Human Bondage and Abolition
New Histories of Past and Present Slaveries
Published on 23. August 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
376 pages
978-1-316-63736-4 (ISBN)
Description
Slavery's expansion across the globe often escapes notice because it operates as an underground criminal enterprise, rather than as a legal institution. In this volume, Elizabeth Swanson and James Brewer Stewart bring together scholars from across disciplines to address and expose the roots of modern-day slavery from a historical perspective as a means of supporting activist efforts to fight it in the present. They trace modern slavery to its many sources, examining how it is sustained and how today's abolitionists might benefit by understanding their predecessors' successes and failures. Using scholarship also intended as activism, the volume's authors analyze how the history of African American enslavement might illuminate or obscure the understanding of slavery today and show how the legacies of earlier forms of slavery have shaped human bondage and social relations in the twenty-first century.
Reviews / Votes
'This insightful book helps to destroy the myth that somehow slavery of the past was fundamentally different to slavery today, and that antislavery was peopled with heroes in the past and bureaucrats today. Expansive yet detailed, rich with discovery, this is slavery scholarship at its best.' Kevin Bales, author of Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide, and the Secret to Saving the World 'Starting with the brilliant preface, readers of this volume have much to savor from this superbly written and researched book by top historians. As the diverse and informative essays explain, what differentiates the past from the present is the present illegality of slavery. I recommend this work to a very diverse readership.' Louise Shelley, author of Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective 'Slavery is an ongoing stain and this collection is highly relevant in its effort to read from the past to the present. This provides a conceptual depth and a historiography also ballast for our consideration of the present. Strongly recommended.' Jeremy Black, author of A Brief History of Slavery 'Swanson ... and Stewart ... have curated a multidisciplinary anthology on slavery that includes authors from varied backgrounds. ... Scholars' analyses connect slavery's past legacies to the present day; slavery is not viewed merely as a historical theme but also as a continuing institution that has evolved to persist in today's world. Contemporary slavery is covered from various angles, incorporating kidnapping, trafficking, and prostitution; some authors make meaningful connections to current political strife related to Confederate monuments and public history as well as presenting commentary on legal slavery's history in the US, including 'black codes' and the 13th Amendment. ... The volume is laced with primary and secondary source materials, offering interested readers many avenues for further study ... a must read for those interested in slavery as more than an event of the past but very much part of today's world. Summing Up: Recommended.' J. T. Pekarek, Choice 'Coming at the subject from different disciplines and with interests in both the past and present, the authors make a compelling case that we must understand that slavery will continue to evolve if we let down our guard or choose to rest comfortably in the illusion that it is no more.' Michael Guasco, The Journal of American HistoryMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 13 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
622 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-316-63736-4 (9781316637364)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Elizabeth Swanson | James Brewer Stewart
Human Bondage and Abolition
New Histories of Past and Present Slaveries
Book
08/2018
Cambridge University Press
€102.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Elizabeth Swanson | James Brewer Stewart
Human Bondage and Abolition
New Histories of Past and Present Slaveries
E-Book
07/2018
Cambridge University Press
€26.49
Available for download
Persons
Elizabeth Swanson is Professor of English at Babson College. She has published extensively in the areas of slavery, human rights, and literature, and has worked to help rebuild the lives of survivors of brothel slavery in India, Nepal, and the US. James Brewer Stewart is the James Wallace Professor of History Emeritus at Macalester College Minnesota. He is the founder and director emeritus of Historians Against Slavery, an international network that advocates for contemporary antislavery and antiracism. He co-edits Louisiana State University's book series Abolition, Antislavery and the Atlantic World, and is the author or editor of thirteen scholarly books relating to the historical problem of slavery.
Content
List of figures; List of contributors; Preface: solidarity of the ages David Blight; Acknowledgments; Introduction: getting beyond chattel slavery James Brewer Stewart and Elizabeth Swanson; Part I. Understanding and Defining Slavery, Then and Now: 1. Contemporary slavery in historical perspective David Richardson; 2. Slavery as civic death: making sense of modern slavery in historical context James Sidbury; 3. From statute to amendment and back again: the evolution of American slavery and antislavery law Allison Mileo Gorsuch; Part II. Forms of Slavery, Past and Present: 4. Kidnappers and subcontractors: historical perspectives on human trafficking John Donoghue; 5. Maritime bondage: comparing past and present Kerry Ward; 6. 'All boys are bound to someone': reimagining freedom in the history of child slavery Anna Mae Duane; 7. From white slavery to anti-prostitution, the long view: law, policy and sex trafficking Jessica R. Pliley; Part III. The Lessons and Solutions of History for Today: 8. All the ships that never sailed: lessons for the modern antislavery movement from the British naval campaigns against the Atlantic slave trade Dave Blair; 9. Defending slavery, denying slavery: rhetorical strategies of the contemporary sex worker rights movement in historical context Elizabeth Swanson and James Brewer Stewart; 10. The power of the past in the present: the capital of the confederacy as an antislavery city Monti Narayan Datta and James Brewer Stewart; An annotated bibliography for further research; Index.