25. February 2022

Freedom, Slavery and Forced Labor - What we can learn from history Freedom, Slavery and Forced Labor - What we can learn from history

A video feature of the BCDSS

Aren't the notions of freedom and slavery a thing of the past? This is the opening question of this video feature. The viewer is carefully introduced to the complexity of questions and concepts of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.

The answer is, they are - unless we look beyond the dichotomy of slavery versus freedom and take into account the many other forms of strong asymmetrical dependencies. Forced labor, for example, is something we are familiar with today. It can often be linked to strong asymmetrical dependencies dating back hundreds of years. The Black Lives Matter movement is a very good example, it is part of the genealogy of the transatlantic slave trade. We learn that history is very present at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.

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"Freedom, Slavery and Forced Labor - What we can learn from history" or "Freiheit, Sklaverei und Zwangsarbeit - Was lehrt uns die Geschichte?" is a film cooperation with North Rhine-Westphalia Minister Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen. The clip was made on the occasion of the Minister's visit to the BCDSS. It was part of an extended tour to eight selected research locations across North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW Forschungsreise), one being the University of Bonn. The BCDSS was one of only two Clusters of Excellence representing the University. We would like to thank the Minister for her interest in the BCDSS and for her cooperation! 

Please note the film is available in German only. 

"The Black Lives Matter movement is a reaction to the fact that the legacy of slavery had been denied for decades."
"The Black Lives Matter movement is a reaction to the fact that the legacy of slavery had been denied for decades." © Cécile Jeblawei, BCDSS