Location
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Historicising Commercial Determinants of Health
Workshop | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine | 15 April 2026
Call for Papers, Deadline – 13 October 2025
The Commercial Determinants of Health is an emergent research field, critically examining how corporate actors and their products have shaped health and policy. Whilst such studies have deep, contemporary salience, there has hitherto been little extensive inquiry of their historical antecedents. In this one-day workshop, held as part of the Wellcome Trust funded “Kicking the Habit” project, the organisers wish to draw together papers which explore the rich history of the Commercial Determinants of Health.
Bringing together scholars from across disciplines, and at all career stages, the workshop will engage with case studies from across a variety of industries, in countries and contexts across the world. In doing so, the organisers wish to draw together contributions which probe both the empirical and methodological contributions of historical research (broadly defined) to the study of the Commercial Determinants of Health, bringing these findings into dialogue with current health problems. Whilst we welcome submissions from a variety of perspectives, from scholars and policy makers at any career stage, all papers must be rooted in some degree of historical analysis (broadly defined). Industries that papers might wish to discuss include (but are not limited to):
- Alcohol
- Tobacco
- Gambling
- ‘Unhealthy’ foods and/or beverages
- The meat industry and/or industrial agriculture
- Fossil fuels
- The pharmaceutical industry
- The chemical industry
- The automotive industry
- The beauty industry
- Sexual health products
- The ‘wellness’ industry
Some themes which papers may wish to explore in relation to these industries include: the strategies used to develop and promote various goods and services, the changing discourses surrounding the ‘health enhancing’ and/or ‘harmfulness’ of various products, the strategies used to promote or secure corporate interests in relation to said goods and services, or the efforts undertaken by individuals and/or organisations to redress the impact of corporate actors.
To submit a paper for consideration, please send an Expression of Interest to Dr Jamie Banks, via the following email (lshjh14@lshtm.ac.uk), by 13 October 2025. This Expression of Interest should consist of a short abstract (250 words) and bio (150 words). We aim to inform all respondents of outcomes to the open call by 12 November 2025. Following the workshop, selected participants will be invited to develop their papers into chapters for an edited collection.
Thanks to the generous support of the Wellcome Trust, the organisers can offer some limited support to cover reasonable travel expenses. Please indicate if you would be interested in receiving this support, with an estimate of how much it will cost you to attend, in your Expression of Interest. Please note that we cannot cover subsistence but can cover economy-class travel journey expenses. We can also offer support with accommodation where it might be difficult for participants to make the journey in one day. When allocating funding, priority will be given to Early Career Researchers, or those in precarious employment.