| Description |
*** IMPORTANT ***
For the most updated administrative course information (date changes, room changes etc) please always refer to the KSL page only and not to the Info page in ILIAS – the ILIAS infopage will not be updated!
The course is limited to 12 participants (on a ‘first-come-first-serve’ basis) . Please register in KSL (open 25.08.-07.09.2026)
The economics of slavery examines how enslaved labor shaped the development of global capitalism, particularly in the Atlantic world. Far from being a pre-modern anomaly, slavery was deeply embedded in market systems and fueled the growth of industries such as agriculture (sugar, cotton), banking and finance. Understanding slavery as an economic system reveals how exploitation, profit, and racial inequality were intertwined in the foundations of modern economies. This topic is both important and provocative, as it challenges conventional narratives about economic progress and invites reflection on the long-term consequences of coerced labor. It is also a truly interdisciplinary field, drawing on insights from economics, history, political science, sociology, and philosophy to understand the broader moral, institutional, and social structures that sustained slavery and its legacies. This seminar will involve studying economic aspects related to slave societies, slave trade, abolition, post-emancipation, reparations, etc.
Students will form groups of 2–4 and select (subject to approval by the lecturer) an economic aspect of slavery, which they will analyze in depth. One should note that this does not necessarily need to be a purely economic analysis, but can also bring to it other disciplines as long as they are relevant to the economic question.
kick-off: 17.09.2026, 10.15-13.00h, A015, UniS
Assistant: Fabio Gatti (fabio.gatti@unibe.ch) |
User:
Öffentlicher Bereich
Support