HistoryLab 20th Anniversary Annual Conference 2026 — Call for Papers
Embodied Histories: Body, Mind, and Experience
17th July 2026 | Hybrid Conference, in-person at University of Birmingham, Staff House, Grand Central Room
Call for Papers Deadline – 27 March 2026
The human body is both a biological reality and a cultural construct.It is a site of meaning, experience, and power. From rituals of health and healing to practices of regulation, discipline, and display, bodies have both shaped and been shaped by their historical contexts.
We invite papers that place the body and lived experience at the centre of historical inquiry, engaging with themes such as medicine, disability, gender, the senses, and the emotions. We welcome contributions that explore how bodies and experiences have been represented, regulated, or performed, and how these processes intersect with broader questions of identity, power, culture, and society across periods and regions.
This conference also marks the 20th anniversary of HistoryLab. Since its founding, HistoryLab has provided a national platform for postgraduate and early career historians to share ideas, foster collaboration, and build community. We invite participants to join us in celebrating this milestone year.
Key questions include, but are not limited to:
- How have bodies and lived experience been represented, categorised, or idealised in historical sources?
- In what ways have identities, hierarchies, and power relations been inscribed, contested, or negotiated through the body?
- How have societies regulated, celebrated, or suppressed bodily experience?
- How can historians integrate perspectives on embodiment into broader social, cultural, political, or global histories?
Submission categories
We invite postgraduate and independent researchers based at UK institutions in history and related disciplines to submit proposals for:
A 20-minute paper
A panel of three 20-minute papers or four 15-minute papers
A research poster
The 3-Minute Thesis Competition, summarising your research in just three minutes
Submission guidelines
Individual papers: 250-word abstract
Panels: 250-word abstract for each paper + panel title
Research posters: poster title + 150-word abstract
3-Minute Thesis: thesis title only
All submissions should include a 150-word biography (name, affiliation, and research interests).
Please email all submissions to [email protected] with subject heading ‘HistoryLab Conference 2026 – Abstract Submission’
Key dates
Abstract submission deadline 27th March 2026
Notification of acceptance deadline 24th April 2026
Registration opens May 2026
In-person registration closes July 2026
Conference date 17th July 2026