CfP: Slavery in Islamicate Societies (30 Aug. - 1 Sep. 2023)

Conference date: 30 August - 1 September 2023

Location: Murtensee (Bern Canton, Switzerland)

Abstract deadline: 15 January 2023 (with notification of which papers have been accepted for presentation in February)

N.B. travel, accommodation and all expenses related to the conference will be covered by the organisers.

Overview

Recent scholarship on various forms of dependency has demonstrated that a straightforward freedom/slavery binary does not help to account for how slavery operates in different historical and social contexts. In this workshop, we aim to contribute to discussions on the necessity of transcending this binary, focusing in particular on legal sources from Islamicate contexts. 

We invite scholars working on any aspect of slavery and law (both normative texts and legal practices) to join us for a workshop convened jointly by the TraSIS project (Trajectories of Slavery in Islamicate Societies) and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS).

Contributions should contribute to the main research questions of the workshop, namely what one can learn about slaveries and strong asymmetrical dependencies from legal sources, and the extent to which legal sources can shed light on the relevant social practices. We are interested in papers focusing on both normative sources and sources shedding light on legal practices related to slavery and strong asymmetrical dependencies. In particular, we are interested in papers reflecting on how intersectionality can shed light on different forms of slavery and/or papers pursuing a comparative approach between different legal schools. We are also open to other methodological approaches.

The contributions to this conference will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Abstracts should be no more than 500 words, and should be submitted to serena.tolino@islam.unibe.ch

Further information on the conference and the TraSIS research project can be found here.