Ancient Slavery and Abolition: From Hobbes to Hollywood
Richard Alston, Edith Hall, and Justine McConnell
Abstract
Originating in a conference held at the British Library in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in British colonies, this book offers a study of the role played by ancient Greek and Roman sources and voices in the struggle to abolish slavery in Britain and North America. It contains thirteen chapters by an interdisciplinary team of specialists in literature, history, political thought, postcolonial studies, drama and classics from three continents, led by the Centre for the Reception of Greece and Rome at Royal Holloway University of London. Focussing on Britain, No ... More
Originating in a conference held at the British Library in 2007 to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in British colonies, this book offers a study of the role played by ancient Greek and Roman sources and voices in the struggle to abolish slavery in Britain and North America. It contains thirteen chapters by an interdisciplinary team of specialists in literature, history, political thought, postcolonial studies, drama and classics from three continents, led by the Centre for the Reception of Greece and Rome at Royal Holloway University of London. Focussing on Britain, North America, the Caribbean, and South Africa from the late 17th century, the chapters, which are chronologically arranged, examine the arguments created by both critics and defenders of slavery, in media ranging from parliamentary speeches to historiography, nationalist polemic to poetry, fiction, drama, cinema, and the visual arts. In particular, they ask how, why and to what effect these often passionate as well as learned campaigners summoned the ghosts of the ancient Spartans, Homer, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Pliny, Spartacus, and Prometheus to participate in this most significant of debates.
Keywords:
slavery,
abolition,
Rome,
Ancient Greece,
racism,
parliament,
antebellum,
Atlantic,
Africa,
Caribbean
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199574674 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574674.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Richard Alston, editor
Professor of Roman History, Royal Holloway University of London
Author Webpage
Edith Hall, editor
Research Professor, Royal Holloway University of London
Author Webpage
Justine McConnell, editor
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Northwestern University
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