Events

Slavery, Liberation and Islamic Law in the Middle East and beyond

October 5, 2018
Brock University
St Catharines, Ontario, Canada

• List of abstracts

• Symposium Program

This one day multi-disciplinary symposium “Slavery, Liberation and Islamic Law in the Middle East and beyond” will be held on October 5, 2018, at Brock University in St Catharines, Canada. It will bring together scholars and students to address various topics related to slavery and liberation. The symposium also proffers new research approaches and methodologies.

The dispersal of descendants of enslaved people globally itself highlights the importance of such a study. Promoting recognition, justice, development and the human rights of descendants of enslaved people and appreciating their cultural contributions, moreover, will strengthen efforts to achieve greater equality and democracy at a universal level.

Papers on the following general themes are currently being accepted:

• Slavery, abolition, liberation
• Islamic law and slavery
• Colonialism and its legacy
• Racism and discrimination
• Justice and human rights
• Education
• Culture and arts
• Economic empowerment

Please send your abstract (maximum 300 words), including a title, together with a brief CV and biography to Professor Behnaz Mirzai at bmirzai@brocku.ca.

About Brock University and the Niagara Region:
Located in St Catharines, Brock University is named after British general Sir Isaac Brock, who died at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812. It is Canada’s only university to be located in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, atop the Niagara Escarpment. The Garden City is also the gateway to the Niagara Region (http://www.tourismniagara.com/discover-niagara.html), offering an abundance of sights and activities from its award winning vineyards and to the wonders of Niagara Falls. The region has great significance to the history of Underground Railroad movement in that its most important conductor – Harriet Tubman – was a resident of St Catharines from 1851 to 1858.

People of African Descent: Recognition, Empowerment and Equity

September 22-23, 2014
Brock University
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

The Keynote Speaker will be Professor Edward A. Alpers from the University of California, Los Angeles (USA)

The Concluding Remarks will be delivered by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

Over the course of 2013, the United Nations intends to adopt a series of measures that acknowledge the importance of eradicating racial discrimination worldwide. These include: the Decade for People of African Descent (2013–2022) Plan of Action; commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action by the United Nations on 22 September 2011; and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In honour of these initiatives, a multi-disciplinary conference “People of African Descent: Recognition, Empowerment and Equity” will be held on September 22-23, 2014, at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada. It will bring together scholars, policymakers and various experts not only to address this topic but also to proffer new research approaches and methodologies. The dispersal of people of African descent throughout the Americas, Asia and within Africa itself highlights the importance of such a study. Promoting recognition, justice, development and the human rights of people of African descent and appreciating their cultural contributions, moreover, will strengthen efforts to achieve greater equality and democracy at a global level.

Papers on the following general themes are currently being accepted:

• Slavery, abolition, emancipation
• Colonialism and its legacy
• Racism and discrimination
• Justice and human rights
• Education
• Culture and arts
• Economic empowerment

Please send your abstract (maximum 300 words), including a title, together with a brief CV and biography no later than 1 January 2014 to Dr. Behnaz Mirzai at bmirzai@brocku.ca.

All papers presented at the event will be published in a conference proceedings volume.

Conference Organizer:
Behnaz Mirzai, Associate Professor, Department of History, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1

Sponsors:

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• UNESCO Slave Route Project
• The Office or Research Services, Brock University
• The Office of Human Rights and Equity, Brock University
• The Department of History, Brock University

About Brock University and the Niagara Region:
Located in St Catharines, Brock University is named after British general Sir Isaac Brock, who died at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812. It is Canada’s only university to be located in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, atop the Niagara Escarpment. The Garden City is also the gateway to the Niagara Region, offering an abundance of sights and activities from its award winning vineyards and to the wonders of Niagara Falls. The region has great significance to the history of Underground Railroad movement in that its most important conductor – Harriet Tubman – was a resident of St Catharines from 1851 to 1858.

Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Harriet Tubman

A lecture by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles

“Enslaved women and the politics of freedom in the Caribbean”

September 24, 2013
4 to 6 p.m.
Charles A. Sankey Chamber

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles is Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of West Indies. He is a member of the International Task Force for the UNESCO Slave Route Project and is principal consultant for resource material in the schools programme.  He is also Consultant for the UNESCO Cities for Peace Global Programme, and an advisor to the UN World Culture Report.

In 2007, Sir Beckles was made a Knight of St. Andrew, the highest national honour in Barbados, for his contribution to “Higher Education, the Arts, and Sports”.  Sir Hilary has received numerous awards including an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Glasgow and from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, in recognition of his major contribution to academic research into the transatlantic slave trade and plantation slavery.

Sir Hilary Beckles has authored, co-authored and edited more than thirty books, and written over seventy academic articles. His work has covered a variety of areas within the broader topic of Afro-Caribbean history, with works covering early slave rebellions in Barbados, the role of women in the slave trade, and the greater effects of colonialism on present Barbadian society.