This workshop offers the opportunity to explore theoretical approaches to intersectionality and their applications in slavery and dependency studies. Guided by four renowned experts in the fields of anthropology (Laurie A. Wilkie, UK Berkeley), theology (Keri L. Day, Princeton), sociology (Zine Magubane, Boston College), and history (Karen Graubart, University of Notre Dame), we will examine how slavery and dependency studies might benefit from a greater emphasis on intersectionality, and how intersectionality theory might profit from research on asymmetrical dependencies. How might the comparative approach employed by researchers at the BCDSS complement classic legal and sociological conceptions of intersectionality that follow along the lines of race, gender, and class? How might both theoretical frameworks be strengthened by a greater emphasis on questions of sexuality, gender identity beyond the binary, (dis)ability, or religious experience in modern and pre-modern societies?
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The historiography of the Kingdom of Kongo has long emphasized the profound political transformations following the Kongolese Civil War, marked by fragmentation, factional violence, and the expansion of enslavement in response to Atlantic demands. Central to this narrative is the rise of a class of oligarchs, or “entrepreneurial nobles,” who mobilized political titles and discourses of ancestry to assert their influence as local power brokers and intermediaries in the trans-Atlantic trade of goods and enslaved persons. In this presentation, I discuss how Kongolese oligarchs reshaped the vocabulary of slavery, actively participating in the renewal of Atlantic slavery in the late 18th and 19th centuries. This linguistic transformation underpinned a discourse that increasingly divorced the practice of enslavement from its previous moral constraints, embedding these strategies within the broader political and economic contexts that drove the intensification of slavery in the S.A.
Please note: registration for both parts of the event is required by 22 October (link below) as there is only limited space! Join us for the opening of our BCDSS Exhibition "Verstrickt und Verwoben: Texturen der Abhängigkeit"/"Enmeshed and Entwined: Fabrics of Dependency" at the Bonn University and State Library (ULB). The Launch is followed by a Semester Kick-off Reception at the BCDSS (Niebuhrstr. 5) at 19:30. Everyone is welcome! Fabrics play a key role in the history of dependency. The production, distribution and use of textiles and their raw materials had and still has a huge impact on societies around the globe. In our digital exhibition, we reveal the underlying power structures that are responsible for the manifold "strong asymmetrical dependencies" related to fabrics. By drawing on more than 30 exhibits from around the world, our "story patches" will take you on a journey across time, regions and cultures, from the earliest settlements to today’s consumer societies.
This roundtable convenes experts from ZEF/Global Heritage Lab, BICC and the BCDSS to discuss the historical and contemporary impacts of extractivism across a range of global contexts and natural resources. Central questions to be discussed will entail the violent colonial origins of resource extraction, current conflicts and consequences for local communities, and possible ways into the future. Framed in a larger context of environmental (in)justice, and attending to matters of ethics, sustainability and dependency, the discussants will bring to the table their respective disciplinary backgrounds, spanning governance and conflict studies, development politics, the environmental humanities and dependency studies.
Bridging Worlds: Exploring the Intersection of Heritage Studies and ArchaeoSciences For two days, more than 15 contributions from 30 researchers worldwide will explore the fascinating and complex intersection of Natural Sciences and Heritage Studies. What does the future hold for these fields? What obstacles must we address? How can we achieve our goals?
During this event, we would like to explore the nature and significance of manumission of enslaved people from a global perspective. Drawing on a variety of sources, especially judicial and notarial ones, we will gain insights into the different types of manumission, their procedures, and outcomes. The main question we are interested in and therefore want to focus on is not only the act of manumission itself, but also the period after manumission. What were the conditions and steps for manumission? What did emancipation really mean? What happened to the slaves after manumission? Did manumission lead to freedom or to a different kind of relationship of dependence? How did the relationship between slaves and slave owners develop after the manumission? What role did manumission play in social life and in the shaping of society? What information can we find in our sources on these aspects? What epistemological and methodological approaches do we use to overcome silences in the records?
Comparative Approaches to Power and Dependency in the High Middle Ages: A Workshop in Honour of Alheydis Plassmann and Björn Weiler. -Proposals for thirty-minute papers are invited from speakers to explore the political culture of high medieval Europe from a comparative perspective. -Proposals of no more than 300 words and a CV should be emailed to ryankemp@outlook.com by 28th October 2024. -The workshop will take place in person and online (hybrid format). Speakers will have their travel costs to Bonn reimbursed and will be provided with accommodation. -Attendance online is also welcome including for non-speakers. Please email ryankemp92@outlook.com to register interest to attend (online or in person) by 15th November 2024. For more info, see link below!
Strong Asymmetrical Dependencies: Perspectives from Asia, Past & Present This event addresses the underrepresentation of Asia in labor and slavery studies by focusing on the histories, legacies, and current forms of dependency, slavery, bondage, coerced labor, and forced displacement in Asia. We invite scholars and researchers from all disciplines to submit innovative case studies and contributions on emic perspectives, historiography, memory, archival practices, and digital approaches. The conference will feature paper presentations, thematic sessions, and roundtables, including discussions on the future of the field and digital methodologies. Abstract Submission Deadline: October 31, 2024 Selected Contributions Announced: December 15, 2024 Draft Papers Due: 1 month before the event Funding: Hotel accommodations in Bonn are covered; travel funding prioritizes those without access to travel funds.