Freedom, Enslavement and Exploitation

This group draws together the research interests of newly appointed and existing staff, and opens up new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research. This research group focuses on patterns and practices of slave trading in different historical, cultural and geographical contexts. Members of the group are engaged in research which explores cultural attitudes and assumptions constraining freedom and shaping diverse forms of enslavement. This research group also reflects the strategic priorities of the Department of Politics and History, particularly as the research interests of its members are closely related to the development of new postgraduate programmes. Issues of race, enslavement and inequality are also of direct relevance to the history and culture of the local community, and members of this research group are contributing to various initiatives in the city and the region.

This research group aims:
1.    To undertake research on the scale and impact of the forms of enslavement in different contexts;
2.    To respond to the opportunities for community engagement presented by the opening of the International Slavery Museum at National Museums Liverpool, and to work collaboratively with museums and archives at a regional, national and international level;
3.    To enrich the undergraduate teaching and the postgraduate curriculum;
4.    To offer opportunities for postgraduate research on related themes.

2009-2010
21 January 2010 - Professor Robin Law, Emeritus Professor of African History at the University of Stirling, ‘Abolition and Imperialism: International Law and the Suppression of the Atlantic Slave Trade’.

Thursday 18th March - FML 009 - 12.30
Professor Andrew F. Walls, 'Christianity and Civlization in Anti-Slavery Thought and Activity 1840-1880'

Wednesday 22 April - 12.30 - FML 012
Dr. Jane Moore: 'A Red-Letter Day - Issues of Representation in the Anglo-Tibetan Colonial Encounter of 1903-4''.

23-25 September 2010 – Development of an international conference in collaboration with the German Historical Institute, London and the University of Stirling. This focuses on ‘Commercial Agriculture as an Alternative to the Slave Trade’ and includes four keynote speakers of leading international reputation: Professor Gareth Austin, Professor Christopher Brown, Professor David Eltis and Professor Robin Law. [Link ]

26-28 September 2008 - Empire, Slave Trade and Slavery: Rebuilding Civil Society in Sierra Leone. Past and Present [Link ]
An International Interdisciplinary Conference held at WISE, University of Hull. This conference marked the bicentenary of the establishment of Sierra Leone as a British Crown colony in 1808. This conference was organised in collaboration with The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples (York University) and the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (University of Hull)

 

In 1808, two hundred years ago, Sierra Leone became a British Crown colony. The bicentennial presented the opportunity to re-examine the history of Sierra Leone. The conference brought together academics from different disciplines, museum professionals, archivists, policy makers concerned with contemporary issues, and individuals interested in human rights and the reconstruction of modern day Sierra Leone.

The International Advisory Panel at The British Library has approved funding for a pilot project focusing on preserving the endangered archives in Sierra Leone. This bid was developed in collaboration with York University in Toronto, the University of Sydney and the University of Hull.

2010 – Development of International Teachers’ Institute in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool.

July/August 2009 – International Teachers’ Institute. This was developed in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool, Yale University and the University of Liverpool. A summer school held in Ghana drew together secondary school teachers from Africa, Britain and America to study the latest research developments in transatlantic slavery and the pedagogical issues faced in teaching the subject in the classroom.