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Is slavery the world's oldest trade?

Christine Davis Mantai

Slavery in ancient Egypt Slavery is not a pleasant subject. The suffering of slaves and the brutality of slavery is a black page writ large in American history, and most SUNY Fredonia freshmen come into Markus Vink’s history classes carrying powerful images of slavery as it was practiced in their own country in the 19th century. But, in his research seminar, Dr. Vink takes them on a different journey across time and space. He directs their attention eastward across the Atlantic, across the continent of Africa and into the world of the early modern Indian Ocean. He points them back to a time earlier than the American colonies. Here they find a world in which slaves are already ubiquitous, and where the practice of slavery is traditional. His research has traced slavery as far back as 1500 B.C.E., to the beginnings of (recorded) history and to the times of stateless peoples, hunter-gatherers, and pastoral nomads. Since then, a steady stream of captive humanity continued to flow through the rise and fall of empires, sultanates, confederations and kingdoms “Slavery,” Dr. Vink maintains, “is the world’s oldest trade.”

The next level of air quality modeling

Christine Davis Mantai

With a research grant of $80,000 through the Great Lakes Air Deposition (GLAD) program, Dr. Sherri Mason (chemistry) is collaborating with the State Department of...

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James Piorkowski

Christine Davis Mantai

James Piorkowski James Piorkowski (School of Music) will perform the song, "The Greatest of These," which he composed for mixed choir and guitar, during the...

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Alberto Rey

Christine Davis Mantai

Paintings by Alberto Rey (Visual Arts and New Media), along with an interview of the artist, were featured in the June exhibition at the Art...

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