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Bodleian Exhibition and Workshop: Indian Traces in Oxford

Monday 1 March 2010, 2-6 p.m, Convocation House, Bodleian Library, Oxford, Reception in Divinity School: 6-7.30 p.m.

The month-long exhibition, Indian Traces in Oxford, linked to the AHRC-funded project Making Britain: South Asian Visions of Home and Abroad, 1870-1950, (Open University, English Faculty, Oxford University, King’s College London) and mounted in collaboration with the Bodleian Library, will showcase the remarkably wide range of textual and photographic traces or leavings of Indian students, activists, politicians, artists and others in the Bodleian special collections and College libraries, in the period 1870-1950. The exhibition will open with a half-day workshop, on 1 March 2010, in Convocation House, to be introduced by the acclaimed Indian novelist – and Oxford alumnus – Amitav Ghosh.

Both the exhibition and the 1 March workshop will consider the value and meaning of manuscript traces, how they reflect on the ways in which Indians and Britons interacted in the period, and how we are able to imagine the lives of these early Indian travellers to Oxford into these textual tracks and marks. The exhibition will be held in the Proscholium, 1-27 March. For more information about ‘Making Britain’, please visit our website.

Posted 4 December | back to the top

Call for Papers: Northeast Conference on British Studies 2010 Annual Meeting, Burlington, Vermont, USA

The Northeast Conference on British Studies (NECBS) will hold its annual meeting in 2010 in Burlington, Vermont on Friday and Saturday, September 24 and 25. We solicit the participation of scholars in all areas of British Studies, broadly defined. In particular, we welcome proposals for interdisciplinary panels that draw on the work of historians, literary critics, and scholars in other disciplines whose focus is on Britain and its empire, from the Middle Ages to the present. Proposals for entire panels on a com-mon theme will be given priority, although individual paper proposals will also be considered if several of them can be assembled to create a viable panel. Proposals for roundtable discussions of a topical work, or current issue in the field, or pedagogical practices with respect to the teaching of particular aspects of British Studies are also encouraged.

The typical ninety-minute panel will include three papers, each lasting fifteen to twenty minutes, a chair and a commentator. Roundtables may have a looser format. Proposals should include a general description of the panel or roundtable (including an overall title), a 200-300 word abstract for each paper to be read, and a one-page curriculum vitae for each participant. The address, phone number and e-mail address of every participant (including the chair and commentator) must be included in the proposal. For panel or roundtable proposals the name of the main contact person should be noted clearly. Electronic submissions (as e-mail attachments in Word) are preferred, with all the various materials presented in a single document. The deadline for receipt of completed submissions is 15 March 2010. Proposals should be submitted to mrhunt@amherst.edu. For the full CFP see here.

Posted 1 February | back to the top

Call for Papers: Death, Commemoration and Memory: an Exploration of Representation, Concept and Change

Thursday 24 and Friday 25 June 2010

The Death, Commemoration and Memory (DCM) Research Group is based within the School of Arts, Culture and Environment at the University of Edinburgh. Founded in 2008, DCM provides a forum for postgraduates and staff whose research engages with any aspect of the Group’s remit, attracting junior and senior scholars from a variety of academic disciplines. Building upon the Group’s success, a two‐day conference is planned in Edinburgh for June 2010 to provide a platform for further interdisciplinary discussion and to create new networks between researchers across the UK. Topics for discussion may include, but are not limited to:

  • Acts of commemoration, mourning practices and rituals
  • The social aspects of individual memory, collective memories and cultural attitudes towards memory
  • The ethics and etiquette of death studies: the treatment of human remains in archaeology, pathology and museum practice
  • Death in the visual arts: commemoration through architectural and artistic practices
  • Poetic, literary and musical interpretations of death
  • The dichotomy between history and memory
  • Psychological and sociological studies of bereavement

We welcome abstracts of 300 words on any aspect of the conference’s themes, accompanied by a short academic resume of 200 words maximum. Applications should be sent to dcm.ed@hotmail.co.uk with ‘DCM CONFERENCE’ as the email’s subject. Submission deadline: 12 March 2010.

Posted 27 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Postgraduate Workshop on the English Reformation

2 June 2010, The University of Liverpool

This is a call for papers on any aspect of the English Reformation for a one day postgraduate research workshop. The date is 2 June 2010. The papers are to be approximately 20 minutes long and can cover any aspect of the English Reformation. This is a great opportunity for postgraduates to share their research and receive feedback in a friendly, supportive environment.

If you would like to hear more about the event, express interest for attendance or wish to propose a paper please contact Ryan Clayton.

