"Discussing History and Representation: Rememembering and Reconstructing the Experiences of Slavery and the Slave Trade"

The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on the Global Migrations of African Peoples

"Discussing History and Representation: Remembering and Reconstructing the Experiences of Slavery and the Slave Trade"

to be held at the 123rd American Historical Association Annual Meeting
New York City, 2 – 5, January 2009

Organizers:

Paul E. Lovejoy (Director, Tubman Institute, York University)

Ana Lucia Araujo (Post-Doctoral Fellow, Tubman Institute, York University)

"In the last twenty years, the experiences of capture, enslavement, deportation, and life under slavery have been the focus of novels, films and works of art. The historical understanding of the forced global migrations of African peoples as depicted in these genres requires comparison in different historical contexts, including: a) the ways in which trans-Atlantic slavery from the 16th-19th centuries has been interpreted; b) the depiction of slavery in the Islamic world of North Africa and the Middle East; and c) the views of slavery in the Indian Ocean global world system.Admittedly, the experiences of people in these different contexts varied, and not all of those who were enslaved in these different settings were Africans – in the Americas, the enslavement of Amerindians has also been subjected to various forms of representation, while in the Islamic world and the broader Indian Ocean region, many other peoples were enslaved besides Africans. The extent of enslavement of native peoples in the Americas as well as in parts of Europe and Asia requires a reconsideration of the ways in which Africans and people of African descent have been represented in various artistic, cultural and intellectual genres. The centrality of slavery in all parts of these regions, not just in the Americas, requires comparison. The purpose of this workshop is to consider how the various historical actors have been represented, whether slaves, ship captains, market officials, merchants, plantation managers, concubines in harems, or members of royalty. This workshop aims to explore the forms of representation as a means of focusing on the multiple experiences of slavery. Participants are asked to review the strengths and weaknesses of using archival documentation, as well as travel accounts, films, images, art, music, novels, monuments and artifacts, in the reconstruction of our understanding of the experiences of slavery. Can an examination of the different voices that emerge from such representations help in exposing the experiences of the multiple actors involved in slavery and the slave trade?It is our hypothesis that notions of history and memory can be better understand through a dialogue over the interpretations of archival data, «fictionalized » works of art and literature, and stereotypes of public discourse that have emerged with renewed interest in slavery issues."