Slavery in All its Forms: Historical Practices and Contemporary Problems
A Three-Day Masterclass
Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation,
Hull, United Kingdom, 21st-23rd, September, 2009
Slavery is both a core feature of human history and a topic of increasing public concern in the contemporary world. This intensive short course offers participants a unique opportunity to study both historical slave systems and modern forms of slavery in a single setting. This interdisciplinary programme has been designed for scholars and practitioners who are familiar which some aspects of slavery and abolition, but would benefit from further engagement with the broader history and modern dimensions of slavery in all its forms.
To help support postgraduate students, the Wilberforce Institute has also secured funding for ten travel bursaries, which cover UK travel, accommodation and course fees. The masterclass also precedes a major international conference on ‘Slavery, Migration and Contemporary Bondage in Africa’, which will take place between the 23rd-25th of September at the Wilberforce Institute. Participants may want to consider attending both course and conference. Further details on both events are available at http://www.hull.ac.uk/wise.
About the Wilberforce Institute
Since its foundation in 2006, the Wilberforce Institute has established itself as a leading voice on questions of slavery, both nationally and internationally. The Institute seeks to improve knowledge and understanding of both historical slave systems and modern forms of slavery, and to inform public policy and political activism. Instead of viewing historical and contemporary slavery as separate fields of study, the Institute starts with the idea that the history and legacies of slavery and abolition can offer an invaluable foundation from which to understand and eradicate modern forms of human bondage. This integrated approach to past and present is unique. The Wilberforce Institute is the only place in the world which can offer specialist expertise on both historical slave systems and contemporary problems.
Course Structure
This intensive masterclass will take place over three days. Over the course of ten individual sessions, participants will receive expert instruction on various historical slave systems, the legal abolition of slavery, modern forms of slavery, methods for studying slavery, reparations for slavery, and forms of public commemoration. As part of this programme, participants will also undertake a guided tour of Wilberforce House, one of the world’s oldest museums dedicated to the history of slavery and abolition.
21st of September: Morning
· Introduction: Slavery: Past and Present (Joel Quirk, Wilberforce Institute and Darshan Vigneswaran, Forced Migration Studies Programme, WITS)
21st of September: Afternoon
· Transatlantic Slavery (Simon D. Smith, Wilberforce Institute)
· Slavery in Africa (Paul Lovejoy, the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples, York University)
22nd of September: Morning
· The Legal Abolition of Slavery (David Richardson, Wilberforce Institute)
· Bonded Labour (Joel Quirk and Gary Craig, Wilberforce Institute)
22nd of September: Afternoon
· Human Trafficking and the Exploitation of Migrants (Mick Wilkinson, Wilberforce Institute)
· ‘Classical’ Slavery and Descent Based Discrimination (Benedetta Rossi, Centre for the Study of International Slavery, University of Liverpool)
23rd of September: Morning
· Repairing Historical Wrongs: Slavery and its Legacies (Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, Department of Global Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University)
· Representing Slavery at Wilberforce House (Nicholas J. Evans and Douglas Hamilton, Wilberforce Institute)
23rd of September: Afternoon
· Research Methods and Contemporary Migration (Darshan Vigneswaran)
OR
· Research Methods and the History of Slavery (Douglas Hamilton)
Participants will be provided with a selection of readings on each of the topics covered in the course. Each session will involve an introductory lecture, followed by class participation and deliberation. Places on the course are strictly limited. No more than 50 places will be made available. In order to keep class sizes as small as possible, participants will be divided into two different groups. Each morning and afternoon will involve two parallel sessions, with one group attending one session, and a second group attending the other. At the end of these initial sessions the two groups will then switch, ensuring that participants receive instruction in both topics. On the final day of the course, participants will also have the choice of studying either historical or contemporary research methods.
Instructors
Dr Benedetta Rossi is an expert on slavery and migration in Niger, and is the recent author of Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories (Liverpool, 2009).
Dr Darshan Vigneswaran is an expert on migration in Africa, and is the recent author of articles in Political Geography, Development and Review of International Studies.
Professor David Richardson is a world renowned expert on the history of Transatlantic Slavery, and is the recent co-author of Extending the Frontiers: Essays on the New Transatlantic Slave Trade Database (Yale, 2008).
Dr Douglas Hamilton is an expert on history of the eighteenth century British Atlantic World, and is the recent co-author of Representing Slavery: Art, Artefacts and Archives in the collections of the National Maritime Museum (Lund Humphries, 2007).
Professor Gary Craig is an expert on social justice and modern slavery, and is the recent author of Child Slavery Worldwide (Special Issue of Children and Society, 2008).
Dr Joel Quirk is an expert on links between historical slave systems and contemporary problems, and is the recent author of Unfinished Business: A Comparative Survey of Historical and Contemporary Slavery (UNESCO, 2008).
Dr Mick Wilkinson is an expert on migration and human trafficking in the United Kingdom, and is the recent co-author of Contemporary Slavery in the United Kingdom (Joseph Rowntree, 2007).
Dr Nicholas J. Evans is an expert on migration, diaspora, and ‘white’ slavery, and is the recent author of articles in the International Journal of Maritime History, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, and Journal of Jewish Culture and History.
Professor Paul Lovejoy is a world renowned expert on the history of slavery in Africa and African diasporas, and is the recent author of Slavery, Commerce and Production in West Africa: Slave Society in the Sokoto Caliphate (Africa World Press, 2005).
Professor Rhoda Howard-Hassmann is an world renowned expert on international human rights, and is the recent author of Reparations to Africa (Pennsylvania, 2008).
Professor Simon D. Smith is an expert on both the history of transatlantic slavery and the history of the Caribbean, and is the recent author of Slavery, Family, and Gentry Capitalism in the British Atlantic: the World of the Lascelles, 1648-1834 (Cambridge, 2006).
Application Procedures
The course is open to applicants who have: i) a undergraduate degree, and ii) experience working with, or on issues related to, historical and/or modern slavery. The Wilberforce Institute encourages applications from postgraduate students, interested public servants, human rights activists, researchers and policy makers in international organisations, independent scholars, and those working in the heritage sector.
The application form can be downloaded from the Wilberforce Institute website at http://www.hull.ac.uk/wise. Applicants should also submit a current curriculum vitae. Every effort has been made to keep course fees low. The standard fee for the course is £250. The concessionary rate for postgraduate students is £150. These fees include a daily lunch, tea, coffee and drinks. All applications will be reviewed by a selection committee.
The final deadline for applications is the 28th of August 2009. Since places on the course are strictly limited, applicants are encouraged to apply by the end of July in order to ensure a place. Completed applications should be submitted via email to [log in to unmask].
Scholarships for Postgraduate Students
Building upon a grant from the Ferens Educational Trust, the Wilberforce Institute is offering ten Ferens travel bursaries to help postgraduate scholars attend the course. These bursaries are open to students currently enrolled in either masters or PhD programmes. Successful applicants will receive a train ticket covering their travel to and from Hull (within the UK), four nights accommodation, and an exception from course fees. To apply for a bursary, students must submit a completed application form, a current curriculum vitae, and a personal statement outlining how the course relates to their research (500 words). These materials should be submitted via email to [log in to unmask] by the 19th of June 2009. The bursaries will be awarded by mid July. Unsuccessful applicants are likely to be offered a place on the course, but will have to register at the concessionary rate of £150.
Contact Information
Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation,
University of Hull, Oriel Chambers , 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE, UK
Phone 01482 305176 Fax: 01482 305184 Email: [log in to unmask]
Requests for further information can also be directed to either Sarah Carter at [log in to unmask] (admin) or Joel Quirk at [log in to unmask] (course content).