations

· Political economies: historical and contemporary slavery

· Anti-slavery and personal testimonies, past and present

· Migration and diasporic connections

· Reparation and legacies of slavery

· Perspectives on the teaching of historical and contemporary
slavery

We also invite proposals for short, innovative audiovisual presentations
(of around 5-10 minutes) from virtual delegates who may not be able to
attend the workshop in person. These presentations could focus, for
example, on material or artistic representations of slavery in the
Atlantic or Indian Oceans, diasporas, local museums, exhibitions or
community projects, personal testimonies, oceanic crossings or legacies of
slavery.

Attendance at the conference is free, including drinks and lunch on all
four days, the conference dinner, and local transport within Cape Town.
Additional funding is being sought, and we hope to provide a limited
number of bursaries for the travel and hotel accommodation of early career
researchers from African and Indian universities, but as yet flights and
accommodation cannot be guaranteed.

Please send your abstract of 300 words together with a short curriculum
vitae and email contact to Kate Hodgson
<mailto:K.J.Hodgson%40hull.ac.uk>[log in to unmask]
<mailto:<mailto:K.J.Hodgson%40hull.ac.uk>[log in to unmask]> or Judith
Spicksley
<mailto:J.Spicksley%40hull.ac.uk>[log in to unmask]
<mailto:<mailto:J.Spicksley%40hull.ac.uk>[log in to unmask]>, by 15th
June
2009. Those hoping to be considered for bursaries should indicate this on
their proposal. Successful participants will be notified by email on 1st
July 2009. Please note that the conference will be open to the general
public, and the language of the conference will be English.

Information about the Wilberforce Institute can be found at
<http://www.hull.ac.uk/wise/>http://www.hull.ac.uk/wise/ and about the
venue at
<http://www.iziko.org.za/slavelodge/.>http://www.iziko.org.za/slavelodge/.
Further details, if required, will
be provided on request.

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Département d'Histoire
Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines
Université Cheikh Anta Diop
BP 5005 Dakar-Fann
Sénégal
Tél : (221) 569 28 09
Fax: (221) 825 49 77