This volume investigates the intertwining of freedom, slavery and work. The contributions shed light on this relationship by examining labour relations socio-historically based on violence and coercion. The chapters provide explorations of European and non-European, colonial and postcolonial contexts. Informed by global labour history, the volume draws systematically on Orlando Patterson's sociology of slavery and the European ideal of freedom. The book is a plea for a sociological approach to forced labour.

Theresa Wobbe, University of Potsdam; Marianne Braig, Free University Berlin; Léa Renard, Heidelberg University.