Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Evolving Arms Race in History Assessment and Higher Education Policies
In this post, Dr Miguel Hernández argues that it is imperative for historians to introduce our students to responsible use of Generative AI, particularly given the growing ubiquity of the technology in search tools. Miguel explains the steps taken by his Department in response to an institution-wide call for specific policies on AI use in assessments, and explains in useful detail the process of developing a set of principles for Generative AI use for history students. This post is part of a series commissioned by the Royal Historical Society on ‘AI and History Teaching in UK Higher Education’ in Autumn 2026. The series includes a range of perspectives on the uses and limitations of Generative AI and LLMs from history educators and research academics.
The Machine’s Silences: Teaching History with AI
In this post Dr Jesús Sanjurjo reflects on lessons learned from the use of AI in The Prison Blueprint Project, a research project led by the University of Strathclyde with the National Archive of Cuba and the universities of Glasgow and Havana, and supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. Jesús explains how he plans to draw four lessons from his research into his classroom this academic year. This post is part of a series commissioned by the Royal Historical Society on ‘AI and History Teaching in UK Higher Education’ in Autumn 2026. The series includes a range of perspectives on the uses and limitations of Generative AI and LLMs from history educators and research academics
History is a human craft
In this post Dr Dave Hitchcock reflects on the limitations of AI in history classrooms, and the importance of teaching the thought-work that necessarily contributes to history making. The article concludes with ‘8 Considerations for Large Language Models and the Teaching of History’. This post is part of a series commissioned by the Royal Historical Society on ‘AI and History Teaching in UK Higher Education’ in Autumn 2026. The series includes a range of perspectives on the uses and limitations of Generative AI and LLMs from history educators and research academics.
Francis Slingsby (1611–1642) and the Jesuits: introducing the Society’s latest Camden volume
In this post, Brian Mac Cuarta introduces his new book, ‘Francis Slingsby (1611–1642) and the Jesuits’, the latest volume in the Society’s Camden series of scholarly primary editions. This new Camden volume highlights Jesuit involvement in conversion to Catholicism in the Caroline era. It draws on the experience of one young man, Francis Slinsgby, in Rome and Ireland. Themes include elite women as promotors of Catholic life in Wentworth’s Ireland; Jesuit efforts to liberate their protégé, imprisoned in Dublin; and travels in France with a visit to Loudun, scene of exorcisms. First-hand testimonies illuminate the experience of students from the Stuart kingdoms in Catholic educational institutions in mid-seventeenth century Rome. To mark publication, the Introduction of Francis Slingsby (1611–1642) and the Jesuits is now available, free to read, via Cambridge University Press, until 1 November 2026.
Finding Early Modern Rights of Way in the National Records of Scotland
How did early modern people remember and define rights of way in and beyond their communities? Dr Zoë Jackson reflects on a question which guides her postdoctoral research on how and why people in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England and Scotland remembered, contested, and communicated their knowledge and use of these rights of way. Her study draws on legal and family papers, and considers how social status and local history influenced debates over rights to access. In this post, Zoë describes how the recent award of an RHS David Berry Fellowship in the History of Scotland and the Scottish People, contributed to her research.
Going ‘Beyond the Country House’
The country house has been a major focus of research for academics and heritage professionals alike in recent years. But what about the houses that do not quite fit under the traditional country house umbrella, such as villas, townhouses, seaside resorts, hunting lodges, royal residences, pleasure palaces? In this post, Alyssa Myers introduces the ‘Beyond the Country House’ project, and the initial project workshop supported by an RHS Workshop Grant which took place earlier this year at English Heritage’s Marble Hill in Twickenham.
Re-interpreting Florence Nightingale in Derbyshire: Collaboration, Teaching and Public History
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) is a celebrated figure in British history, yet her connections to Derbyshire are less widely understood. The Nightingale family’s wealth was rooted in the industrial economy of Derbyshire, particularly around Cromford and Lea Bridge. Their home at Lea Hurst served as an important retreat, where Florence returned after the Crimean War and later cared for her dying mother. The Arkwright Society, the charity with looks after Cromford Mills, part of the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site, and the Florence Nightingale Derbyshire Association wanted to explore new ways of celebrating the legacy of Florence Nightingale. In this post, Dr Kathleen McIlvenna and Dr Jo Ray reflect on activities supported by their RHS Scouloudi Public History Grant , 2025-26 for students to undertake research at Cromford Mills and develop a new exhibition.