Posted 27 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: The Commonwealth at 60: Transitions, Belonging and Identities

Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Thursday 3 June 2010

A one day conference at the Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Thursday  3 June 2010, Keynote Dr John Darwin (Oxford) Expanding on the success of 2009’s ‘Writing African Histories’ conference, postgraduate students in Imperial and International history at the University of Sheffield are delighted to announce the call for papers for a one day interdisciplinary conference on the theme of the Commonwealth at 60. We invite the submission of abstracts from postgraduate researchers from across the arts, humanities and social sciences of no more than 250 words for papers of 15-20 minutes by 1 March 2010 to International-History@shef.ac.uk.  Papers might intersect with one or more of the following themes:

  • The nature of Decolonisation and the transition to Commonwealth
  • Development and Neo-Imperialism
  • Identity
  • Belief and Symbolism
  • Diaspora
  • Expulsion and Inclusion
  • Postcolonial Commonwealth relationships
  • Networks and Trade
  • Transnational relations
  • The Local and The Global

Posted 26 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: British Library Symposium: Maps in Context

Recent study of maps has attempted to understand the contexts in which they were produced, and the functions they fulfilled. In particular, the qualities of display maps have not received sufficient attention in the wider context of wall decoration of both interior and exterior spaces from early modern to twenty-first century Europe, nor has their relationship to other forms of decoration such as paintings, sculptures, tapestries and murals been adequately studied. The symposium will be held in conjunction with the British Library exhibition ‘Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art,’ which will focus on the artistic, political, social and symbolic qualities of maps as opposed to their scientific properties. The exhibition will be arranged as a series of spaces, such as a school, the rooms of a palace, a board room and an open space, which will reflect their original audiences and functions.

Suggested themes papers may address but are not limited to:

  • The symbolic and iconic qualities of cartography
  • The iconography of the Renaissance palace
  • Artistic influences in mapping, and cross-fertilisation with fine art
  • Artists who also made maps
  • Maps in the wider context of art history
  • The propaganda use of maps
  • The map as an instrument of government
  • Maps for the masses – the function of maps in public spaces
  • The manipulation of the cartographic image for non-geographical purposes

If you wish to present a paper please send an abstract of not more than 250 words, along with a brief biography, by 14 February 2010 to Tom Harper.

Posted 8 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Fifteenth Century Conference 2010

University of Southampton, 2-4 September 2010

Proposals for papers or sessions on any fifteenth-century topic are welcome. However, it is intended that sessions will reflect a particular focus on social and economic history (broadly conceived), and the theme of England's wars 1399-1500. The estimated total cost of the conference (full residential rate) is £190. Discounted rates for graduate students will be available.

To propose a 30-minute paper, or session comprising two papers, please send titles and abstracts (maximum 100 words per paper) by 1 March 2010 to Nick Kingwell. Proposals will then be considered by the conference committee. A comprehensive website giving details of the conference programme and booking information will be launched in March.

For further information, please contact: Professor Anne Curry or Dr Chris Briggs, or by post at: School of Humanities University of Southampton Southampton, UK S017 1BJ

Posted 26 November | back to the top

Call for Papers: Waterloo to Desert Storm: New Thinking on International Conflict, 1815-1991

Scottish Centre for War Studies at the University of Glasgow, 24 and 25 June 2010

Proposals (c.300 words) for papers of 20 minutes should be submitted to Ms Ulrike Thieme at u.thieme.1@research.gla.ac.uk by Thursday 15th April 2010. There are no registration costs, and accommodation can be arranged by the organisers. There may be limited funds available to refund travel costs, but delegates are encouraged to apply to their host institutions for assistance. We welcome contact from anyone who wishes to attend the conference.

For further information see the conference listing here, or contact Ulrike Thieme.

Posted 19 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Women’s History Scotland 2010 Annual Conference

Women in / on the Land (Scape):Gender, Space and Environment in Women's and Gender History

15-16 October 2010, UHI Centre for History (University of the Highlands and Islands project), Dornoch, Scotland

For this annual conference of Women’s History Scotland we will be in the Highlands; hence the focus of this event on women’s relationship with the land and landscape. We welcome proposals for papers (20 minutes) which engage with this theme over historical time and place. Proposals are not limited to Scottish themes (though papers addressing Highland and Island themes are especially welcome) and we invite comparative and non-Scottish topics.

We invite proposals from scholars at all stages of their careers and from independent researchers. Topics may include (but are not limited to): Women in rural communities; women, gender and urban and rural space; gender relations and land-use; environmental change and its impact on gender relations; representations of women and men in the landscape; gender and landscape design and architecture; demography and the land; land ownership, gender and property; the gendering of work on the land.

