The Royal Historical Society — with partners The National Archives and Institute of Historical Research — is pleased to announce details of its ‘History and Archives in Practice’ Conference for 2024. HAP24 will take place on Wednesday 6 March at Cardiff University. The partnership with Cardiff comes after an open call earlier this year, inviting UK archives to host the 2024 conference.
HAP24 will be the second year for ‘History and Archives in Practice’ and the first when the core group partners with a UK university / archive. We look forward to working with colleagues in Cardiff now that the Call for Papers for HAP24 is open. For more on the theme for next year’s conference, and how to submit a panel proposal, please see below.
History and Archives in Practice, 2024: Call for Papers
HAP24 takes place at Cardiff University on Wednesday 6 March 2024 on the theme of ‘Historical Legacies: collecting history, historical collections and community voices’.
‘HAP24: Historical Legacies’ looks to the future (through the past) to discuss the impact of legacies past, present, and future. The event provides opportunities to reflect on the durability of legacies (historical, physical, digital), the democratisation of history, and our collective responsibility in working with communities to ensure that our collections and our practices are rooted in co-creation and collaboration.
With co-creation and collaboration in mind, we now invite proposals for ‘History and Archives in Practice, 2024’ on this theme.
We welcome submissions from historians, archivists, and heritage organisations alike. We are particularly keen to highlight and support smaller organisations, underrepresented collections, and marginalised voices as well as new and emerging research. This year we especially welcome submissions on the theme from projects in Wales.
Please submit an abstract (300 words) by Friday 15 December 2023 using this form
‘History and Archives in Practice’ encourages a wide range of formats that best showcase a collection and the experience / lessons of collaborative working between archivists and historians on shared projects. Suggested formats include:
- 20-minute papers
- Interactive workshops
- Full panels on a chosen topic (3-4 speakers with chair, 15-20 minutes per speaker)
- Introductions to specific collections and their potential for historical research
- Demonstration and handling sessions, introducing attendees to selected items from your collections, and their potential in research
- Other proposals and formats for communicating activity, experience and research are also welcome as we look to move on from traditional conference models
In the coming weeks and months, further information on HAP24 will be circulated on RHS, TNA and IHR social media, mailing lists and newsletters. Please do consider submitting a paper or panel proposal.
If you have any questions about HAP24 and submitting a proposal, please email: research@nationalarchives.gov.uk
About ‘History and Archives in Practice’
A partnership of The National Archives, Royal Historical Society, and the Institute of Historical Research, ‘History and Archives in Practice’ (HAP) is where historians and archivists come together to consider shared interests in archive collections, their interpretation and use.
History and Archives in Practice (HAP) is an annual event, building on its partners’ long experience of bringing archivists and historians into close conversation. Our first event ‘HAP23’ took place on 29 March 2023 at the Institute of Historical Research, London, and explored the theme of ‘Collecting Communities: working together and with collections’.
You can find out more and watch videos from the event here: History and Archives in Practice, 2023
From 2024 and beyond, HAP endeavours to partner with UK archives and institutions who similarly specialise in bringing together archivists and researchers. Each year, we draw on aspects of UK collections and emerging research being undertaken, integrating these into the annual event programme. This new format enables a formerly London-based conference to take place at archive centres across the UK.
In 2024 we partner with historians and archivists from Cardiff University who will both host HAP24 and collaborate with us in the planning and organisation of the day, showcasing their collections and the breadth of innovative and exciting research that is being undertaken across the institution and Wales itself.
