University of Birmingham, School of History and Cultures, Department of African Studies and Anthropology (DASA)
Period: 3-24 March 2018 – Advanced Training Course for the SLAFNET Network
Slavery and Emancipation in 20th Century Africa
In most of Africa slavery was only abolished at the beginning of the 20th century. Enduring legacies of slavery continue to affect social hierarchies and labor relations, and sexual slavery has been widespread in recent African wars. This course examines the history of slavery and emancipation in different African regions. It focuses on the experience of enslaved men and women. It is convened by Benedetta Rossi and consists of eight 2-hour seminars, each consisting of lecture and class-discussion on readings circulated in advance:
Monday 5 March: General introduction: periodisations, concepts, definitions
Wednesday 7 March: Early abolitions of the 19th Century
Thursday 8 March: Colonial ambivalence and struggles for emancipation, 1900-1926
Friday 9 March: Exit, voice, and loyalty: the options of (ex-)slaves, 1926-1946
Monday 12 March: End of forced labour, birth of development, and apartheid, 1946-1960
Wednesday 14 March: The rise of African abolitionism, 1960-1990
Friday 16 March: Sexual slavery and forced marriage in contemporary African wars
Wednesday 21 March: Conclusion
Other organised activities: two research methods training sessions, two public lectures, and a workshop accompany and complement the Advanced Training Course:
Tuesday 6 March: Introduction to Africa-focused library resources and databases accessible at the University of Birmingham (by Specialist Librarian); Introduction to the Cadbury Research Library and Church Missionary Society archive (by Archive Curator)
Wednesdays 7 and 14 March: public lectures by invited Africanists
Monday 19-Tueday 20: Workshop ‘Researching Slavery in Africa’ with presentations by SLAFNET researchers and other Africa focused researchers and feedback by invited specialists (Rachel Jean-Baptiste, Alice Bellagamba, Felicitas Becker, Lotte Pelckmans).
Contact : Benedetta Rossi – b.rossi@bham.ac.uk