ÌÇÐÄTV

This conference is concerned with the use of armed men of African descent by the European empires and American states of the Atlantic world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This encompasses both those deliberately armed and those who had taken up arms, perhaps to liberate themselves, and later came to an accommodation with the regime, as well as short-term enrolments and permanent military establishments. The conference relates to a four-year AHRC-funded project, ‘Africa’s Sons Under Arms: Race, Military Bodies and the British West India Regiments in the Atlantic World, 1795-1914', which focuses on military units raised by the British, initially as enslaved people, that served in the Caribbean and West Africa. A primary aim of the conference is to contextualise the Regiments in relation to similar formations and policies elsewhere. In so doing, our hope is that papers will build on and go beyond work on armed slaves, notably Brown and Morgan, Arming Slaves (2008), to think more broadly about the significance and impact of deploying armed men of African descent in a period when most were imperial subjects and generally denigrated within Euro-American discourse.

Please follow the link below for further information, including draft programme, and registration form.

Admission free and open to all.

Sat 13 May, 11am - Introductory Talk by Dr James Hodkinson, University of ÌÇÐÄTV

Admission is free but booking is essential. Please register for your free ticket.

About the exhibition

Hosted by the Ertegun Scholarship Programme, this exhibition invites you to look at Islam through the eyes of the German-speaking world. It takes you on a journey through the first phase of modern German history, starting in around 1770 and moving through to the end of the First World War in 1918. During that time Germany went from being an idealistic notion to a nation state – indeed it became an Empire with colonial interests in Africa and Asia. Not surprisingly, the German vision of the Islamic world changed greatly, and was shaped by advances in learning, the increased movement of people and objects, and shifts in political, intellectual and cultural history. Germany’s evolving political and cultural relationship with the great Islamic empire of the Ottoman Turks played a central role throughout this period.

The exhibition also considers the position of Islam in German-speaking Austria, which had borne the brunt of Ottoman aggression since the 16th century: later, though, Austria became a multicultural Empire, fused with Hungary and other states, and was also home to European Muslim citizens.

Throughout you will find images and short texts in which contrasting ideas and images of Islam from the German-speaking lands are presented. The banners are arranged in chronological order and a timeline will help you place people and events. Later in the exhibition, several banners offer a brief insight into the position of Islam in Germany today. The exhibition returns to a series of key ideas that help you to consider critically how Islam and Muslims are represented in the material. You will also be prompted to reflect on how these ideas relate to your own experiences, understanding and perception of Islam and Muslims in the UK today. The exhibition is the product of original academic research though is pitched in such a way that it will speak to interested, non-academic visitors. Undegraduate students and ‘A' Level students of MFL, Religious Studies and History will also find the material accessible. Workbooks are available for school groups on request.

The exhibition is touring in support of the run by Dr. James Hodkinson at the University of ÌÇÐÄTV.