Free online course on the History of Slavery in the British Caribbean

A free online course is being launched to investigate the history of British colonial slavery in the Caribbean, reflecting its links to racial inequalities and present-day global protests.
Global protests....like this one in Glasgow Green on St Andrew's Day in 2018 will be among the topics covered in the free four-week course. (Pic: John Devlin)Global protests....like this one in Glasgow Green on St Andrew's Day in 2018 will be among the topics covered in the free four-week course. (Pic: John Devlin)
Global protests....like this one in Glasgow Green on St Andrew's Day in 2018 will be among the topics covered in the free four-week course. (Pic: John Devlin)

The University of Glasgow and The University of the West Indies are delivering the online course that takes people on a 350-year journey from West Africa and the Caribbean through to the Windrush Generation and the present day.

The four-week free online course, History of Slavery in the British Caribbean on the leading social learning platform, FutureLearn.com, is open for registration now.

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It goes live on Monday (October 12) to coincide with Black History Month.

The course will look at the renewed debate about the treatment of symbols of Britain’s colonial past and how the global Black Lives Matter protests have caused many to reflect on the country’s history of racism and its roots in slavery.

Dr Peggy Brunache, lecturer in the history of Atlantic Slavery and director of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies at the University of Glasgow, is the lead contributor on the course, along with Dr Christine Whyte.

Dr Brunache said: “While the abolition of the slave trade and racial slavery occurred in the early 19th century, the structures of racial inequality and anti-black racism have never dissipated. Does that mean that every white British citizen is racist? Of course not.

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“However, these structures of power remain infused into the very fabric of contemporary society, privileging those who identify as white and especially those with generational wealth.

“It’s as insidiously active in the Commonwealth Caribbean as much as it is in the British metropole.”

People who take part in the course will be encouraged to reflect on their own family history and look for legacies of slavery in their own community.

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