Royal Historical Society Prize Winners, 2023

The Royal Historical Society is pleased to announce the winners of its Gladstone and Whitfield book prizes, and the Alexander article prize, for 2023.


RHS Gladstone Prize, 2023

Awarded to a first book in the field of European or World History.

 

 

Jennifer Keating, On Arid Ground: Political Ecologies of Empire in Russian Central Asia 

(Oxford University Press)

 

 

 

Judges’ citation

Jennifer Keating’s On Arid Ground is a path-breaking study of the way empire and environment interacted in Central Asia through the 19th and early 20th centuries.

This book innovates on a number of fronts, not least by showing the importance of ecology and environment in forcing the Russian Empire to adapt its long-term geopolitical strategy. It significantly changes the way we think of Russian Empire-building and outlines a fascinating picture of land reclamation, settlement and commodity development, while often putting to the fore actors beyond the human, from sandstorms to termites.

Inspiring and important, it will be influential for historians working on other imperial contexts, and above all for our thinking about environment and human social and political organisation today.

 


RHS Whitfield Prize, 2023

Awarded to a first book in the field of British or Irish History.

 

 

Síobhra Aiken, Spiritual Wounds. Trauma, Testimony & the Irish Civil War

(Irish Academic Press)

 

 

 

Judges’ citation

Síobhra Aiken’s Spiritual Wounds offers a fascinating approach to understanding testimonies of the Irish Civil War, revealing through a range of sources what has remained ‘hidden in plain sight’. It challenges the prevailing idea of an enduring silence about the conflict which has sought to forget in order to repair rather than to remember in order to bear witness and grieve.

Through works of autobiography, memoir and fiction in a variety of forms, Aiken explores the manner in which the terrible experiences of war were placed into the public domain by pro- and anti-Treaty men and women, and thus became part of the cultural milieu in the decades that followed.

The book shows how the code of silence around the Irish Civil War was culturally constructed, and it adopts and historicises the framework of ‘trauma’ for its study, offering a model for others to follow. Aiken’s afterword presents fascinating comments on the researcher’s own subjectivity, and the challenges of writing about topics which ‘defy straightforward empathic identification’. It is a powerful contribution to our understanding of the legacy of war, and of historical practice and the role of the historian.

 


RHS Alexander Prize 2023, joint winners

Awarded for an article by an early career historian writing, or within two years of completing, a History PhD.

 

Jake Dyble, ‘General Average, Human Jettison, and the Status of Slaves in Early Modern Europe’, Historical Journal, 65 (2022), 1197-1220

 

Judges’ citation

Jake Dyble tackles a major question regarding the history of the Transatlantic slave trade: how different was this trade to earlier types of enslavement? This is not only a problem for historians but a key issue in modern political debates—particularly with regard to restorative justice.

Dyble uses an ingenious method to uncover a clear answer to the conundrum. He uses legal cases regarding the jettison of cargo, including living animals or people, to determine that there was a significant shift in attitude towards the enslaved. The panel were impressed with the use of legal history but also the way in which the author was able to make a difficult technical topic comprehensible to non-specialists.

 

Roseanna Webster, ‘Women and the Fight for Urban Change in Late Francoist Spain’, Past & Present (October 2022)

 

Judges’ citation

Roseanna Webster’s work on Francoist Spain is a classic account of history from below. She focuses on female activists in new housing estates whose concerns were to gain the necessities of life, such as a regular supply of running water. Webster’s use of oral histories shows how the role of activist jarred with traditional gender roles, and how this caused the women themselves some unease.

Webster’s unusual choice of subject matter and her careful handling of her source material has produced a nuanced account of life under Franco, which focuses not on soldiers or dissidents but on ordinary women and their ambivalence about their new roles.

 


 

 

Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London

Book Launch and Panel Discussion

Friday 18 February 2022
Watch the recording of this event

 

 

Published on 1 February 2022, Simon P. Newman’s Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London uncovers the true extent of slavery in 17th-century England through the hidden stories of enslaved and bound people in London.

