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The University of Cambridge has created what is believed to be the first ever visiting fellowship into the study of indentureship, the controversial system that replaced slavery in the British Empire.

Selwyn College has appointed Professor Gaiutra Bahadur as the Ramesh and Leela Narain visiting bye-fellow in Indentureship Studies. Professor Bahadur is the author of Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture, which was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. It is a major study of the lives of Indian women who became indentured labourers to colonial plantations in the nineteenth century.

Selwyn and the Ameena Gafoor Institute - whose director is the novelist, poet, academic and alumnus Professor David Dabydeen - collaborated closely in setting up the programme which allows a scholar to spend eight weeks at the University conducting research. The programme will run for an initial five years.

The study of indentureship and its legacies was one of the recommendations made in the report of the Legacies of Enslavement at Cambridge Advisory Group, and it is hoped that enough funding will eventually be raised to establish a permanent professorship in the subject, based at the University.

Professor Bahadur, who works at Rutgers University-Newark, said: "I am honoured and delighted to be the inaugural visiting bye-fellow in indentureship studies.

"When I first began doing research in this area, the funding just wasn't there, so it was in many ways a labour of love. That's why I'm so happy to see there's now visibility and funding like this to help future researchers."

Professor Dabydeen said: "The study and documentation of indentureship is undoubtedly valuable, but it has barely been included in the history syllabi of British and European Universities - a staggering omission considering the millions of individuals, and indeed entire cultures, irrevocably shaped by indentureship and its legacies.

"That is why this fellowship, and hopefully eventually establishing a Professorship, is so important. Cambridge has created an academic subject, bringing it from the margins to the very centre. I am immensely grateful to the Gafoor family in Guyana for helping to make all this possible."

Professor Bahadur gave a public talk and Q&A on the writing of Coolie Woman on Thursday 27 July in the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium. The event is available to view on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3l6Gqddnj0

Selwyn’s General Admission 2023 took place on Friday June 30th, with all the traditional events: the gathering in Old Court for the graduands’ photograph and then the procession to the Senate House for the university ceremony. We offer our heartiest congratulations to all those who took part.

This year had some small differences due to the industrial action which has delayed some marks and results. Some degrees were awarded in absence first thing in the morning, so that all Selwyn students were then able to take part in the events on an equal basis. The words used by the vice-chancellor’s deputy were changed slightly, from awarding a degree to celebrating the end of studies. But otherwise it was a completely normal day, with the Senate House packed to the rafters with families and friends.

For more photographs and videos, please see our Facebook page www.facebook.com/Selwyn.College.Cambridge or look for @selwyn1882 on Instagram and Twitter.

The college congratulates its Boat Club crews on a highly successful few days on the river for the 2023 May Bumps. Here’s a report from the Selwyn captain:  

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The college capped off an outstanding May Bumps with another clean sweep on the final day. Crews bumped up a total of 9 times over the week, making Selwyn the most successful club on the river and the winners of the 2023 Pegasus Cup.

On the closing Saturday, M2 set a fast pace off the start to catch Christ's II on First Post Reach and win their Oars. They've been so dominant that their total distance raced over the week amounts to less than the length of the bumps course, with all their bumps taking place at or before First Post Corner.

[+4 ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️]

Up next, W1 set out to catch Lucy Cavendish I, who on Wednesday had been within a length of being chased down by W1 for the double overbump. W1 started strongly and gained quickly on Lucy Cavendish, bumping at First Post Corner. [ +3 ➡️⬆️⬆️⬆️]

Racing in the final division of the week, M1 put in their best row of the event to bump First and Third I at First Post Corner, executing their race plan to perfection and capping off one of Selwyn's most successful Bumps campaigns in recent memory. [ +2 ➡️⬆️➡️⬆️]

Well done to everyone involved in racing, and our thanks go to our fantastic captains and coaching staff who have put in so much work this year. Particular appreciation for the Friends of the Selwyn Boat Club. Without their support successes such as these would not be possible.

Five Selwyn academics have received promotions to professorships within the University of Cambridge.

There are two new Band 12 professors:

• James Keeler, chemistry

  

• Heather Webb, modern languages

And three Band 11 professors:

• Lynn Dicks, zoology

  

   

• Janet O’Sullivan, law

  

   

• Angeles Carreres, modern languages

  

   

We also congratulate our bye-fellow Dr Tom Hopkins on becoming a Senior Teaching Associate (Band 8).

We’re thrilled that Selwyn postgraduate student Chloe Balhatchet has won the sustainability category in the vice-chancellor’s social impact awards. The citation says: ”The sustainability team and Cambridge Zero jointly nominated Chloe for the sustainability award because of her outstanding and numerous contributions to many engagement projects within the university. Not only is she Selwyn College’s MCR green officer, but she has also been involved as a sustainability champion for the department of chemistry, part of the Selwyn green impact group, on the Cambridge Zero postgraduate award committee and a member of the plant-based university campaign.”

Chloe is photographed being congratulated by the acting vice-chancellor Anthony Freeling. The awards scheme is organised by the Cambridge Hub.

In May 2023 Selwyn hosted a discussion about women in science, featuring Dame Athene Donald – former professor of experimental physics in Cambridge, and currently master of Churchill College. Dame Athene has written a book “Not Just for the Boys” which reviews the history and examines the current challenges of women pursuing a career in science; and the conversation, moderated by the master of Selwyn Roger Mosey, went into wider areas including the role of women as leaders in universities and in politics. There were also questions from the audience in the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium.

The event can be viewed on demand on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v318sbgZ2wo

Selwyn’s outreach work has been particularly intense in recent weeks, with a series of trips to Cambridge by schools and multiple occasions when our schools liaison officers have been visiting locations across the country. The aim is a simple one: to show that Selwyn and Cambridge are open to everyone with the right talent irrespective of geography or background or personal circumstances.

We have a particular focus on East Berkshire and West Yorkshire as our link areas, and we recently hosted an HE+ programme event for Yorkshire schools which was run in association with the Cambridge Admissions Office. This involved masterclasses at Selwyn for prospective students and a chance to see what the city has to offer. The schools we hosted included New College Pontefract; Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form in Leeds; three of the Trinity Academies in Halifax; Ossett Academy in Wakefield; and Elliott Hudson College, Leeds.

To learn more about applying to Selwyn as an undergraduate, please click here: https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/joining-selwyn/undergraduates

The photos show Dr Myungun Kim who teaches economics; Dr Chloe Allison, music; Dr Daniel Beauregard, chemistry; and all the school students gathered in the Quarry Whitehouse auditorium.