Sounds and memories of slavery
Round table discussion to mark the 8th edition of the History in the Making festival
As part of the 8th edition of the L'histoire à venir festival, which runs from 15 to 18 May in Toulouse and features 80 scientific, literary and artistic events on the theme of ‘Listening’, the Abattoirs will be hosting a round table discussion on ‘From the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, sounds and memories of slavery’.
When historians and archaeologists listen to the past, what do they hear? How can we restore the sound dimension of times gone by, building up the volume from the traces that remain? From the echoes of voices in prehistoric caves to the deafening sounds of the Industrial Revolution, the quiet exploration of the silences and din of history amplifies our understanding of the past and our representations of the world.
Through the music and dance of the Mauritian sega, the jazz and blues of Louisiana and the songs of the West Indies, the memory of slavery is expressed in a myriad of cultural practices. What role do these repertoires play in anti-colonial struggles, between the requalification of musical genres, the construction of historical narratives and the influence of memory issues on sonic identities? And how has the transmission of the memory of slavery been transformed as a result?
In partnership with the FME (Fondation pour la mémoire de l'esclavage) and IPEAT (Institut pluridisciplinaire pour les études sur les Amériques de Toulouse)
Speakers' biographies :
Églantine Gauthier
Églantine Gauthier is a doctoral student in anthropology (EHESS), specialising in the memory of slavery and traditional Mauritian dance.
Bibliography
Du séga créole à la danse nationale. Recompositions locales et circulations transnationales mauriciennes, Revue européenne des migrations internationales, 2019
Valérie-Ann Edmond Mariette
Valérie-Ann Edmond Mariette is a doctoral student in contemporary history at the University of the West Indies, specialising in the relationship between music and politics in the West Indies.
Bibliography
Thesis Le son de la mémoire de l'esclavage. Music and politics in the West Indies between 1956 and 1998, under the supervision of Myriam COTTIAS and Audrey CELESTINE at CIRESC and PHEEAC.
Nathalie Dessens
Nathalie Dessens is a specialist in the cultural history of America (University of Toulouse - Jean-Jaurès). Her research focuses on the history of the southern United States and the West Indies, the comparative history of slavery and migration, and the memorialisation of slavery in the Americas.
Bibliography
Myths of the Plantation Society: Slavery in the American South and the West Indies, University Press of Florida, 2004.
Creole City: A Chronicle of Early American New Orleans (Contested Boundaries), University Press of Florida, 2016.
Coralie de Souza Vernay
Coralie de Souza Vernay is head of heritage and research at the FME (Fondation pour la mémoire et l'esclavage).
Find out more about the programme at: https://lhistoireavenir.eu/