York conference spotlights abolition legacy
Posted on 4 April 2007
The event at King’s Manor in York from 12 to 14 April 2007 involves scholars from Africa, the Caribbean, the USA, Australia, France, Denmark, and Holland, as well from across the UK. It will examine the meaning and impact across the Atlantic world of formal abolition in 1807.The University is a fitting venue for the conference because of anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce’s connections with the city. York became an important centre of pro-abolition activity in the early 19th century, unifying local Quakers, radicals and Whig aristocrats.
We hope this conference will give us a greater insight into the momentous events of 1807 and help us to understand how they still have an impact on life in the 21st century
Professor Miles Taylor
The University of York’s Department of History has a long association with pioneering scholarship on the history of slavery and black studies in the UK.
The conference programme will examine a range of issues including the impact of abolition in Africa, the Caribbean, and on the major European powers; recollections of abolition in the ports used by slave traders; the literature of emancipation and the legacy of abolition in the 20th century.
Professor Miles Taylor, of the University’s Department of History and a member of the organising committee, said: "We are proud to be part of these bicentenary celebrations. We hope this conference will give us a greater insight into the momentous events of 1807 and help us to understand how they still have an impact on life in the 21st century."
The University is hosting other events to mark the bicentenary:- a summer school in July, featuring two 'Question Time' public discussion forums on the churches and slavery, and on the media and the bicentenary
- a major research project led by the new Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past into the politics and ideas behind the staging of the bicentenary commemorations.
- a series of lectures in the University and in the City featuring speakers including Clare Short MP, Trevor Phillips, of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, the Director of Anti-Slavery International Aidan McQuade, the Bishop of Derby, Alastair Redfern, and writer and broadcaster Caryl Phillips
Notes to editors:
- The conference is supported by: The Shepherd Building Group; The Mollie Croysdale Trust; Susan Joyce; The Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of York; The Enterprise and Innovation Office, University of York; Adam Matthew Publications; Oxford University Press; Taylor and Francis; Eurospan; Ashgate Publishing; Berghahn Books and Thomson Publishing.
- More information on the conference is available at www.york.ac.uk/conferences/abolitions2007/.
- The non-residential summer school is open to all adult learners with an interest in slavery and is open-access so no prior qualifications are required. For more information contact Dr Adrian Lee, of the Centre for Lifelong Learning, on 01904 434621 or at aml106@york.ac.uk.