Lecture: Swedenborg on Slavery | Register here

Summary: A scientist and parliamentarian turned mystic, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was also one of the earliest prominent Swedes to condemn slavery. In this one-hour lecture, Roy-Di Piazza explores how Swedenborg’s doctrines on free will, combined with his famous visions of the afterlife, resulted in a corpus of striking writings discussing the links between temporal and spiritual freedom, slavery, and African superiority. These views would later inspire the next generation of Swedish abolitionists campaigning against slavery in Great Britain and France.

Description: The inaugural William Bruce Lecture 2026 will be given by historian Dr. Vincent Roy-Di Piazza (JYU) with responses from Professor Carl Wennerlind and Dell J. Rose. The one-hour lecture will be followed by Q&A and refreshments.

Vincent Roy-Di Piazza (PhD Oxford, 2022) is an early modern historian. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä (JYU) in Finland, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Carl Wennerlind is professor of history and vice-provost for research at Barnard College, Columbia University. Dell J. Rose is a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam and moderator of the William Bruce Lectures.