I am a specialist in slavery and its legacies in the US and the UK. After completing my PhD at the University of Liverpool in 2015, I spent two years at the University of Bristol before joining Liverpool John Moores University in September 2018. After significant time spent in Liverpool and Bristol, two cities that were at the heart of Britain's economy of enslavement, I have developed a strong interest in institutions that deal with difficult pasts. I am one of two international representatives on the Universities Studying Slavery Consortium's steering committee, and I have spoken at a UNESCO conference in the US on British Universities and Slavery. I established the LJMU and Slavery Project in 2018 and worked as academic lead, researching LJMU's history alongside undergraduate and postgraduate students. Some of this research can be found on this website, LiverpoolSlavery.com. I now provide oversight on the project, and research is now being undertaken by Dr Isabel Robinson, a postdoctoral researcher.
I have offered commentary and consultation on contemporary racial issues and legacies of slavery to BBC radio, NPR (US), and various European newspapers.
My forthcoming book with Louisiana State University Press is titled ‘Voices of the Formerly Enslaved in Louisiana: The WPA Narratives’ and was funded by the British Academy. The work is a an introduction to, and a collection of interviews with formerly enslaved people from Louisiana that were conducted by Black and white writers employed by the New Deal’s Federal Writers’ Project. Many of these interviews were previously unpublished and therefore provides a vital resource for historians of enslavement, descendants of the enslaved, and anyone interested in Black life and culture from enslavement through to the 1930s. This book is part of a two book project, with the second book due for completion in 2025.
My new book project seeks to understand the maternal healthcare in Black diasporic places. I am especially interested in the role of enslaved midwives in helping enslaved women to resist forced reproduction and shape understandings of reproductive justice in the context of the nineteenth century. Associated with this project I am currently leading on two research grants. The first is a British Academy SHAPE Involve and Engage Award, a collaboration with the International Slavery Museum (https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/international-slavery-museum) and Collective Encounters (https://collective-encounters.org.uk/) in a project exploring the use of creative methodologies to engage and include underrepresented voices in museum spaces. The second is a research grant co-led by Clare Maxwell, Reader in Maternal and Infant Health, to work with History and Midwifery students on a set of decolonising interventions into the midwifery curriculum.
My practice is driven by understanding and confronting the legacies of enslavement. If you would like to find out more or collaborate, please get in touch: a.livesey@ljmu.ac.uk
Degrees
2015, University of Liverpool, UK, PhD
2008, University of Liverpool, UK, MA Atlantic History Academic appointments
External Examiner, History, Queen Mary University of London, 2023 - present
International Representative, Universities Studying Slavery Steering Committee, University of Virginia, 2023 - present
Lecturer in the History of Slavery, University of Bristol, 2016 - 2018ABOUT ME
I am a North-West of England native, raised in Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside, in a family with a strong working class scouse identity. I’ve recently become a certified WSET sommelier — an interest far removed from my roots! I love nothing more than to shut off from work by exploring France, spending time at the ‘Toughsheet’ watching my favourite football team (Bolton Wanderers), taking evening courses (anything from Japanese and Spanish, to ceramics and plastering) and spending time with my husband, two children, three cats and dog.
