African Identities and the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Applications are invited for a fully funded, full-time PhD studentship for the project ‘African Identities and the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries’.

Context

Between the mid sixteenth and mid nineteenth centuries, an estimated 12.5 million Africans were forcibly shipped as a slave labour force to various destinations in the Americas including North America, Brazil, Cuba, and the Caribbean. For the overwhelming majority of individuals transported in the trade, there is little evidence about their identities and experiences. A recent report by UNESCO emphasises the dehumanisation which characterised the slave trade and slavery. In this context, retrieving information on African lives is vital to developing a fuller understanding of the human impact of the Atlantic slave trade and its legacies. This approach makes it possible to move beyond the bare statistics of numbers transported and to see the effects of a trade declared by the United Nations in 2010 as a ‘crime against humanity’. The importance of understanding the history, as well as the profound cultural legacies, of this global African displacement, is emphasised not only through Black Lives Matter but also in the UN General Assembly’s proclamation that 2015 marked the beginning of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

This studentship offers an exciting opportunity to use extant archival sources to reconstruct the life histories of individuals uprooted and displaced in the transatlantic slave trade. There is scope to retrace individuals and their identities and experiences in various geographical settings, including West Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. This research project is closely linked to two major digital humanities initiatives entitled ‘Freedom Narratives’ and ‘Liberated Africans’. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute to the autobiographical testimonies and life histories in ‘Freedom Narratives’, a database that focuses on ‘the enforced migration of enslaved Africans in the Atlantic World during the era of the slave trade’.

Aims and Objectives

This research project will reconstruct and analyse the life histories of individuals who were forcibly exported from Africa in the transatlantic slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This involves using archival sources to re-trace their subsequent life histories and experiences in a variety of geographical contexts including West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin-America.

Indicative methodology

This research project involves using a wealth of manuscript and printed evidence surviving in archives in Britain, West Africa, the Caribbean and Latin-America. Depending on the geographical focus of the research agreed with the supervisory team, there is a large body of evidence relevant to this research proposal that has already been digitised through a series of British Library Endangered Archives Major Awards.

Details of the studentship

The studentship is offered for a 4-year period on a full-time basis. The studentship is campus based.

During the period of your studentship, you will receive the following:

• a tax-free bursary of £17,688 for 3 years
• a fee-waiver for 4 years (expectation that full time students complete in 3 years. If student enters year 4, the bursary stops but fees are waived)
• a budget to support your direct project costs including dissemination costs
• a laptop and other IT equipment and software as appropriate to the project
• use of the Doctoral School facilities

You will be expected to play an active role in the life of both the Doctoral School and of your academic School. You will be given opportunities to gain experience in learning and teaching within the School under the guidance of your Director of Studies. There will also be the opportunity to work with local museums.

Application Process

To begin the application process for this studentship please go to Doctoral School PhD Studentships and click ‘apply now’ next to the project you wish to apply for.

It is expected that applicants will have the following qualifications:

• A Masters in the area of History or Medical History or equivalent professional experience.
• A First or Upper Second Honours Degree

It is also expected that applicants will be able to demonstrate the following:

• A sound understanding of and interest in both the project and the wider subject area
• Experience of relevant research methods and skills
• Ability to contribute to the research design of the project
• Proficiency in oral and written English
• Proficiency in IT relevant to the project
• Ability to organise and meet deadlines
• Good interpersonal skills
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work as part of a team

The Interview

The interview will provisionally be held on Teams on the w/c 8^th July 2024. Shortlisted candidates will be given at least 7 day’s-notice of interview. As part of the interview and selection process, you will be asked to write a short reflective review of a journal article. You will be advised about the subject matter of this review if you are selected for interview. Alongside the interview, shortlisted candidates will also be asked to give a 10 minute presentation on a related topic.

Supervisory team 

Director of Studies: Professor Suzanne Schwarz, School of Humanities, University of Worcester.

Supervisor: Professor Paul E. Lovejoy, York University.

For further information or an informal discussion on this project, please contact Professor Suzanne Schwarz (Director of Studies) via email at [email protected]

Applications can be made at: UW Doctoral School PhD Funded Studentships