Call for Papers – Manumission in the Islamicate World: Theory and Practice
The University of Leicester (UoL) and the Markfield Institute of Higher Education (MIHE) are hosting a conference exploring manumission practices in the Islamicate world.
Conference Date: April 22, 2026
Abstract Deadline: May 31, 2025
Location: University of Leicester, UK
The study of slavery, manumission and abolition has generally focused on the Western world and the trans-Atlantic slave-trade. The objective of the conference is to develop nuanced understandings of how manumission was understood, instantiated and conceptualized within Islamicate discourses and history. In doing so, the conference seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of slavery and manumission practices within the Islamicate world, and develop conversations and conceptual connections amongst scholars working across different epochs, dynasties, and geographies. Manumission also calls attention to ‘freed’ status and post-manumission obligations, which, in their most extreme form, might constitute a form of serfdom.
Topics might include:
- Manumission practices in any period of Islamicate History
- Manumission contracts
- Manumission rituals and practices
- Manumission in last will & testament
- Manumission for the sake of marriage
- Manumission obligations
- Umm walad
- Manumission in theological discourse
For consideration of your proposal, please submit a 300-word abstract to events@mihe.ac.uk, along with your full name and bio by May 31, 2025. Please note that selected presentations may be asked to contribute to an edited volume.
