1.0Department of Law and Legal Studies/lawHeather Plescia/law/author/heatherplescia/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="8rT6XKSVHB"><a href="/law/event/chet-mitchell-lecture-2026/">Chet Mitchell Memorial Lecture: Constructing Modern Slavery: Law, Capitalism and Unfree Labour</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="/law/event/chet-mitchell-lecture-2026/embed/#?secret=8rT6XKSVHB" width="600" height="338" title="“Chet Mitchell Memorial Lecture: Constructing Modern Slavery: Law, Capitalism and Unfree Labour” — Department of Law and Legal Studies" data-secret="8rT6XKSVHB" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=/law/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> /law/wp-content/uploads/sites/110/2026/01/personne_photo_2014-2.2015.couleur.fudge_.0897.jpg388476Constructing Modern Slavery: Law, Capitalism and Unfree Labour illustrates how legal meaning is shaped by cultural political economy and how law’s technicalities, in turn, shape what we understand as unfree labour. Although not defined in law, as an umbrella term ‘modern slavery’  highlights the unfreedom captured by legal concepts – slavery, forced labour, and human […]