Book now via: https://www.history.ac.uk/events/researching-imperial-and-commonwealth-history
This online research training session will introduce you to the wealth of resources available to research the history of the Commonwealth at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICWS), Senate House Library (SHL) & the Institute of Historical Research (IHR).
The session will begin with an introduction by Dr Mandy Banton, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and former Principal Records Specialist (Diplomatic and Colonial) at The National Archives of the UK (TNA), who will share her expertise on the records of the British Colonial Office. She is the author of the standard research guide Administering the Empire, 1801-1968; A Guide to the Records of the Colonial Office in The National Archives of the UK.
Professor Philip Murphy, Professor of British and Commonwealth History and Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, will then introduce two ICWS online resources, the Commonwealth Oral History Archive and the British Documents on the End of Empire Project.
We will then discuss key resources from the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library and Archive, held at Senate House Library, and the Institute of Historical Research to support your research into the history of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. We will offer a series of case studies and ideas on how to conduct your research, including creating and managing your reading lists, finding archival and library sources and finding online sources.
Schedule:
14:00-14:05: Introduction to the session (Professor Philip Murphy, ICWS)
14:05-14:25: The records of the British Colonial Office (Dr Mandy Banton, ICWS)
14:25-14:45: The Commonwealth Oral History Archive and the British Documents on the End of Empire Project (Professor Philip Murphy, ICWS)
14:45-14:55: Break
14:55-15:10: The library and archives of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at Senate House Library (Argula Rublack, SHL)
15:10-15:25: IHR Library resources for researching Commonwealth History (Michael Townsend, IHR)
15:25-15:35: British History Online (John Levin, IHR)
15:35-15:45: The Bibliography of British and Irish History (Jenny Lelkes-Rarugal, IHR)
15:45-16:00: Q&A (chaired by Professor Philip Murphy)
The session will be particularly useful for postgraduate and research students, but everyone is welcome to attend. There will be time to ask your own research queries at the end of the session.
This session is organised collaboratively between the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the Institute of Historical Research and Senate House Library.