UG’s Dr Estherine Adams wins Int’l prize for groundbreaking research on women in colonial jails

Nov 17, 2025 News

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Kaieteur News – Dr. Estherine Adams, Head of the Department of History and Caribbean Studies at the University of Guyana, has been awarded the ASSLH Edna Ryan Prize for Best Article on Women’s History (2023–2024) for her paper, “‘At Work, in Hospital, or in Gaol’: Women in British Guiana’s Jails, 1838–1917,” published in the Journal of Labour History.

The prestigious Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH) recognised Dr. Adams’s work for its powerful and original exploration of how colonial prison systems in British Guiana controlled and exploited African and Indian indentured women. The judges praised the article as “original, clearly positioned in recent literature, and beautifully written to illuminate the lives of female indentured labourers,” noting its important argument on the intersections of coerced labour, capitalism, and colonialism.

Dr. Adams said she was “genuinely stunned” to learn that her paper had won the prize, especially since she had not known it had been submitted. “I had no idea the journal had entered my article, so the email arrived completely unexpectedly. There was a moment of disbelief followed by deep gratitude. As researchers, we often work in solitude — in archives, writing late at night — wondering if the nuance and humanity we try to convey will reach anyone. To learn that the article resonated that strongly was both affirming and humbling,” she said.

According to a press release by UG, the judges’ comments held special meaning for her, as they recognised not only the academic strength of her research but also its human depth. “They recognised not just the academic contribution, but the humanity of the women whose stories I reconstructed from archival silences. When they noted that the article was beautifully written to illuminate these lives, I felt seen as a scholar, not simply for producing research, but for recovering lives erased from the historical record,” she reflected.

Her motivation for exploring this subject was guided by a central question: Where were the women in the carceral histories of slavery and indentureship? According to Dr. Adams, “The prison was one of the earliest colonial institutions designed to regulate and exploit labour, yet women — particularly African and later Indian indentured women — were almost invisible in the archive. I wanted to centre them not as footnotes to male histories, but as labouring subjects whose experiences reveal how power operated through gender, race, and the prison system.”

She shared that one of her main challenges was the lack of detailed records on incarcerated women. To address this, she employed what she calls a “fragmentary methodology.” “In many cases, women appeared only as numbers or anonymous references buried in disciplinary reports. To overcome this, I read against the grain, analysing what the record left out as much as what it included, and pieced together details across inventories, health reports, punishment books, and plantation records. If the archive whispered, I tried to listen as closely as possible,” she explained.

Dr. Adams hopes that this international recognition will inspire more researchers in Guyana and across the Caribbean to interrogate history courageously. “My hope is that this award signals the value of work that confronts historical silences, especially in colonial archives. Guyana and the Caribbean are full of stories that remain unwritten. If this recognition encourages emerging researchers to take risks, ask uncomfortable questions, and challenge dominant narratives, then it has already done more than I could have imagined,” she said.

She also reflected on what the award means for the University of Guyana. “At UG, we teach, research, advise, and carry heavy administrative responsibilities, often simultaneously. This award is a reminder that world-class scholarship can be produced from Guyana, by Guyanese scholars, for global audiences. It also models for our students that their stories — the stories of this land and this history — are worthy of study and will be heard. The award is not just mine; it belongs to the Department, to the students who sit in our classrooms, and to the women whose lives I tried to honour in the research.” The University of Guyana congratulates Dr. Estherine Adams on this outstanding achievement. Her work continues to advance the institution’s mission to contribute meaningfully to national and global scholarship, while inspiring future generations of researchers to uncover and honour the untold stories of our region.

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• advise, Caribbean, Dr. Estherine Adams, Guyana, particularly African, prison system, Research, UG, we teach

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