Session Abstract

The last decade has been marked by growing interest in the way in which the history of slavery and abolition has been represented in museums, monuments, and other public settings. To date, research in this area has chiefly focused upon questions of remembrance and commemoration, leaving related questions about the relationship between the history of slavery and national education programmes largely unexplored. In both France (2001) and Britain (2007) the history of slavery has been made a compulsory part of national curriculums, yet there is currently little information available on how these reforms have been reflected in actual classrooms. In many other countries , the history of slavery and abolition rarely features in educational programmes at all.  By giving pride of place to the way in which the history of slavery and abolition has recently been taught (or not taught) in different countries, the papers in this panel will offer new insights and information on linkages between historical research, public education, and popular attitudes towards the past. The papers in this session, the first in a two-part series, will look at these issues in France and Britain by examining national curricula, textbooks, educational materials and actual classroom settings.