Proposals (300 words) for 20 minute papers should be submitted to Karly Kehoe by 1 May 2010.

Posted 15 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies Eighth Biennial International Conference

University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2-5 February 2011

Keynote speakers: Professor Alastair Minnis (Yale Unviersity) Professor Michael Hunter (Birkbeck College) Professor Frances E. Dolan (University of California at Davis) Professor Dauvit Broun (Glasgow University.

We wish to invite proposals for papers and panels for ANZAMEMS 2011. We would like to encourage papers and panels in the broadly-defined academic disciplines of medieval and early modern studies, including but not limited to history, literary studies, music, art history, theology and religious studies, cultural studies, philosophy, science, medicine, maritime studies, performance studies, gender studies. We particularly welcome and encourage papers from graduate students and early career researchers. Proposals for full panels are very welcome. These should include three proposed speakers, and, if possible, a chair and/or a respondent. Individual papers will be grouped with two others. Parallel sessions will last an hour and a half, which means that papers should be no longer than 20 minutes each to leave sufficient time for discussion.

The final deadline for proposals is 3 September 2010, but early submissions are encouraged. Proposals should contain a title, an abstract of your paper (200 words), and your name, contact details, and institutional affiliation. Participants who need to make travel arrangements are welcome to submit their proposals early and the convenors will assess their abstracts promptly. Proposals should be sent to anzamems2011@otago.ac.nz. Further information may be sought from the convenors – Dr Simone Celine Marshall, Dr Judith Collard and Professor Peter Anstey – or from our website.

Posted 6 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Red Stones: the Lives and Afterlives of Colonial Cemeteries

Centre for the Study of Colonial and Post-colonial Societies University of Bristol

Cemeteries: sites of celebration, mourning, anxiety, anger, nostalgia even. This workshop will bring together scholars from a number of disciplines to explore ways in which we understand the cemetery as a colonial site, as a site of colonial or postcolonial enactments, and of individual human grief. For more details please see this attachment, to register attendance or offer a paper, please contact: Professor Robert Bickers, Dept of History, School of Humanities, University of Bristol.

Posted 18 December | back to the top

Call for Papers: London Lives 1690-1800

5-6 July 2010, De Havilland Campus, University of Hertfordshire

A call for papers and short presentations (due 28 February 2010) for a two-day conference to mark the launch of: www.londonlives.org.

This new website will provide access, using an integrated search facility, to primary sources containing 240,000 pages of manuscripts sources, and 3.2 million names, reflecting the history of eighteenth-century London. It includes the 18th century material from the Old Bailey Online; the manuscript records of quarter sessions, three London parishes, Bridewell, St Thomas’s Hospital, and the Carpenter’s Company; datasets from the Westminster Pauper Biographies Project; and several datasets formerly deposited with the Arts and Humanities Data Service.

For further details and submission requirements, go to: http://londonlives18th.wordpress.com/ or contact Tim Hitchcock.

Posted 4 December | back to the top

Call For Papers – Sixteenth Century Studies Conference 2010: 'A Living Example – The Early Modern Bishop'

Montréal, PQ, Canada,14–17 October 2010

Throughout the sixteenth century the episcopacy occupied a challenging place in the Catholic Church hierarchy. To reformers the bishops were a “living example” that was the key to establishing a vibrant and orthodox Church focused on the local community but led by clergy. To the local community the bishop was the primary conduit for orthodox knowledge, salvation, justice, charity, and (moderate) ecclesiastical wealth and patronage. To clergy the episcopate was the first step into higher ecclesiastical governance and thus was a coveted benefice with real prestige and authority. To the papal court the bishop was a well-educated and connected figure that fulfilled numerous necessary bureaucratic, judicial, liturgical and diplomatic tasks. While the ecclesiastical multitude depended on the bishop to “work” the Church, the episcopacy was heavily criticized for its sustained absenteeism and involvement in activities outside the dioceses.

This Call for Papers embraces all aspects of the study of bishops, and hopes to attract presenters with a broad interest in this group and their relations, both personal and institutional, with the wider world in Europe and beyond. Presentations could focus on the following aspects of the office or individual bishops throughout the long sixteenth century: 

  • The image/representation of the bishop; Reform of and/or criticism of bishops; the “place” of or ideal behavior of bishops
  • Patronage of and/or by bishops (artistic, intellectual, diplomatic, etc.)
  • New bishoprics established oversees/missionary work; the episcopal tradition in Protestant states; episcopal relations with Protestant states
  • Relations between bishops, between bishops and their superiors and patrons, and also between bishops and their underlings (vicars, communities, monastic orders, etc)
  • The relations between bishops and the secular leaders of their communities, lay leaders of confraternities.