Reflections on London’s Watery Heritage: New Directions for the Charterhouse Water Maps
Dating from c.1431-c.1624, the Charterhouse Water Maps are four large manuscript rolls illustrating the water system built in 1430 to serve the monks of the London Charterhouse in Clerkenwell, when it was a Carthusian monastery just outside the city walls. Today, the Charterhouse is a living heritage site which keeps and displays the Water Maps in the original location for which they were intended. In this post, James Spellane and Dr Rachel Delman explain how they tested and identified new avenues for interpretation and public engagement with the Water Maps. In three workshops, James and Rachel brought together academic researchers, museum specialists and members of the Charterhouse community and local area to explore the Water Maps with reference to three themes: Landscape, Object and Community. The project was supported with the award of an RHS Scouloudi Public History Grant, 2025-26.
Sound And Speaking Back To Colonial History: A Participatory Workshop
In this post, Iqbal Singh (The National Archives) and Eleanor Newbigin (SOAS, University of London) detail their recent one-day participatory workshop on colonial history for those working in higher education, the GLAM and creative sector and community-facing roles. The workshop explored audio-zine making as a tool for thinking about historical sources and the construction of history itself. The workshop took place in June 2026, thanks to support of an RHS Scouloudi Public History Grant. The audio-zine method invites participants to work collaboratively to build 2 to 3 minute tracks using layers of short recordings of actor-spoken text taken from official documents, alongside sound effects, ambient effects and music.
Historia Nnalubaale: Archival Research in East Africa
In this post, Stephen Dunning describes his recent research trip to Nairobi, and work in the Kenyan National Archives. Stephen is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Exeter and was the recipient of the Royal Historical Society’s Martin Lynn Scholarship in African History, 2025-26. Stephen’s research considers the history of nineteenth-century civil engineering technologies and their relationship to imperial and social ideologies in domestic and colonial contexts. As he notes in the post, Stephen is the descendant of two brothers — Richard James Church (1863-1928) and Arthur Frederick Church (1868-1939) — who worked on the construction of the Kenya-Uganda Railway. Stephen’s research in Nairobi was supported by the Martin Lynn Scholarship, named for Martin Lynn (1951-2005), Professor of African History at Queen’s University, Belfast. Applications from PhD students for the 2026-27 RHS Martin Lynn Scholarship are now invited, with a closing date of Friday 4 September 2026.
How to Read Foreign-language Sources in 80 Days: Helping History Students Get the Most out of Translation Software
In this post Dr Jasper Heinzen reflects on the design and implementation of his recent project, ‘How to Read Foreign-language Sources in 80 Days: Helping Students Get the Most out of Translation Software’. This project, run at the University of York, was supported by the award from the Society of a Jinty Nelson Teaching Fellowship for 2025-26. The project enabled Year 3 History Undergraduates to gain a basic understanding of the German language in order to support primary research in German texts for their dissertations. Jasper emphasises the necessity of expanding language knowledge and education ‘to prevent the refraction of global cultural knowledge through the prism of one language’. The Society’s Teaching Fellowships programme runs annually to encourage innovative practice in the teaching of history in higher education. The Fellowships are generously supported by the Scouloudi Foundation. Recipients of Fellowships for 2026-27 will be announced in the near future.
Unsettling Shared Identity: Positionality and the Oral History Interview
In this post, Dr Nilakshi Das introduces her new article, ‘Positionality in Oral History Research: Proximities and Paradoxes of an “Insider” Status’, recently published in ‘Transactions of the Royal Historical Society’. Drawing on thirteen life-history interviews with South Asian scientists who trained in post-war British universities, the article asks what happens to the familiar ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ distinction when a researcher shares a broad regional identity with the people they interview. It argues that insider status is not a stable category but a shifting, relational condition, and that reflecting on our disciplinary training matters as much as consideration of our biographical identities. The article proposes a more nuanced application of positionality in historical research and analysis—one that is fluid, reflexive and critical of exclusive knowledge claims based on demographic sameness. Nilakshi’s article is now available, Open Access, via FirstView in ‘Transactions of the Royal Historical Society’.
