Olivette Otele

Olivette Otele is a Distinguished Research Professor of the Legacies and Memory of Slavery at SOAS University of London. She holds a PhD from La Sorbonne, France and received two honorary doctorates (in Law from Concordia University, Canada (2022) and in Philosophy from Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium (2026)). In 2023, Olivette was made Commandeur de L'Ordre de La Valeur by special decree from the President of Cameroon, alongside Boxing world champion Francis Ngannou, and she was awarded a Chevalier de Saint Georges Medal of Honour by President of Culture, Mayor and President of Tourism of Guadeloupe. She was a judge and chair for several book prizes (International Booker Prize, Orwell Prize, PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize). She was a Visiting Chair at the College de France (2023). She is a broadcaster, film and documentary consultant (Netflix, BBC, PBS) and she regularly writes for the press (Guardian, Sunday Times, GQ, etc.). She has published extensively on Colonial History and Memory, the histories of people of African descent (African Europeans) and restorative justice. Her latest publications include 'Comparative Focus on Legacies of Enslavement in the United Kingdom and France' (OUP, 2026) and Post-Conflict Memorialization: Missing Memorials, Absent Bodies (2021). She also works with policymakers and other institutions to engage with the histories of colonial slavery, racism, equality, diversity and restorative justice strategies (See Welsh Government audit on slavery and the Guardian newspaper’s project Cotton Capital).