This course examines global slaveries in their varying forms: debt labor, forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual slavery. Diverse systems of bondage have existed for thousands of years, appearing in Ancient Greece, colonial America, medieval Russia, and nineteenth-century Brazil. Slavery persists in present-day nations like the African country of Mauritania, where the institution was outlawed in 1981, and India, where there are an estimated 14.3 million enslaved people. In the United States, human traffickers buy and sell people who are forced to perform bonded labor or withstand sexual servitude. This course will compare historic and contemporary forms of slavery to comprehend their origins, structures, and defining characteristics. Students will grapple with important ethical questions to create definitions for fluid terms like slavery, bondage, liberty, and freedom. The class will identify similarities between institutions of slavery that differ geographically or temporally and pinpoint their unique features. Finally, students will assess the factors that led to slavery’s demise in different civilizations and find patterns across historical data. Readings include classic works of comparative history, present-day articles written by investigative journalists, and oral testimonies of former enslaved people. The course will also evaluate visual materials including photographs and documentary films. Assignments will include quizzes, a midterm, and a final essay that compares global slaveries.