On forced migrations and labour Slaves & slavery from an Ethiopian perspective

Research seminar 2011-2012 : Addis Ababa University – IRD – CFEE

A scholarly debate on the history of slavery in Ethiopia is long overdue. A little known topic and a wide field of research to be developped, slavery questions directly the historical construction of contemporary societies and their social fabric. How has slavery structured Ethiopian society ? What is the legacy of slavery in Ethiopia ? Where is slavery in the public sphere ? This research seminar will try to assess the significance of slavery in Ethiopia.

The Addis Abeba University, the French Center for Ethiopian Studies and the Research Institute for Development take this opportunity to invite scholars and students to present their research on slavery and to initiate a debate on the development of the field.

Two sessions on the topic of slavery in the East African region and slavery in the Atlantic space will contribute to a framework of reference with which to discuss the historiography of slavery in Ethiopia. Achievements, new perspectives and emerging research on slaves and slavery in Ethiopia will be presented as well. This will be a unique opportunity to establish the state of the art on slavery in Ethiopia. It will be as well the opportunity to discuss methodologies of research and to give rise to new research projects around these issues.

1st session : Slavery in the East African Region - November 16, 2011, 1.30pm-5pm - Echetu Chole Hall, FBE, AAU

- Chair : Dr. Debay Tadesse (IAS)
- Dr. Henri Médard (University Paris I) – The Eastern Africa Slave Trade and Slavery : Contrasted Historiographies
- Prof. Samuel Nyanchoga (Catholic University, Nairobi) – Identities and Heritage of Slavery in Contemporary Kenya
- Dr. Marie-Pierre Ballarin (IRD) - The role of the Church Missionary Society in the freeing of slaves during the 19th century and its consequences in the Present (Rabai, Frere Town)