Historians Reflect, RHS Events

Reflections on “Contested Commemorations”, RHS Symposium at the Open University.

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On 17 May 2019 the Open University History department hosted a Royal Historical Society symposium to reflect on the centenary of the First World War. Following four years of commemorative activity, our aim with “Contested Commemorations” was to assess how a range of countries and regions had marked the centenary. Vincent Trott reports on a day of  fascinating presentations and lively discussion. Continue reading “Reflections on “Contested Commemorations”, RHS Symposium at the Open University.”

Historians & the News, Historians Reflect, Historical Archives and Sources

De Montfort University Launches Stephen Lawrence Research Centre

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On 22 April 2019 the nation officially acknowledged the first annual Stephen Lawrence Day.  The day served as a day of remembrance, reflection and educational impact concerning the life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager murdered in a racist attack in 1993 while awaiting a bus in Eltham, South London. Here, Dr Kennetta Hammond Perry explains the significance of the  Lawrence family’s work, and introduces the new Stephen Lawrence Research Centre at De Montfort University, Leicester, opened officially by Baroness Doreen Lawrence on 9 May 2019.

Continue reading “De Montfort University Launches Stephen Lawrence Research Centre”

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Cultures of secrecy and transparent archives?

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In April 2019, during  a panel discussion at Australia’s Parliament House, Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Sydney, declared that the National Archives of Australia (NAA) have become ‘completely dysfunctional’. This was due to failures in procedures for sensitivity reviewing government files in order to provide access. Twomey argued that this was symptomatic of a ‘culture of secrecy’ which was ‘a serious problem when it comes to transparency in government’. In this post, Richard Dunley argues that this developing culture of secrecy is, paradoxically, a direct product of drives for transparency.  Continue reading “Cultures of secrecy and transparent archives?”

Historians & the News, Historical Research

In All Our Footsteps: Tracking Walking Histories in Post-War Britain

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May is National Walking Month. In this piece, Clare Hickman and Glen O’ Hara reflect on their new collaborative project which has emerged from personal as well as academic interests in walking, and has led them to reflect on the intersections of environmental, political and health histories. Continue reading “In All Our Footsteps: Tracking Walking Histories in Post-War Britain”

Early Career Researchers, Historians Reflect, Historical Research

Seeking Thomas Howard in Rotherham: local groundings for a global life

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In the last weekend of April, as part of the program for Professor Elena Smilianskaia, a visiting fellow at the University of Exeter, Dr Julia Leikin, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, organized a trip to the town of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, to find out more about Thomas Howard, the third Earl of Effingham (1746-1791). In this post, Julia Leikin recounts the surprising results of the trip. Continue reading “Seeking Thomas Howard in Rotherham: local groundings for a global life”

Historical Archives and Sources, RHS Publications

New Camden Volume: British Envoys to the Kaiserreich, vol. 2: 1884-1897

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The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the publication of British Envoys to the Kaiserreich, 1871–1897, Volume 56 in the Camden Fifth Series, edited by Markus Mösslang. In this post, Dr Mösslang introduces the volume, and its part in the larger British Envoys project. Continue reading “New Camden Volume: British Envoys to the Kaiserreich, vol. 2: 1884-1897”