Assembly 2 will be organised around the theme “Slavery's Future Past.” How does slavery present itself—now, in the past, and into each of their futures? If the study of slavery's social and political history tells us that slavery abounds and yet cannily also erases itself from view, ought we trust our eyes to see it today? Ought we trust our wishes and efforts to abolish it? To prevent us forgetting the crime that is slavery, what can be done to make slavery's persistences into the present plainer to see? What can be done to erase slavery, not from view, but from our forms of social organisation?

In this Assembly, we want to approach the topic through sensitive and scholarly treatment of its place in the present. At the same time, we wish to estrange ourselves from it by taking up a standpoint in alternative worlds, of which antiquities are but examples. We hope the Assembly will display the promise of Critical Antiquities as an approach, one that gleans sources of alternative forms of life to make the present more intelligible and meaningful as they disclose ways of thinking, acting, and becoming otherwise that are still available and desirable now. Let this gathering of people together reveal their individual and collective potency as we ask: how can slavery be approached in political and emancipatory terms?

We invite comrades with all forms of knowledge, experience, care, and passion to join this endeavour. It is not confined to scholars, least of all those who are focused on ancient worlds. We seek the input of all concerned collaborators because the Can Assembly will be driven by those crowds whose collective impulse, knowledge, and action are necessary for transformative action itself.

All Assembly goers are also invited to participate in a series of four reading group meetings. In addition to reading selected works on the topic of slavery, we invite all participants to contribute artefacts to strengthen, deepen, and perhaps even enchant our endeavour. From classic academic tomes and well-footnoted articles to visual media and works in progress, we invite materials that, in your mind, contribute significantly to the Assembly’s chosen theme and method. In keeping with our orientation to ancient worlds—their literatures and other artefacts—these will form part of the materials around which the Assembly will gather.

For more information, please navigate to the Reading Group page of this website. Note that the same registration form allows you to register for the CAN Reading Group, the Can Assembly, or both.