Manhattanville College's Mohamed Mbodj Discusses Teaching Slavery at U.N.

Mohamed Mbodj, a history professor at Manhattanville College, participated in the U.N. Academic Impact panel, “Teaching and Learning about the Transatlantic Slave Trade” at the United Nations Secretariat earlier this month.

“We can’t teach slavery the way we use to,” says Mbodj. “We have to find new ways to discuss it, and academics should be at the forefront of innovating techniques.”

Mbodj insists the difficulty of the topic is rooted in the ignorance of slavery as a commonality seen in some of the most prominent human civilizations.

“Traditionally slavery has been taught as some kind of exceptional moment in the history of humanity, and often time only linked to the U.S. The new approach is to discuss slavery’s appearance in places like Athens, Rome, and cultures like Chinese, Japanese and even Native Americans. We must encourage comparative studies of slavery across continents and across cultures.”

The discussion was led by prominent slavery research professor Paul E. Lovejoy of York University, an author of more than 25 books and most recently co-editor of “The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery: New Directions in Teaching and Learning.” Other members of the panel included Antonio de Aguiar Patriotat, the permanent representative of Brazil to the U.N.; Stephanie James Wilson, executive director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission; and Dr. Benjamin P. Bowser, professor of Sociology and Social Services at California State University.

Click here to watch the webcast of Mbdoj during the panel discussion. (http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/watch/part-2-teaching-and-learning-about-slavery-panel-discussion/3769646284001