Screening with Q&A: Servants. The true story of life below the stairs

Attend our screening of 'Servants. The true story of life below stairs' followed by a Q&A session.

A number of events will take place between the 1 - 4 October as part of a Knowledge Exchange, organised by the AHRC-funded project "Contemporary Capoeira in Rio de Janeiro, 1948-82."

This Knowledge exchange event will combine various activities (workshops, presenting research, round-table discussions) that are relevant for professionals in the area. Whilst training sessions, disucssions and round-table discussions aim to address general issues and problems arising of the combined practice of research and filmmaking, the main focus of the film screenings will focus on history of slavery and popular culture in Africa and its diaspora.

This is the first of a three part BBC history documentary series that tells the story of the transformation of domestic service in Britain through the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. The narrative combines the economic, social and emotional history of domestic service and created innovative ways of portraying the everyday tasks, intimiacies and tensions of servant life. The documentary offers many insights, allowing to compare and contrast their situation with the life of enslaved domestic servants in American plantation societies.

Presenter and co-writer Pam Cox (Sociology, University of Essex), will be introducing and discussing the film with the audience afterwards. Questions can also be asked at the end.

Each film screening session can be attended as a stand-alone event, or you can join all complementary film screening sessions. Sessions are free to attend.