The ongoing legacy of chattel slavery and the persistence of modern slavery weigh on the architecture, construction and engineering industries from material supply chains to the job site. A course on slavery in the built environment, taught simultaneously at Yale and the  University of Michigan, with support from the Yale Law School and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, has invited students to reckon with these challenges. While the professions recognize the necessity of this work, the inertial weight of current practice and systems have sidelined early efforts to confront modern slavery. And yet the momentum for change continues.

Disclosure legislation in the United Kingdom and Australia is being supplemented by EU-level human rights due-diligence responsibilities around forced labour. Stepped-up U.S. customs enforcement preventing the entry of tainted goods puts “just-in-time” sourcing at risk. Architecture and law students — and colleagues from environment, social  work, business, and policy schools — seek a deeper connection to justice and exploitation-free practice.

This symposium builds on this momentum by inviting participants to work across disciplinary lines, harness expertise, and seek path-breaking solutions together. Speakers include Sheela Ahluwalia, Luis C.deBaca, Phil Bernstein, David Blight, Bridgette Carr, Jordan H. Carver, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, Billie Faircloth, Kayleigh Houde, Michelle Moore, Chavi Keeney Nana, Randy Newcombe, Alan Organschi, Jacob Reidel, Nora Rizzo, John Tocci, Ryan Welch, and Mabel O. Wilson.