By: Daniel Brount Recreating the trauma of slavery is challenging enough when writing about historical events, but it’s even more difficult with fantasy fiction. Marie Rutkoski takes on this challenge with her young adult fantasy novel The Winner’s Curse (2014). Though her work does not depict slavery perfectly, the fictional world’s slave system is successful […]

By: Sadie Brown In reviews of Django Unchained, the film is often criticized for its portrayal of the white savior figure. In his review of the film, Matthew Hughey tells readers why Django is not a revenge fantasy: Django is no antebellum-era Shaft.  King Schultz not only buys Django’s freedom, trains him in the art […]

By: Niki Wilkes The Harry Potter series was a giant exercise in universe building, and with seven books, J.K. Rowling had a lot of space to incorporate many of the more complicated aspects of society. One notable inclusion is the plight of house-elves, the wizarding world’s manifestation of slavery. This institution was hinted at as […]

By: Lauren Lutz Living in the United States, it is sometimes difficult to recognize that slavery exists outside of the history of the Americas. The trans-Atlantic chattel slave trade is what is taught about in school, what is seen in films and television, and what is recognized as a collective history within American culture. However, […]

By: Kathryn Hampshire Many modern television shows engage in critical conversations without viewers realizing it. One such program is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU). This crime drama centered on sexually-motivated offences follows “the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies,” as the opening mantra states (“Merchandise”). “Special victims” include those who have experienced rape, […]

By Kendra Roberts The world is constantly in flux with goods and services, which isn’t news to anybody, but what happens when those goods are tainted with the blood of humans? What happens when the sugar in your coffee or in your candy bar is produced by hands that bled, bodies that were whipped, and […]

Morgan Aprill Being part of a class on modern day slavery, I have found myself reevaluating a lot of things in my life. I have come to realize just how prevalent slavery is today and how it creeps into the crevices of so much of the world’s economy. In particular, I do not think I […]

By: Jeff Owens According to Free the Slaves, a non-governmental organization committed to supporting sustainable solutions to slavery worldwide, there are 21-30 million people in slavery today. Though slavery is illegal in every country, it is more prominent today than ever before. When informing others about modern slavery, it is important to understand the mechanics […]