How is the political history of the recent past being written in Britain today, and how will it be written in the future? This symposium aims to map new directions in the historical study of British politics and government since c.1945, with a focus on new research being carried out by scholars at an early stage of their careers (defined as within 10 years of PhD). Hosted by the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary’s centre for the study of politics, policy and public life, and the School of History, around 25 early career researchers will be joined by a group of more established scholars for two days of debate and dialogue over questions of conceptualisation, methodology, interdisciplinarity and the shifting historiographical landscape of contemporary British political history. Confirmed participants include Pat Thane (ICBH/KCL), Jon Lawrence (Cambridge), Lucy Robinson (Sussex), Nicholas Crowson (Birmingham), Lucy Delap (Cambridge) and James Ellison (QMUL). This is the first in a series of four events organised by Dr Helen McCarthy on the theme of Rethinking Contemporary British Political History generously funded by the British Academy under its Rising Star Engagement Award scheme. The other events, to be held between September 2015 and March 2016, will include an oral history workshop co-hosted with the British Library, a roundtable on the archive of the future co-hosted with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Historians, and a one-day event on public engagement beyond the academy.
Further details-Rethinking Contemporary British Political History.pdf [PDF 346KB]