Please send a title and 200 word abstract of the proposed presentation to both Jennifer Mara DeSilva and John Christopoulos. Please detail any AV requirements for your proposed presentation. Presentations made be made in either English or French. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 1 March 2010.

Posted 21 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Researching Contemporary History

1 March 2010, Birmingham Centre for Contemporary History

A one-day event for PhD and Masters Students working on any aspect of contemporary history. This will provide the opportunity for postgraduate students at any stage to present research ideas or findings to gain good experience and useful feedback. The workshop is being run in collaboration with the University’s Centre for Contemporary History.

The deadline for 200 word abstracts is 12 February 2010. For more information, general inquiries or to submit please email Kieran Connell.

Posted 4 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: From the Grand Tour to Mass Tourism: the Modern History of the British Abroad

1-2 April 2010, Newcastle University

Interdisciplinary and trans-national perspectives on British travel experience and its impact from the eighteenth to the early twenty-first century.

This two-day conference will examine the roles travellers, artists, writers, politicians, diplomats, service personnel, and tourists consumers played in creating and disseminating ideas and values about Britain and the world. We are interested in understanding how different social, economic, cultural, military, artistic and political values and practises have influenced international exchanges, and how the evolution from elite to popular tourism changed perceptions and representations. By looking at British travel experiences in the last three centuries from an interdisciplinary perspective, this conference seeks to study national consciousness by comparing international connections and their representations.

Proposals of 300-400 words and a brief biographical statement to be sent to Dr Martin Farr or Dr Xavier Guégan by 28 January 2010 – or please indicate your intention to send a proposal and the date by which you will be able to send it. Please add 5-6 key words and an indication of the most appropriate subthemes for your paper.

See here for the full Call for Papers

Posted 13 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Southern Conference on British Studies 2010 Meeting

5-7 November 2010, Charlotte, NC

The Southern Conference on British Studies solicits proposals for its 2010 meeting to be held 5–7 November 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The SCBS will meet in conjunction with the Southern Historical Association. The SCBS construes British Studies widely and invites participation by scholars in all areas of British history and culture, including the Empire or Commonwealth and the British Isles. Interdisciplinary approaches and proposals which focus broadly on teaching British studies are especially welcome.

Proposals may consist of individual papers or of papers grouped for a session. For session proposals, two, or, preferably, three papers should relate to a common theme, not necessarily bound by the usual chronological framework. For each paper proposed, please submit an abstract of 200 to 300 words, indicating the thesis of the paper, the sources and methodology employed in research, and how it enhances or expands knowledge of its subject. Papers should have a reading time of 20–25 minutes. Also, please submit a curriculum vitae for each participant.

Proposals should be postmarked by 15 March 2010 and mailed to Dr. William Anthony Hay, Department of History, P.O. Box H, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762. Inquiries are welcome at wilhay6248@aol.com, but please do not send proposals by email or fax.

Posted 18 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: North American Conference on British Studies

Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, 12-14 November 2010

The NACBS and its Mid-Atlantic affiliate, the MACBS, seek participation by scholars in all areas of British Studies for the 2010 meeting. We solicit proposals for panels on Britain, the British Empire, and the British world. Our interests range from the medieval to the modern. Though primarily a conference of historians, we welcome participation by scholars across the humanities and social sciences, especially on interdisciplinary panels.

All submissions must be received by 1 March 2010. See here for the full CFP, or for details, directions, and online submission, see the website. Please send questions about panel requirements and suggestions about program development to Lara Kriegel, NACBS Program Chair Department of History, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199.

Posted 7 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Atlantic Sounds: Music, Seafaring and Seaport Cities in History

A colloquium hosted by the University of Liverpool, Souled Out Films, and Merseyside Maritime Museum, 17-18 September 2010

Researchers have long been aware of the role of music in connecting cultures, and much work has been done on the diverse diasporic musical heritage of the Americas, whether rooted in Africa, Ireland, Britain, Continental Europe, or America itself. In addition, sea-songs devised to aid the hard physical labour of work on sailing ships often emerged from experiences on shore, with many recalling the dangers and pleasures of life in port. The processes and mechanisms that established such connections are less clear, however, and the transmission of musical cultures across oceans by seafarers, travellers, and free and forced migrants is a promising area for further study.

