Conversations on Slavery, Racism, and the University

Friday, December 3, 2021, 12:15pm EST – 5:00pm ET

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Join the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences and Hopkins Retrospective as we gather to explore the complexities of archival research and scholarship around the institution of slavery and its legacies at universities. The afternoon will be a discussion of what research is underway, how students envision their contributions, and what the path forward will be.

This virtual event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Friday, December 3, 2021, 12:15pm EST – 5:00pm EST

AGENDA

12:15pm | Opening Remarks by Christopher S. Celenza, James B. Knapp Dean, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences

12:30pm – 1:45pm | Panel 1: Methodologies

This conversation will focus on methodologies used by scholars to approach the study of slavery, racism, and the university. Panelists will explore comparative experiences, reveal findings emerging from their extensive archival research, and share insights from which others engaged in this work might learn.

Moderator: Sarah Pearsall, Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

Panelists:

• “No Exceptions: Terror, Violence, and Black Views of Bondage” Jessica Marie Johnson, Assistant Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

• “Reckoning with Abolition: Identity, Memory, and the Invention of Tradition" Sasha Turner, Associate Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

• “’The Propaganda of History’: W. E. B. Du Bois Returns to Johns Hopkins, Sort Of” Nathan Connolly, Director, Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship, Herbert Baxter Adams Associate Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

2:00 – 3:30pm | Panel 2: Legacies

This conversation will focus on researchers’ investigations of the enduring legacies of slavery and racism, particularly as they manifest in institutions. Panelists will discuss guiding research questions and preliminary findings while importantly elaborating on the challenge of working through archival absences and biases.

Moderator: Minkah Makalani, Associate Professor of History, Director of Center for Africana Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Panelists:

• “Seeking the Truth: Johns Hopkins and Slavery” Sydney Van Morgan, Senior Lecturer and Program Director, International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

• Talk title pending - Adam Rothman, Professor of History, Curator of the Georgetown Slavery Archive, Georgetown University

• "Understanding the History of Racial Segregation at Johns Hopkins Hospital" Ezelle Sanford III, Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor, History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

• “Reckoning with Legacies of Race and Racism in Academic Medicine” Jeremy A. Greene, William H. Welch Professor of Medicine and History of Medicine, Institute of the History of Medicine, Center for Medical Humanities & Social Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

3:45 – 5:00pm | Panel 3: The Future

This semester, Professor Martha S. Jones is teaching a class, “History Research Lab: Discovering Hard Histories at Hopkins,” through the History Department. In this session, Erin Rowe moderates a conversation with Martha and students in the class. They will discuss their experiences exploring Hopkins’ history, touching on the university’s connections to slavery, racism, segregation, and discrimination. The panelists will share some details of their research projects, what it means for the university to do this work, and share ideas about moving forward.

Moderator: Erin Rowe, Associate Professor of History, Vice Dean for Undergraduate Education, Director of Undergraduate Studies in History, Johns Hopkins University

Discussant: "Hard Histories at Hopkins: A View from the Lab” Martha S. Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, Professor at the SNF Agora Institute, Director of Hard Histories at Hopkins, Johns Hopkins University