FutureLearn

Ending Slavery: Strategies for Contemporary Global Abolition (FutureLearn)

Offered by The University of Nottingham,
Ending Slavery: Strategies for Contemporary Global Abolition (FutureLearn)

There are 45.8 million slaves alive today. Find out how we might achieve a slavery-free world with this free online course. There are more slaves alive today than at any point in history. Around the world, nearly 46 million people are forced to work against their will for no pay. Responding to this challenge over the past 20 years, a new antislavery movement has shown us that a world without slavery is possible. Now is your chance to learn about this major human rights issue with the world’s first massive open online course about contemporary slavery.

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Understand contemporary slavery
You’ll learn from experts at the cutting edge of human rights research, and you’ll investigate the complex systems that sustain slavery today.
You will consider:

  • Different forms of slavery
  • Ground-breaking research about slavery’s measurement and definition
  • Strategies for ending slavery at the local, national and international levels
  • The roles of governments, businesses, technology, legislation and enslaved people themselves in ending slavery

Explore the historical context of slavery
The new UN Sustainable Development Goals now call for an end to global slavery by 2030, but how can we achieve this? To end slavery in the future, first we must look to the past. On the course we will look at the historical context of slavery and antislavery. What antislavery techniques have worked to date? Do past antislavery movements offer any lessons? Is historical antislavery a usable past for today’s efforts?

Learn from experts in the field
This course is supported by the AHRC Care for the Future research grant “The Antislavery Usable Past” and features research and teaching from experts in human rights and in past and present antislavery. It is taught by Professor Kevin Bales, the world’s leading expert on contemporary slavery and one of the leaders of the antislavery movement, along with Professor Zoe Trodd, a leading expert on antislavery, and Dr. Katie Donington, a slavery historian.
You will have access to the most cutting-edge research available in this area and be part of brainstorming a new guide for ending slavery that covers every level, from the individual to the United Nations.
On this course you have the chance to not only learn about slavery and antislavery, but also debate and shape solutions for the next phase of the contemporary antislavery movement. This course is an essential experience for anyone who wants to be part of a great human rights battle of our time.

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