This colloquium aims to gather scholars working on these topics from a range of academic disciplines, and to explore the untold stories of musical links and flows across and around the Western Ocean. We are particularly interested in papers that analyse connections, and ways in which seafarers, migrants, workers and the residents of port towns and cities around the Atlantic influenced each other and the development of a broader musical heritage. Proposals may focus on any period from the mid-18th century to the late 20th, and we will aim for a broad chronological range of papers at the colloquium.

Applicants should submit a 200-word abstract and a summary CV (single side) as email attachments to Dr Graeme Milne, School of History, University of Liverpool, by 1 March 2010. The organisers are seeking sponsorship for the event, but speakers should plan to meet their own travel and accommodation costs.

Posted 25 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: Postgraduate Conference at the Rothermere Institute

From the Treaty of Paris to the Paris Summit: Shaping US Relations with the World, 1763-1960

Rothermere American Institute, 12 May 2010

The Rothermere American Institute will host a one-day multidisciplinary conference for postgraduates on Wednesday 12 May 2010. It is the fourth annual event in an emergent tradition of postgraduate symposia on the history of the United States held at the University of Oxford.

This conference aims to look beyond the well-documented policies of presidents and the State Department to explore the importance in the shaping of US foreign relations of a wide range of ideas, institutions, agencies and individuals. These include US embassies, bureaucracies, NGOs and Congress, American commerce, trade and banking, as well as public opinion, culture, the press and grass-roots activism. We have deliberately set expansive parameters, both chronological and thematic, in order to attract stimulating contributions from a wide field of research. We hope to receive contributions that will take account of the way in which, in recent years, the influence of transnational historiography has transformed the study of US history. This means that we are keen to receive proposals from postgraduates working in any discipline within the field of American Studies, including history, political science, law, international relations, sociology, and popular culture, amongst others.

The call for papers is specifically for postgraduate panellists, but anyone who is interested is welcome to attend the conference. Postgraduates wishing to give a twenty minute paper should send a proposal of 250-300 words, together with a brief (maximum two sides of A4 paper) academic CV, by Friday 19 February 2010. Those who simply wish to attend the conference without giving a paper should send their name, institutional affiliation and student status (Master’s, PhD etc.). Both prospective speakers and attendees should send their details by email or by post to: Andrew Boxer, Pembroke College, Oxford, OX1 1DW.

For further details please see the conference website.

Posted 25 January | back to the top

Call for Papers: The Material Life of Things Project

In recent years, the evidence of technical and material analysis has become increasingly important to art-historical interpretation. Beyond their traditional role in informing the restoration of artefacts, technical investigations have greatly contributed to our understanding of how works of art were made. Yet, less critical attention has been paid to the ‘use-life’ of artefacts – that is, to the manipulation, exchange and consumption of artefacts throughout their life histories. Drawing together researchers from different areas of expertise including curators and conservators, this research project aims to explore the material lives of artefacts in a variety of media, encouraging object-based, methodological and theoretical discussions relating to the shifting relationship between artefacts, people and environments throughout the life history of particular objects or classes of objects.

As part of the Material Life of Things, scholars working across the discipline are invited to join a research group to discuss various topics and address methodological questions within the theme of The Material Life of Things. The group will consist of 15-20 scholars meeting in the academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11, starting in spring 2010. Group members will be asked to develop a research project with a view to publishing the findings at the end of the designated period. Plenary sessions in which all group members will participate will be followed by small group discussions (4/5 members) in which individual projects and papers will be discussed. Group members will also be asked to participate in symposia to take place during the time span of the project, including a final international two-day symposium. A collection of essays presenting the results of the project is also planned. Applications to join the research group are welcome from scholars at all stages of their career: from current graduate students to established scholars.

Scholars applying to join the research group are asked to submit a proposal of 300 words on a topic that they wish to develop over the course of the project. We encourage proposals that address both object-based and theoretical/methodological issues. Topics are welcome from all periods and could address any aspect of The Material Life of Things, with the issues above providing a general starting point. Deadline for applications: 12 March 2010. Applicants should send a CV, covering letter and a proposal of not more than 300 words detailing how they would develop their topic over the period of the project. Applications should be addressed to Professor Caroline Arscott, Head of Research, and sent c/o Cynthia de Souza, Research Forum, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. The Research Forum will contribute towards the costs of attending the seminars.

For further information please see here. For enquiries relating to application procedures including any copies of applications being sent via email, write to researchforum@courtauld.ac.uk; for any queries relating to the content and nature of the project, contact the organiser, Dr Francesco Lucchini.

