All Events

How did Black symbolism become central to European apothecary culture? This lecture with Temitope Fagunwa, argues that this imagery resulted from three interconnected factors: the medieval Mediterranean spice trade, the transmission of Arabic and Greek pharmaceutical knowledge, and the cosmopolitan court of Frederick II in Sicily. By linking the material flow of goods like pepper and myrrh to the translation of scholarly texts and Hohenstaufen heraldry, this study identifies a medieval origin for symbols often misattributed to later eras. Ultimately, it fills a historiographical gap by connecting the history of science with the material and symbolic traditions of European commerce.

The BCDSS invites to a screening of Aisha Can't Fly Away (dir. Morad Mostafa, 2025), followed by a panel discussion on migration-related labour exploitation and intersectional dependency. The film follows Aisha, a Sudanese care worker in Cairo, as she navigates racism, extortion, and precarious work conditions after fleeing war in Somalia. The panel will feature BCDSS Research Group Leader Benjamin Etzold and Postdoctoral Researcher Ayesha Hussain.

What happens when the end of the slave trade doesn't lead to freedom, but to a new form of bondage? In our next lecture with Jake Subryan Richards, he will explore the findings of The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade (Yale University Press, 2025). Based on a decade of research across four continents, this study uncovers the "forgotten" history of individuals intercepted by maritime patrols and “liberated”, only to be coerced into years of forced labor to "repay" the costs of their own rescue. By examining archival records from Sierra Leone to Brazil and the United States, he analyzes the tension between imperial authoritarianism and the lived experiences of the African diaspora. A challenge to our understanding of emancipation that will examine how empires redefined "freedom" to suit their own economic and political needs.

Is manumission truly a transition to complete independence? While we usually view "slave" and "free" as absolute states, historical evidence of partial manumission suggests otherwise. Spanning from Neo-Babylonia to early modern Cuba, records show individuals being freed only in "parts," remaining half-bound to their owners. Though treated as a matter of fact, this status created significant legal friction over how to manage a person who was simultaneously property and a free agent. This upcoming lecture by Rachel Zelnick-Abramovitz, will examine the origins of partial manumission, the legal paradoxes it created, and its surprising persistence across diverse cultures.

Join us for the first event in our new DEPENDENCY TALKSHOP series, taking place on Wednesday, 6 May, 18:00-19:30, in cooperation with the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (bicc) and Volkshochschule (VHS) Bonn. A panel of academics and practitioners from five organisations will engage the audience in a discussion on „Overcoming Violence: Coping Strategies and Support for Refugee Women.“

This lecture commemorates Juneteenth as a living tradition of freedom and memory. Professor Tsitsi Jaji traces collaborations between Black poets and concert musicians — from the Jubilee Singers to Grammy-nominated contemporary works — to show how art carries the history of enslavement into collective memory. The event bridges historical fugitive slave advertisements and modern musical settings, culminating in a communal singing of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing.