To celebrate the launch of the letters of Charles Ignatius Sancho, edited by Professor Vincent Carretta, in Electronic Enlightenment, the Centre for Digital Scholarship and Electronic Enlightenment team are hosting a half-day academic symposium exploring the life and legacy of a man who, born into slavery, became a composer, shopkeeper, and man-of-letters.

While Sancho scholars benefit from his extensive epistolary documentation of his life and the circles he moved in, from the back rooms of elite manors, to the theatrical and commercial spheres of London, his wife Anne and his children remain comparatively silent presences in the archive. This symposium brings together generations of editors of Sancho’s letters, with creative and critical practitioners, to explore how Ignatius, Anne, and Elizabeth Sancho come to us today.

This free in-person event is open to University of Oxford staff and students only. Registration is required. Registration closes at 17:00 UK time on 29 October 2024.