Ethiopian Echoes on the Bath landscape | Shawn Sobers | TEDxBath

Are we the product of where we live and how does it affect the way we choose to live our lives? As increasing numbers of people are displaced by war and environmental effects how our communities welcoming them? Shawn Sobers looks to the past to explore how Haile Selassie exile served to create new ties and build ties between distant communities Shawn is Associate Professor of Lens Based Media at University of the West of England, Bristol. Shawn trained as an anthropologist at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and has carried out a wide range of research projects spanning diverse topics, ranging from Ethiopian connections with the city of Bath, legacies of the slavery, African presence in Georgian and Victorian Britain, disability and walking, Rastafari language and culture, and creative citizenship in social media. As a filmmaker and photographer his work has been exhibited and screened nationally and internationally, and has directed and produced documentaries for BBC1, ITV and Channel 4. Principles relating to community media and participatory practice underpin much of his work. His current research projects include the Black cultural history of everyday life. Shawn is a trustee of Fairfield House, the former residence of Emperor Haile Selassie I, and co-founder of Imperial Voice Radio. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx