Manumission is the release from slavery, and therefore, a transition from the most extreme form of subjugation into another position and status in society. Some historians have defined manumission... Show moreManumission is the release from slavery, and therefore, a transition from the most extreme form of subjugation into another position and status in society. Some historians have defined manumission as a formal act, often understood as a gift that severed the bond between slave and master. More recently researchers have emphasized that it was a lengthy process that involved pre-existing dependencies and resulted in new hierarchies. This article takes a fresh look at the process and tries to gain a fuller understanding of manumission by examining it from the position of the manumitted and their social relations. Taking into consideration a wide range of documentary sources from colonial, notarial and Dutch governmental archives, we reconstruct the dependencies that were created in the process of manumission. The dependencies that evolved during manumission processes were related to family and other kinship ties, but also had an urban, communal, religious, economic and institutional logic. Manumission was not only an act at a specific moment, but also a process, and it was not a bilateral, but a multilateral one. With the instrument of manumission and within the limits set by economic reality and the colonial government, the manumittees tried to make meaningful life choices that transformed slave society profoundly. We find that they created complex dependencies across boundaries of status and racial categorization. Show less
Zworykin, D.; Müller, J.M.; Grundmeijer, H.; Pavlov, E. 2024
This collectively authored article argues for a regional turn in the historical study of transnational activism. By considering not only pan-regional movements but also examples of borderland... Show moreThis collectively authored article argues for a regional turn in the historical study of transnational activism. By considering not only pan-regional movements but also examples of borderland contexts, transregional connections and diasporic understandings of ‘region’, our discussion identifies fresh possibilities for investigating the evolution and functioning of transnational activism. Based on a Royal Historical Society-funded workshop held at and supported by Northumbria University, the article brings together insights from diverse locations and arenas of contestation. The first part considers literatures on three macro-regional settings – South Asia, Western Europe and Latin America – to illustrate the importance of distinctive regional contexts and constructs in shaping transnational activism and its goals. The second part turns to case studies of transnational activism in and beyond Eastern Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean and East Asia. In doing so, it explores very different notions of the regional to identify how transnational activism has both shaped and been shaped by these ideas. Taken together, the two parts highlight the role of regional identities and projects in challenging inequalities and external domination. Our analysis and examples indicate the possibilities of a regionally rooted approach for writing histories of transnational activism. Show less
In lieu of an abstract:In 2018, three anonymous and hitherto unpublished, unexhibited drawings of Istanbul by the same hand, previously part of Dr. Müfid Ekdal’s collection, were donated to the... Show moreIn lieu of an abstract:In 2018, three anonymous and hitherto unpublished, unexhibited drawings of Istanbul by the same hand, previously part of Dr. Müfid Ekdal’s collection, were donated to the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation by his son Oral Ekdal, upon Dr. Ekdal’s passing. One of them, a 360-degree, threeand- a-half-meter-long panorama, inspired researchers and curators working at the Istanbul Research Institute and Pera Museum to work on an exhibition on the history of Istanbul panoramas. Four years after preparations began, On the Spot: Panoramic Gaze on Istanbul, a History, curated by Çiğdem Kafescioğlu, K. Mehmet Kentel, and M. Baha Tanman, opened on October 26, 2023, at the Pera Museum, and greets its visitors with the aforementioned panorama. While the exhibition and its accompanying catalog explore various facets of Istanbul’s panoramic imaginaries through the centuries and firmly locate Istanbul as a crucial spot within the global history of panoramas, this short piece aims to briefly introduce these three recent additions to the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation collections to the scholarly community. Show less
The interdisciplinary research project Chronicling Novelty. New Knowledge in the Netherlands,1500-1850 examines how new knowledge was disseminated among a wider audience of non-expertsin the early... Show moreThe interdisciplinary research project Chronicling Novelty. New Knowledge in the Netherlands,1500-1850 examines how new knowledge was disseminated among a wider audience of non-expertsin the early modern Netherlands based on a source corpus of over 200 Dutch-language localchronicles. Most of this corpus, a total of over 35,000 scans of manuscripts collected from Dutchand Belgian archives, have been transcribed and annotated with the help of volunteers. To takefull advantage of the potential time, knowledge and skills of volunteers, a considerable investmentis needed on the part of researchers. A survey conducted among our volunteers showed that mostof them considered information, instruction, feedback, and appreciation much more importantthan a material reward. Furthermore, we found that differentiation between volunteers is important.Some people like to perform relatively simple tasks, while others want to be more activelyinvolved and contribute their expertise and ideas. Closer contact with researchers can reveal thisenthusiasm as well as the knowledge and experience people have, which can be used. More communication, involvement and ownership of certain tasks is then desirable. Own initiatives andprojects could emerge from this. The biggest bottleneck for citizen science is the available timeand resources of researchers. Current funding instruments for researchers do not meet this need. Show less
De bachelor- en masterscriptie die nu het sluitstuk vormen van de geschiedenisstudie, zijn in hun vorm de afgeleiden van het proefschrift. De wortels daarvan gaan terug tot in de Middeleeuwen.... Show moreDe bachelor- en masterscriptie die nu het sluitstuk vormen van de geschiedenisstudie, zijn in hun vorm de afgeleiden van het proefschrift. De wortels daarvan gaan terug tot in de Middeleeuwen. Hetzelfde geldt voor de praktijk van de verdediging ervan in de vorm van een publieke gedachtewisseling of discussie. Bij de massificatie van het onderwijs in de twintigste eeuw ontstond de behoefte om de meerderheid van de studenten met een bul te laten vertrekken zonder kostbaar en langdurig promotietraject. Daartoe werd een miniproefschrift in het leven geroepen, waaraan in wezen dezelfde eisen worden gesteld als aan zijn grote en veel oudere broer. Het is een ideale examenvorm, die toetst of de student in staat is tot zelfstandig onderzoek en een oorspronkelijke bijdrage aan het wetenschappelijk debat. Show less
Banka, A.; Kulesa, L.; Meijer, H.; Reynolds, J.; Simon, L.; Skalamera, M.; Smitson, S. 2023