Posted 1 February | back to the top

Call for Papers: 2010 Gladstone Conference

Friday 30 July – Sunday 1 August 2010, St Deiniol’s Library, Hawarden, Flint, near Chester

Offers of papers, on any aspect of Gladstone’s life and times, should be submitted by 1 April 2010 to Dr Roland Quinault, Institute of Historical Research, University of London.

Posted 1 February | back to the top

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in British Studies

Yale University Program in British Studies

Closing date: 22 February 2010

Yale University’s Program in British Studies invites applications for a one year postdoctoral fellowship in the History of Representative Institutions, renewable for a second year. Applicants should propose a research project on an aspect of this theme to be completed within the period of the fellowship. We define British Studies broadly to include not only the British Isles but also former colonies, dependencies, and members of the Commonwealth. The Fellow will normally be expected to teach one course per year related to the fellowship theme at the undergraduate or graduate level; to participate in our ongoing cross-disciplinary British Historical Studies Colloquium; and to help shape a conference on the fellowship theme to be held at Yale during the second year of the fellowship. The Fellow will be expected to be in residence in New Haven. The stipend for 2010-2011 is expected to be set at $39,000.

Applicants should have a completed Ph.D. by September 2010, but may be at any stage in their careers. Each application must include a include a c.v; description of the research project (up to two pages); a one-page abstract describing a conference to be organized in the second year of the fellowship; and three letters of recommendation. Yale University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity among its students, staff, and faculty, and strongly encourages applications from women and underrepresented minorities.

Send all application materials to: Marianne Lyden, Program Manager, European Studies Council, The MacMillan Center, 34 Hillhouse Ave, PO Box 208206, New Haven, CT 06520 USA. Phone (203) 432-3423. See website for further details.

Updated 6 January | back to the top

Students, Volunteering and Social Action: Histories and Policies - Call for Working Group Members

The Institute for Volunteering Research and Student Hubs are initiating research on the history of students, volunteering and social action in the UK. Outcomes may include a literature review, a one-day workshop, a witness seminar, policy commentaries, networking opportunities and a short pictorial history of the movement.

To guide this research we propose to form a working group. We would welcome expressions of interest from all those interested: historians, research students, social researchers, practitioners, policymakers and students. The first meeting will be in March to initiate the process (probably in Oxford). Please see the website (including a draft timeline of the movement) or email Georgina Brewis for more information.

Updated 25 January | back to the top

Edexcel is recruiting Examiners for GCE/GCSE History

Edexcel is currently looking for GCE/GCSE History teachers to become examiners for the 2010 summer examination series.

Joining Edexcel's Assessment Associate community offers an excellent opportunity to gain greater insight into the assessment of candidates as well as forming part of your continuous professional development. Whether you are marking traditionally or on-screen, our detailed standardisation programme ensures you are fully trained, as well as providing you with expert support throughout the marking period. If you are a current or newly qualified teacher, this will enable you to enhance your expertise within the classroom and will assist you in preparing your students for their exams. We also welcome the wealth of experience that recently retired teachers can provide. Whichever stage of your teaching career you are at we are interested in hearing from you.

The marking period is between May to July. All examiners receive training, support, payment, and rewards package and you have the flexibility to work from home. Examiners can expect to earn between £750 and £1000 per examination series. To apply please visit our website.

Updated 6 January | back to the top

Fixed Term Opportunities for Early-Career Researchers

Department of History, University of Durham

Closing date: 17 February 2010

£29,853 - £43,840 p.a. (Grade 7 – 8)

As a result of awards of three prestigious fellowships to senior staff, the Department of History is able to offer the following excellent fixed-term opportunities for early-career researchers:

  • LECTURER IN EARLY MEDIEVAL HISTORY (GRADE 7 – 8) Ref: 3636/THE
  • LECTURER IN MEDIEVAL HISTORY (GRADE 7) Ref:3637/THE
  • LECTURER IN ENGLISH HISTORY 1600 – 1750 (GRADE 7 – 8) Ref: 3651/THE

Further details of the post and an application form are available on our website or telephone 0191 334 6499; fax 091 334 650.

Updated 6 January | back to the top

Project Officer. 'Young History Workshop'

School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of East London

0.5fte, 12 month fixed-term contract to begin circa May 2010

Closing date: 9 February 2010

Young History Workshop (YHW) is a new strategic education project that brings together secondary school students and History teachers with academic historians and others professionally involved with history and historical research (archivists, museum curators, etc). We are seeking a Project Officer to organise and manage YHW on a day-to-day basis. You will have a good History degree and experience in managing initiatives designed to promote creative learning.

