The University of Washington Department of History is pleased to announce the 2013 History Lecture Series
Slavery and Freedom in the Making of America
As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in 2013, the History Lecture Series returns this fall with four presentations by nationally recognized historians on the theme "Slavery and Freedom in the Making of America." The speakers will consider the imagined roots of slavery in Greco-Roman antiquity, the origins and development of racial slavery across the Americas and its centrality to the creation of the United States, and the continued legacies of slavery in post-emancipation American life.
Wednesday, October 23rd, 7:00 - 9:00PM, Kane 130
Sandra Joshel: Ancient Roman Slavery and American History
The series will begin on October 23, 2013 with a lecture by Professor Sandra Joshel. An historian of ancient Rome, Joshel will discuss how Rome often served as a touchstone for slaveholders in the United States from the colonial period through the nineteenth century. Rather than debate or even interpret their historical judgments, Joshel will look at ancient slavery and its relation to freedom to show how freedom in fact was defined by the development of a slave system. In effect, her lecture will use ancient slavery to raise questions about our understanding of slavery and emancipation in the United States.
Wednesday, October 30th, 7:00 - 9:00PM, Kane 130
Stephanie Smallwood: Slavery, Race, and the Origins of American Freedom
On October 30, Professor Stephanie Smallwood will focus on the early modern Atlantic world and the critical role of slavery in European colonization efforts across the Americas. Paying particular attention to events in English North America, Smallwood’s lecture will chart the emergence of racial thought and its role in codifying slavery in the thirteen colonies, and explore the intertwining of slavery and commitments to political freedom that were in place by the late 18th century. Smallwood’s lecture will conclude with a comparison of two late 18th century revolutions, one in Haiti and the other in the United States, examining how one democratic movement abolished slavery, while the other entrenched it for decades to come.
Wednesday, November 6th, 7:00 - 9:00PM, Kane 130
Stephanie Camp: Slavery, Antebellum America's National Institution
On November 6, Professor Stephanie Camp will discuss slavery in the modern United States, highlighting the overwhelming economic significance enslaved labor held for the entire country, not simply the southern states, in the years following the American Revolution. Slavery was a national institution, one that served as the foundation for the growth of American wealth and industrial development, expanding rapidly following the invention of the cotton gin. Camp’s lecture will also highlight the role of slavery in the development of a central category of American identity: race. For it was the development and persistence of slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries that drove the invention and reinvention of the racial categories “black” and “white.” Camp will explore how those categories shifted from cultural identities to biological ones.
Wednesday, November 13th, 7:00 - 9:00PM, Kane 120
Moon-Ho Jung: Race, Empire, and Post-Emancipation Struggles for Freedom
On November 13, Professor Moon-Ho Jung will focus on the ongoing legacies of slavery, particularly on the ways race has remained a dominant force in shaping American culture and politics after the Civil War. Addressing how race continued to define U.S. citizenship rights, immigration and naturalization laws, and imperial campaigns across North America and around the world, Jung’s lecture will explore the limitations and contradictions of emancipation in the decades following the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. He will also explain how struggles for freedom and democracy have persisted for more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the formal abolition of slavery.
For questions about the History Lecture Series, or to purchase tickets over the phone, please call 206.543.5790.
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Return/Refund Policy: Refunds are available for ticket purchases for any reason up until 72 hours before the event. For series ticket purchases, refunds must be requested no less than 72 hours before the second lecture in the series. In the event of cancellation of a lecture or the series, full refunds will be made for all ticketholders.
