In this special online event, Ed Baptist will present the Cornell-based Freedom on the Move (FOTM) project, in conversation with moderator Eric Tagliacozzo. The output of FOTM is a database documenting the lives of fugitives from American slavery through newspaper ads placed by slave owners in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the next phase of the project, the team will collaborate not only with other scholars from multiple disciplines but also public historians, genealogists, and archivists. By incorporating crowdsourced data, the researchers hope the project will enhance the ability of scholars from multiple disciplines to study the migration trajectory and experience of individuals and populations from slavery to freedom and beyond. Additional FOTM collaborators include Lynda Kellam, Brandon Kowalski, and the Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research.

This event is sponsored by Cornell’s Migrations initiative.

Speaker:

Edward E. Baptist: Professor of History, Cornell University

Moderator:

Eric Tagliacozzo: John Stambaugh Professor of History and Co-chair, Migrations initiative, Cornell University