Teaching Slavery: New Approaches to Britain’s Colonial Past

A never-before-seen pedagogical guide on ethically and effectively teaching difficult histories of slavery.

This groundbreaking book combines the latest academic research on Britain’s involvement in colonial slavery with innovative thinking on teaching ＂difficult histories＂ in the classroom. It addresses three main shortcomings in how slavery is taught in British secondary schools: insufficient teacher training in both historical content and pedagogy; a shortage of high-quality, research-informed teaching resources; and a lack of published guidance to support ethical and effective classroom engagement. Offering educators both historical and pedagogical approaches to discussing slavery, it examines key themes of race, gender, resistance, and abolition through illuminating historical examples.

Katie Donington is a senior lecturer in Black, Caribbean, and African History at the Open University. Abdul Mohamud is a doctoral fellow on the Empire, Migration and Belonging project at University College London. Robin Whitburn is a lecturer in history education at the University College London Institute of Education. Nicholas Draper is the former director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London.