Conference schedule

OPENING EVENING

| 2 June  |  6 p.m. – 9 p.m. |

Egyptian Hall, Mansion House, City of London

• 18.00: arrival and wine
• 18.30: Alexander Malmaeus (Chairman of the Anglo-Swedish Society): Introduction of speakers
• 18.35: Alderman Sir Roger Gifford (former Lord Mayor of London): Welcome to Mansion House
• 18.40: HE Nicola Clase (Swedish Ambassador)
• 18.45: Prof. Neil Kent (University of Cambridge): ‘The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: How Did it Really Function and How Effective Was its Abolition?’, followed by Q&A
• 19.15: Mark Florman (Centre for Social Justice, London): ‘Abolition in the 21st Century: Britain and the Modern Slavery Bill’, followed by Q&A
• 19.45: Thanks & closing remarks
• 19.50-21.00: drinks reception

CONFERENCE

| 3 June | 9 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.  |

Swedenborg Hall, at Swedenborg House, Bloomsbury Way, London

• 09.00-09.30: Tea and coffee
• 09.30: Introduction: Stephen McNeilly and Anders Hallengren, the Swedenborg Society

1. Abolition and Economy

• 09.35-10.30: Fredrik Thomasson, Uppsala University: ‘Debate, Silence, Oblivion, and Denial. Slavery and Colonialism in Sweden c. 1750–1800’
• 10.30-11.30: Brycchan Carey, Kingston University, London: ’Wadström and the Culture of British Abolitionism’
• 11.30-12.30: Anders Mortensen, Lund University: ‘The Importance of Wadström’s Abolitionist Economics to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Johan Gabriel Oxenstjerna’

• 12.30-14.00: LUNCH*

2. Africa and Natural Science

• 14.00-15.00: Robert William Rix, Copenhagen University: ‘Little Black Boys: Africans in the Works of C B Wadström and William Blake’
• 15.00-16.00: Klas Rönnbäck, Gothenburg University: ‘Enlightenment, Scientific Exploration and Abolitionism: Anders Sparrman’s and Carl Bernhard Wadström’s Colonial Encounters in Senegal, 1787–1788, and the British Abolitionist Movement’
• 16.00-17.00: Jonathan Howard, Stockholm: ‘Swedes and Settlers in West Africa in the 1790s: the Building of a New Society, from an Architect’s Point of View’

• 7 p.m. CONFERENCE DINNER: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, 145 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2BU.

| 4 June | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.  |

Swedenborg Hall, at Swedenborg House, Bloomsbury Way, London

• 09.00-09.30: Tea and coffee
• 09.30-09.35: Introduction: Anders Mortensen, Centre for Scandinavian Studies, Lund University, and James Wilson, the Swedenborg Society

3. Utopian Perspectives, Theology and Human Rights

• 09.35-10.30: Jane Williams-Hogan, Bryn Athyn College, pa: ‘The Swedenborgian Foundations of Wadström’s Plan For a Free Community in Sierra Leone’
• 10.30-11.30: Ronny Ambjörnsson, Umeå University: ‘Labour and Money: Wadström’s and Nordenskiold’s Utopian Ideas’
• 11.30-12.00: Inga Sanner, Stockholm University: ‘Love and Moral Utopianism’

• 12.00-13.30: LUNCH*

3. Utopian Perspectives, Theology and Human Rights, ctd.

• 13.30-14.30: James F Lawrence, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, ca: ‘The Role of the Churches in the American Abolitionist Controversy, and Wadström’s Interpretation of Swedenborg’s Discussions Regarding the Spiritual Attributes of Sub-Saharan Africans’
• 14.30-15.30: David Lindrooth, Bryn Athyn College, Bryn Athyn, pa: ‘The Theological Motivations behind Carl Bernhard Wadström’s Entrance into Advocacy for the European Anti-Slave Movement and their Implications on the Fight Against Human Trafficking Today’
• 15.30-16.00: Concluding panel. Chair: Anders Hallengren, Swedenborg Society, London, and Stockholm University.

Please note all times are approximate.

* Lunch is not served by the Swedenborg Society. There are, however, plenty of wonderful cafés and restaurants in the vicinity of Swedenborg House