We're absolutely delighted to be hosting Dr Priyamvada Gopal on Tuesday 11 February for a free talk entitled 'I AM a man, your brother': Black Resistance and the Secret History of British Antislavery, part of the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre Distinguished Lecture Series.
In her talk, Dr Gopal will challenge accepted histories, showing how rebellious enslaved people in Britain's colonies – from the Caribbean and East Africa to Egypt and India – were active influencers in their own liberation. Furthermore, her talk will address how their actions of resistance shaped anticolonial campaigns in the United Kingdom, right at the centre of empire, changing British attitudes towards freedom, emancipation and empire.
She will draw on many of the arguments presented in her new book Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent which sets the record straight in demonstrating that enslaved people were much more than victims of imperialism – they were insurgents whose legacies shaped and benefited the nation that once oppressed them.
"Priyamvada Gopal is an astonishing writer and thinker, one who is fearless in how she uses history to explain where we are now" – Nikesh Shukla
As a literary critic, Dr Gopal's body of work explores a range of issues and ideas, with a focus on race, empire and decolonisation. She says that decolonisation is about accepting that empire and colonialism were shaping forces in the world as we know it today, and understanding the damaging effects and long-term consequences they had on its former colonies.
Dr Gopal has been an enduring advocate for the decolonisation of the University of Cambridge Cambridge's English Literature curriculum and argues that in the context of the curriculum, decolonisation, is about having access to information and narratives which reframe our understanding of how to relate to people from other countries and cultures.
Of her writing, acclaimed author Nikesh Shukla says: "Priyamvada Gopal is an astonishing writer and thinker, one who is fearless in how she uses history to explain where we are now. Her work is essential to showing how empire and colonialism pervades every nook and cranny of the British establishment today and why we should all continue to speak truth to power, like she does every damn day."
Dr Gopal teaches in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Her main teaching and research interests are in colonial and postcolonial literature and theory.
Her books include Literary Radicalism in India: Gender, Nation, and the Transition to Independence (2005); The Indian English Novel: Nation, History and Narration (2009) and Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent (2019).
She has appeared on the BBC, independent news organisation Al-Jazeera and US news programme Democracy Now! She contributes to a host of publications, including India Today, the Times Literary Supplement, The Independent and The Guardian.
Event details:
Tuesday 11 February, Hugh Aston Building, room 3.03
5.30pm: Drinks reception
6-7.15pm: Dr Gopal's address and Q&A
7.15-8pm: Drinks reception and networking with colleagues and guests.