The application deadline is 9 February 2010; interviews will be held on 5 March. For further details of this post, please go to http://jobs.uel.ac.uk (ref no 016S2010).

Updated 1 February | back to the top

The MA (Research) Legal History: an interdisciplinary degree open to students with an undergraduate degree in Law, History, Politics or allied fields

Wednesday, 17 February: 12.30 – 2.30pm, Foxhill House (School of Law), University of Reading

The School of Law is hosting an information session on Wednesday 17th February, where you can find out about the programme, hear about scholarship opportunities, meet current students, and learn more about legal historical research. The session will include lunch and an informal research seminar in an area of legal history. The MA (Research) Legal History is offered in collaboration with the School’s Forum for Legal and Historical Research. The aim of this unique programme is to equip students with advanced skills in archival research and legal analysis, while giving them the opportunity to undertake independent research in legal history. Students on this programme will benefit from full involvement in the activities of the Forum and will also have the opportunity to undertake placements at the National Archives as part of their programme of study.

For information, or to book a place, contact: Dr Charlotte Smith 0118 378 5410 or Dr Steve Banks 0118 378 7529.

Updated 1 February | back to the top

New Publication Series for French history

The Centre for French History and Culture of the University of St Andrews, together with the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University and the University of London Institute in Paris, is pleased to announce the launch of a new publication series for French history.

The history and historical culture of the French-speaking world is a major field of interest among English-speaking scholars. The purpose of this series is to publish a range of shorter monographs and studies, between 25,000 and 50,000 words long, which illuminate the history of this community of peoples between the end of the Middle Ages and the late twentieth century. This series of midigraphs covers the full span of historical themes relating to France: from political history, through military/naval, diplomatic, religious, social, financial, cultural and intellectual history, art and architectural history, to literary culture. Titles in the series are rigorously peer-reviewed through the editorial board and external assessors, and are published as both e-books and paperbacks.

The first title, now available, is: “The New enfant du siècle: Joseph de Maistre as a Writer”, edited by Carolina Armenteros and Richard A. Lebrun (St Andrews, 2010: ISBN 978-1-907548-00-0 [paperback]; ISBN 978-1-907548-01-7 [e-book])

The titles in this series are FREE, and libraries are warmly invited to establish an e-book link in their catalogue systems to this series. To link your webbrowser or your university library to the series and its titles see here.

For further details on this series, and on how to publish in it, please contact the editor-in-chief, Dr Guy Rowlands, at the University of St Andrews.

Updated 2 February | back to the top

University of Kent – Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Scheme

The School of History at the University of Kent intends to support an application in any area of history for the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship scheme (deadline 4pm, 11 March 2010).

Potential applicants are invited to send in a CV of 1 page and also a research proposal of 1000 words to the Head of School, Prof. Kenneth Fincham, no later than 5pm on 17 February 2010. Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof. Kenneth Fincham (Head of Department), Professor Crosbie Smith (Director of Research) or Professor David Welch (Director of Graduate Studies). For more information on the School, see here.

Updated 3 February | back to the top

Call for Papers: Medieval Art in Theory: A Conference

Friday, 18 June 2010, Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2

The Medieval Art in Theory project aims to find new ways of interrogating familiar objects by considering medieval art and architecture in the light of modern theoretical discourses. Following the series of workshops on the themes of Mise-en-Abyme, Framing, and Mimesis held during the last year, this one-day conference will revisit these topics and provide an opportunity to explore future directions for research within the overall remit of the project. The conference will include short papers with significant opportunity for discussion.

We invite proposals for papers on the topics of the workshops, particularly from those who attended them either as speakers or audience. The topics of the previous workshops will provide the focus of the first three sessions of the conference, whilst for the fourth session we invite submissions on any other topic in keeping with the aims of the Medieval Art in Theory project. It is hoped that this open session will also suggest subjects for future workshops. As always, we welcome papers on visual culture and art in all media from the late classical period to c.1400, in Western Europe and beyond.

Those interested in participating in the conference are strongly encouraged to visit the Medieval Art in Theory pages on the Research Forum website, which include further information about the aims of the project and an archive of papers from the previous sessions.

Proposals of 250 words for 20 minute papers together with a short statement about the author’s research interests should be sent to Laura Cleaver by 30 April 2010.

