The interdisciplinary, three languages volume, published in open access, emerged from the 2023 Socare conference “Competing Memories: The Politics of Remembering Enslavement, Emancipation and Indentureship in the Caribbean” at the University of Bonn. The conference addressed the multiple concepts of ‘history’ and ‘memory’ within the politics of remembering enslavement, emancipation and indentureship in Caribbean contexts. Providing case studies of Caribbean literature, art, film, monuments, and other forms of representation, the 13 contributions highlight how historical narratives and cultures of memory are implemented, removed, contested, and remodelled. The volume encourages reflection on the power dynamics involved in the processes of remembering, forgetting, memorizing, recollecting and commemorating in the context of colonial violence and trauma.
Competing Memories of Enslavement, Emancipation and Indentureship: The Politics of Remembering in the Caribbean, edited by Sinah T. Kloß, Andrea Gremels and Ulrike Schmieder. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter (Dependency and Slavery Studies, 27). Publication date: 26.01.2026