Our annual conference is organised by eight strands.

Bodies, Sex and Emotions

This strand invites papers that historicize the body, sex, the emotions, and sensory experience, taking a social, cultural, scientific/medical, political, or legal perspective. We welcome submissions that explore the historically and culturally contingent ways in which people have felt, heard, seen, tasted, touched, smelt, and/or expressed their feelings and sensations in the past, and the … Continued

‘Deviance’, Inclusion and Exclusion

This strand investigates issues related to the history of individuals, ideas, practices and organisations considered errant or dangerous to the societies in which they occur and the mechanisms of criticism, comment, control and protest that operate in these societies. This covers the study of law, crime and control, ‘deviance’, forms of behaviour, and broader practice … Continued

Subalterns, Decoloniality and the Postcolonial

This strand invites papers that use social history to recover pasts that have been marginalised or submerged by colonialism. Through it, we aim to highlight work that expands the ambit of social history and unsettles its established boundaries. The call to “decolonise history” has pushed the discipline in a variety of productive directions. New theoretical … Continued

Spaces and Places of History and Heritage

This strand explores the connections between spaces and places of history, including through the wider lens of public history and the heritage sector. It engages with research examining the role of different environments – from landscapes and seascapes to cities, villages and more – within social life. It also engages with the cultural meaning associated … Continued

Inequality, Welfare and Justice

This strand invites you to think about profound questions connected to inequality, social movements, and the nature of justice in society. How have manifestations of social, material, or cultural inequality changed over time, and how might practices of charity or systems of welfare have changed as a result? How have activists sought to effect social … Continued

Life Cycles, Families and Communities

This strand considers the role of life-cycles, families and communities as key elements of everyday life, tracing their manifestations across time and space. We invite papers that investigate the role of the historical family within society. This includes explorations of specific family relationships, the making and breaking of family bonds, or the construction of family … Continued

Politics, Policy and Citizenship

What have been the roles of groups and individuals in the development of political cultures and the formulation and application of policy? Areas to explore might include: political debates and their representation in the broader culture (and how new technologies of communication affect them); participation in political communities (including but not limited to political parties); … Continued

Work, Leisure and Consumption

All societies are consumer societies. The production, acquisition, and consumption of commodities – tangible or otherwise – has become central to the practice of everyday life. Consumption, broadly defined, also informs our working lives as much as it does our leisure time. How has the relationship between work, leisure, and consumption changed over time?   The … Continued