Call for Papers: Women as Producers and Consumers in History

16th Annual Conference, Sarum College, Salisbury, Saturday 10 July 2010

West of England & South Wales Women’s History Network

Our next annual conference will consider women on both sides of commerce, in all historical periods. The keynote speaker will be Rachel Worth, Professor of Fashion History at the Arts University College, Bournemouth. Professor Worth is the author of Fashion for the People: A History of Clothing at Marks & Spencer, which will be the subject of her lecture.

Proposals are requested for papers covering the possessions and activities of women in manufacturing, crafts and trades, shops and markets, Academic historians and others working with historical topics, postgraduate students, and independent researchers will be most welcome. If you would like to offer a paper for inclusion in the programme, please send abstracts of approximately 300 words, and your full contact details, by Friday 26 February 2010 to Jane Howells by email to or by post to 7 St Marks Rd, Salisbury SP1 3AY. See here for more information.

Updated 4 February | back to the top

Wanted: Post-graduate to make up one third of a panel at the North American Conference on British Studies, 2010

We are looking for a PhD student with an interest in aspects of the British City to form a panel on the 'urban space' for the forthcoming NACBS in Baltimore in November 2010. You will be alongside Erika Hanna (Oxford), who works on the squatting movement in post-war-Dublin, and Kieran Connell (Birmingham), who works on representations of 'race' in inner-city Birmingham. A chair and commentator are already in place. For more information, please email Kieran.

Updated 8 February | back to the top

Call for Papers: Cultures of Correspondence in Early Modern Britain, 1550-1640

A Joint Conference organised by the Centre for Humanities, Music and Performing Arts at the University of Plymouth and the Centre for Early Modern Studies at the University of Aberdeen

This conference investigates the cultural uses of the letter, and the related practises of correspondence in early modern culture. Concentrating on the years 1550-1640, it examines a crucial period in the development of the English vernacular letter that saw a significant extension of letter-writing skills throughout society and an expansion in the uses to which letters were put. The conference aims to enhance our understanding of epistolary culture and to challenge accepted models of epistolarity through the study of letter-writing practices in all their nuanced complexity, ranging from the textual production of letters, their subsequent delivery and circulation, to the various ways in which letters were read and preserved for posterity. The transmission and reception of correspondence is a major theme for exploration, from the various processes by which letters were delivered in an age before the post office, to their copying and dissemination in manuscript form, and publication in print, as well as the oral divulgation of letters through group and public reading. Study of the early modern letter in its material and cultural forms can reveal the complex interplay of material practices of letter-writing with rhetorical strategies of the letter text. Contemporary literary appropriations of the letter on page and stage demonstrate the cultural significance of the letter and its potential resonances.

Proposals for papers, including titles and abstracts (of no more than 300 words) should be sent to James Daybell and Andrew Gordon before 1 July 2010.

Updated 8 February | back to the top

Call for Papers: Reformation Studies Colloquium 2010, 7–9 September, University of St Andrews

The Reformation Studies Colloquium is one of the leading conferences in Britain on Reformation Studies, for both younger scholars and established academics in the field. Plenary speakers for the 2010 Colloquium will be Brad Gregory (Notre Dame), Ulinka Rublack (Cambridge) and Ethan Shagan (Berkeley).

We are now inviting interested parties to submit proposals for 20-minute papers (or for panels consisting of 2 or 3 related papers). Papers are welcome on any aspect of the Reformation, Protestant or Catholic, British or European. Paper abstracts should be approximately 300-500 words in length, and should be sent to the conference secretary, Dr John McCallum by 26 February 2010.

If you are a PhD supervisor, we would be very grateful if you could pass this call for papers on to your graduate students.

Conference contacts: Dr John McCallum and Dr Bridget Heal. For further information on the conference please see our website.

Updated 8 February | back to the top

Institute for Philanthropy: History / Archivist Research Intern

Established in 2000, the Institute for Philanthropy is the world’s leader in the field of international donor education. An independent, non-profit organisation, with offices now in London and New York, the Institute works closely with a global network of wealthy individuals and families, and in partnership with private companies, trusts, foundations and schools.

The successful candidate for this internship post will work with the UK Deputy Director to produce a detailed and thorough account of the Institute’s first few years and the activity that led up to its creation. The work will be carried out in London by research in archive material and recorded interview with the key people involved in the Institute’s inception. Particular attention will be paid to the US – UK - Antipodean partnership and vision of founding individuals. The work will result in a monograph to be published and available on the Institute’s website.

If you are interested in applying for this position or have any further questions please contact Emma Campbell (tel +44 (0)207 240 0262) below to request an application pack. The closing date for applications is 8 March 2010, and full details can be found here.

Updated 8 February | back to the top