Day 1: Silences & Taboos: Ethical Dilemmas in Making African Slavery Visible on Film

Part of the History on Film: Slavery & the African Diaspora from a Global perspective workshop.

17:00-17:15: Introduction

Dr Marie Rodet (SOAS)
Dr Shihan de Silva (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)

17:15-17:45:

Keynote: Professor William Gervase Clarence-Smith:
Global Slavery: Definitions and Debates

17:45-18:00: Discussion

18:00-18:30:

Film: Yesterday’s Slaves: Democracy and Ethnicity in Benin by Eric Komlavi Hahonou & Camilla Strandsbjerg (2011, 29 minutes)

Having recently gained political status, the Gando people of Northern Benin still face political marginalisation and social stigma even in the town of Kalélé where they form the popular majority. The Gando are formed of former slaves and descendants of slaves, as well as children who are entered into servile fosterage due to communal suspicions linking certain birth defects to sorcery. By studying the Gando in Kalélé, this film encourages the reassessment of identity construction and analyses both the inclusive and exclusive nature of citizenship.

18:30-19:30: Discussion

Chair: William Gervase Clarence-Smith (SOAS)
Eric Komlavi Hahonou (Roskilde University)
Lotte Pelckmans (Leiden University)
Marie Rodet (SOAS)