Girton Reflects: Legacies of Enslavement
A series of reflections from the Girton College Legacies of Enslavement Committee.
While a significant route to understanding College's past has been inquiry into some of the sources of wealth through which the institution was able to grow, there is much more to be told. Importantly, Girton's internal history is there to be read alongside the external histories of which it was also a part.
Future findings, April 2026
These episodes of Girton Reflects were based on research commissioned by College between 2021-22, subsequently amplified over the period of their publication on the website during 2023-24. Bar essential corrections, they remain as originally presented.
Needless to say our knowledge has not stood still, and in 2025 the opportunity was seized to update the texts in one or two crucial places and to correct a number of details. This was College’s publication of a printed counterpart to the website series, all twelve episodes and their accompanying reflections, with the title
Legacies of Enslavement: Girton Reflects
It is available from the Porters’ Lodge on the main site for £10 or from the online shop for £10 + p&p.
Acknowledgement
The research involved was funded both by Girton College and by kind donation from Dr Alastair Reid.
William Dusinberre Prize
The William Dusinberre Prize is an annual competition, made possible by a generous gift from Girton Life Fellow, Juliet Dusinberre, in memory of her husband, a renowned historian of American slavery.
Girton College has established the prize to support and recognise student research and engagement with the legacies and practices of enslavement. This prize responds to the invisibilities of enslavement, both historical and contemporary, and its legacies as manifested across many academic disciplines and beyond.