14-15 October 2021

Call for participants

The Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies at the University of Glasgow will hold an ‘unconference’ for graduate students, artists, activists, researchers and all those interested in labour, liberty and the Black diasporic experience.  This unique conference centres on (re)defining the boundaries of Black experiences in the pre- and post-emancipatory eras and offers the opportunity for cross-pollination of perspectives and analyses from multiple disciplines including (but not limited to) the Humanities, Information Studies, Social Sciences, Medicine, and Fine Art.

The ‘unconference’ format encourages interventions and contributions in all forms – artwork, videos, poetry, project proposals, source analysis, papers and reflections. The event offers the chance for new productions of knowledge, art or activism to be presented to a broad audience.  Postgraduate students at any stage of their studies are invited to apply, as well as independent researchers, creative professionals, activists and academics.  Attendees from the Global South are particularly encouraged to apply and will be compensated for their contributions.  We are interested in bringing together research and artistic interventions in ways that shed new light on the experiences of people of African descent globally as well as providing an opportunity to meet and exchange with people committed to supporting and facilitating change for social justice.

The event will be virtual and so all proposals should be deliverable by Zoom (recorded or live).

Contributions should address the theme of labour and liberty in the Black Diaspora, broadly conceived, and offer Black perspectives and analyses.  Suggested topics include (but are not limited to): bound labour; chattel slavery; Black-based entrepreneurism; fugitivity; revolt/revolution; transnationalism; resistance; museums; Black feminism; political activism; gender.

Proposals of c.250 words should be sent to jelmer.vos@glasgow.ac.uk - please include a short biography and your affiliation.  All abstracts and final work must be submitted in English.

Submission Deadline: 30 JUNE 2021

First published: 31 March 2021

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