Please note: this lecture will be recorded and published on St Edmund Hall’s digital and print communication platforms where appropriate.

This is St Edmund Hall’s annual history lecture in memory of A B Emden, a distinguished medievalist and historian of universities who was Principal of the Hall from 1929 to 1951. Established in 1992, the Emden Lecture attracts eminent historians from around the UK and beyond to speak on topics of particular contemporary relevance to a non-specialist audience.

Catherine Hall is Emerita Professor of History and Chair of the Centre of the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL. She has written extensively on the history of Britain, gender and empire including Family Fortunes (1987), co-authored with Leonore Davidoff, Civilising Subjects (2002), Macaulay and Son (2012) and, with others, Legacies of British Slave-ownership (2014). From 2009-16 she was principal investigator on the LBS project www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs. Her latest book is Lucky Valley: Edward Long and the history of racial capitalism (2024).​