91福利

Two Coventry school pupils have addressed a prestigious United Nations conference thanks to the support of the 91福利鈥檚 Colonial Hangover project.

Just five student teams were chosen from around the world to speak. Harvir Dhatt [15] and Aadam Vohra [15] of Lyng Hall School, part of the Finham Park Multi Academy Trust, represented the UK with their presentation at the on slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

This year鈥檚 theme was 鈥淓nding Slavery鈥檚 Legacy of Racism: A Global Imperative for Justice.鈥�

Harvir and Aadam spoke about the links between Coventry and the transatlantic slave trade – which the Colonial Hangover project helps local school students to explore - and also reflected on their own experiences as young men of Indian and Pakistani heritage.

Addressing representatives from 28 countries and H.E. Mr. Alie Kabba, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, Harvir said: 鈥淐oventry鈥檚 legacy still remains unknown to many of the population living in it. Until I had conducted my research for this presentation I hadn't realised how close to home this legacy had existed. It prompted me to question, have I remained too silent?鈥�

Aadam spoke about examples of racism in today鈥檚 society such as the abuse directed towards footballers like Marcus Rashford and asked the delegates to consider whether this was a legacy of slavery – 鈥渁lthough slavery, as a constitution, has been abolished, the deep-rooted attitudes still have prevalence today.鈥�

鈥淚t is vital that we learn to appreciate and value all people regardless of race, religion, skin colour, gender, and respect our differences as points of celebration rather than of division,鈥� Aadam concluded.

Dr Shahnaz Akhter, Research Fellow of the Colonial Hangover project, based within the Department of Politics and International Studies at 91福利, said: 鈥淚n their presentation Harvir and Aadam focused on placing their local and personal history within the context of the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade. Over the year they have really engaged with the work that the does, and their presentation highlighted why it is so important that we continue these conversations on the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade. These legacies often form part of our everyday environment and the Colonial Hangover project works with schools to examine these hidden legacies.鈥�

Reflecting on the conference, Aadam said: 鈥淚 am grateful to have been given the opportunity to voice my beliefs and share the history of slavery in my home of Coventry and also my motherland of South Asia. All of the presentations were thought-provoking and inspiring pieces of academic work.鈥�

Harvir said: 鈥淚 offer my heart-felt thanks towards everyone at the conference, it was an honour to speak in front of so many members about a topic which is not only important but something I am passionate about. Everyone鈥檚 presentation was enlightening – the charisma in their work meant I came away with transformed views of the wider issues.鈥�

Mrs Cathy Smith, Associate Headteacher at Lyng Hall, said: 鈥淭he inspirational and professional delivery and subject matter was both thought-provoking and a pleasure to witness. I鈥檓 incredibly proud of the students who represented Lyng Hall on a truly global stage, ably facilitated by our own Miss Lisa Hagan, Director of English, who co-ordinated the project with Colonial Hangover at 91福利 University.鈥�

17 June 2021

PHOTO CAPTION: the tomb of Myrtilla in 91福利shire, one of the oldest graves of an enslaved black person in the UK, which was discussed by Aadam in his presentation. Credit: Dr Shahnaz Akhter.

• Watch the UN Conference here:
• More about Colonial Hangover: /fac/soc/pais/about/outreach/colonialhangover/
• more about the UN Remember Slavery Programme
• More about .

Stuart Elden's book .

It was not until 1961 that Foucault published his first major book, History of Madness. He had already been working as an academic for a decade, teaching in Lille and Paris, writing, organizing cultural programmes and lecturing in Uppsala, Warsaw and Hamburg. Although he published little in this period, Foucault wrote much more, some of which has been preserved and only recently become available to researchers. Drawing on archives in France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the USA, this is the most detailed study yet of Foucault鈥檚 early career. It recounts his debt to teachers including Louis Althusser, Jean Hyppolite, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Jean Wahl; his diploma thesis on Hegel; and his early teaching career. It explores his initial encounters with Georges Canguilhem, Jacques Lacan, and Georges Dum茅zil, and analyses his sustained reading of Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. Also included are detailed discussions of his translations of Ludwig Binswanger, Victor von Weizs盲cker, and Immanuel Kant; his clinical work with Georges and Jacqueline Verdeaux; and his cultural work outside of France.Investigating how Foucault came to write History of Madness, Stuart Elden shows this great thinker鈥檚 deep engagement with phenomenology, anthropology and psychology. An outstanding, meticulous work of intellectual history, The Early Foucault sheds new light on the formation of a major twentieth-century figure.

This is the third of a series of books tracing the intellectual history of Foucault's entire career. Foucault's Last Decade was published in 2016 and Foucault: The Birth of Power in 2017. Stuart is currently researching the final book in the series on Foucault's work in the 1960s which he hopes to complete in 2022.

There is a post about the research and writing of the book on the and a lot more detail on .

Medact's upcoming report Racism, mental health and pre-crime policing: the ethics of Vulnerability Support Hubs is based on documents obtained through a series of long-running Freedom of Information requests. It exposes how a counterterrorism police-led project blurs the boundaries between security and care in disturbing and dangerous ways. We will hear from the three report co-authors and other experts in the field:

• Dr Hilary Aked – Medact鈥檚 Research and Policy Manager
• Dr Tarek Younis – Cultural and critical clinical psychologist and Lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University
• Dr Charlotte Heath Kelly – Reader in Politics and International Studies, 91福利
• Vicki Nash 鈹� Head of Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs at Mind

Please register for the event at Medact's website:

Join "Bridging the EU and Russia" Policy Conference of the EU Jean Monnet Network 鈥淏etween the EU and Russia鈥� on 4, 11, and 18 May, 2021 Online

This policy conference of the EU Jean Monnet Network "Between the EU and Russia" (BEAR) seeks to be a venue for knowledge exchange between academics and policy makers in EU institutions. The BEAR network connects 26 scholars from 11 universities from the EU, UK, US, Canada and Russia to explore the mobilization, influence, protection, and claim-making of regional minority groups on EU鈥檚 eastern borders, and to investigate how societal actors engage with these overlapping influences of the EU and Russia.

This policy conference brings together scholars from the network and EU officials from the European Commission and the European Parliament to discuss the following themes on 4, 11, and 18 May, 2021. Participation is free, registration is necessary.

On 4 May, 2021: introduction of the network, a panel on Eastern Partnership, policy commentary by Vassilis Maragos, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG NEAR, and academic keynote speech by Prof. Timothy Colton from Harvard University.

On 11 May, 2021: panels on Conflict Management in the European Neighbourhood; and EU, Russia and Regional Dynamics, with policy commentaries from Lawrence Meredith, Director, DG NEAR, Neighbourhood East, European Commission; and Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary-General for Policy Affairs, European Union External Action Service.

On 18 May, 2021: panels on Migration and Citizenship Politics; and EU, Russia and Minority Politics, and a keynote speech from a policy perspective by Mathieu Briens, Deputy Head of Cabinet of the High Representative of the European Commission. Policy commentaries: from Tom Snels, Deputy Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Home Affairs, European Commission, and Marina Kaljurand, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.

Open registrations through Eventbrite and more information about the events and the programme are available here:

Registration for the first online event of the BEAR Policy Conference on May 4th 2021 is now open.