Postgraduate Research Conference School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham

Date / time: 17 February, 12:00 am


Postgraduate Research Conference | School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham

Date: Friday 5th May 2023 | Venue: University of Birmingham (room TBC) and online

Call for Papers, deadline – 17 February 2023 


Since the Pandemic, many postgraduate researchers feel cut off from one another, and from our research community. We are organising this conference to enable us to come together in a substantive way for the first time since the Pandemic, to connect, and to share research.

As the primary aim of the conference is to bring us together, the conference will take a broad approach in terms of research focus and invite abstracts for papers on the theme of ‘Culture, Power and Identity’. Proposals relating to any aspect of history, ancient history, classics, archaeology, African studies, and anthropology are also welcome, but we particularly invite papers that address our theme.

Proposals are invited for poster presentations, fully comprised panels of three papers, and for roundtable sessions of up to five speakers. We welcome proposals from PGRs at the University of Birmingham as well as at external institutions and encourage PGRs to invite ECRs and members of staff to act as chairpersons and engage in roundtables.

We also welcome proposals from PGRs working at all levels, including taught MA students. As the conference will incorporate a multitude of varied sessions, proposals may take several formats, as specified below.

Please send proposals to SHaConference2023@gmail.com by Friday 17 February 2023. We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt within 10 working days; if you have not heard from us within this timeframe, please send again.

Further conference details and the full schedule will be announced in due course. The conference will be a hybrid event and will include a session led by our Careers Department, as well as an informal event to allow for staff-student networking.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact one of the conference organisers via the email address above or via their UoB email addresses: Panagiota Mantouvalou, Anna Dearden, Isabella Casciani Govan, Chloe Newman, and Marta Starostina.


Proposal Formats

Posters:

The session will operate informally with attendees free to walk around the room and engage with poster presenters as they please. Our hope is that this session will appeal in particular to those who do not feel ready to produce a formal paper, and would instead welcome informal engagements with, and the opportunity to discuss, their evolving work/ideas. As such, we particularly welcome poster presentation proposals from MA, MRes and 1st year PhD students. As part of your proposal, please provide:

  • Poster title
  • Brief description of research area (max. 250 words)
  • Short bio and email address.

Panels:

We encourage the submission of pre-formed panels of three papers (each lasting no more than fifteen minutes), ideally along with a pre-assigned chairperson. Panels will conclude with a short Q&A. The conference organisers can assist in supplying a chairperson if required. As part of your proposal, please provide:

  • Panel title
  • Brief description of the proposed panel (max. 300 words)
  • Short bio and email address of the proposed panel chairperson
  • Short bio and email address for each speaker
  • Title and abstract for each paper (max. 250 words).

Please do contact us if you would like to present a paper but are not sure about putting together a panel as we may be able to help with forming panels.

Roundtables:

A roundtable is a more informal session in which several speakers deal with a topic followed by extensive discussion. Each speaker may wish to begin the session with a short, introductory address or short paper lasting five to ten minutes. As well as your personal details, please provide:

  • Roundtable title
  • Brief description of the proposed roundtable (max. 300 words)
  • Short bio and email address of the proposed panel chairperson
  • Short bio and email address for each speaker.