Simon’s book is now available free, Open Access, to read ahead of the event.

 

 

 

Speakers at the event

  • Professor Simon P. Newman (University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Glasgow)
  • Professor Corinne Fowler (University of Leicester)
  • Professor Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
  • Professor Emma Griffin (RHS President and University of East Anglia (chair)

Freedom Seekers demonstrates not only that enslaved people were present in Restoration London but White Londoners of this era were intimately involved in the construction of the system of racial slavery, a process that traditionally has been regarded as happening in the colonies rather than the British Isles. An unmissable and important book that seeks to delve into Britain’s colonial past.

About our panel

  • Simon P. Newman is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Glasgow, and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2022 Simon is visiting scholar at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. Simon’s recent research has focused on runaway slaves in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English Atlantic world, of which his new book, Freedom Seekers, forms part. Simon is also a founding editor of New Historical Perspectives, the RHS Open Access book series for Early Career Historians.
  • Corinne Fowler is Professor of Post-Colonial Literature at the University of Leicester and Director of Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted — a child-led writing and history project exploring the African, Caribbean and Indian connections at 11 of National Trust properties. Corinne is an expert in the legacies of colonialism and post-colonialism to literature, heritage and representations of British history. Her latest book is Green Unpleasant Land. Creative Responses to Rural England’s Colonial Connections (2020).
  • Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina is the Paul Murray Kendall Chair in Biography, and Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Gretchen is a specialist in Black British studies and the author of Britain’s Black Past (2020), was based on the BBC Radio 4 series of the same title, in addition to earlier titles including Mr and Mrs Prince (2013), Black Victorians, Black Victoriana (2003) and Black London. Life Before Emancipation (1995).
  • Emma Griffin is President of the Royal Historical Society and Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia

Watch the recording of this event

 

RHS Lecture and Events: Full Programme for 2022 >

 

‘Working with History outside HE: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia’

An RHS Online Training Workshop for Early Career Historians

2pm BST, Thursday 14 July 2022

 

Watch the recording of this event

 

‘Working with History outside Higher Education: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia’ is the next in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians.

In this session we’ll hear from trained historians who work in careers other than teaching and Higher Education. We’ll provide a practical, step-by-step guide to several alternative sectors — including heritage, museums, archives and journalism — along with advice on entering these fields after a History MA or PhD. The Workshop will provide advice on the best entry routes to these professions and the skills and experience sought and required.

The Workshop brings together History professionals with extensive experience, both as practitioners and as recruiters. Panellists will offer advice on career opportunities within their sectors; how to find vacancies; potential career paths; how historical training is applied in these careers; and ways to prepare for and gain experience of employment in heritage, museums, archives and journalism.

After contributions from the panel, the event will take the form of a discussion involving all attendees. The aim of each Workshop is to raise and discuss the questions that are most pressing to you as audience members.


About our panel

  • Dr Tracy Borman is a historian, writer and lecturer who has worked for Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Archives and English Heritage. She is now Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust, a charity that encourages children to visit and learn from historic properties. Tracy is also well-known as an author of histories of the Tudor period and of historical fiction. Her latest book is Crown & Sceptre: A New History of the British Monarchy, William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II (2021).
  • Emily Gee is the Regional Director, London and South East at Historic England — the UK’s public body for the historic environment — where she has worked since 2001, including as Head of Listing and London Planning Director. Among other roles, Emily is also on the Council of Camden History Society, and is writing a book on Victorian and Edwardian lodging houses for working women.
  • Dr Hannah Ishmael is the Collections and Research Manager at Black Cultural Archives, Brixton. Hannah has recently completed her PhD in the Department of Information Studies at UCL on the development of Black-led archives in London.
  • Dr Kate Wiles is Senior Editor at History Today, oldest history magazine in the world, and an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Historical Research, University of London. Her historical journalism includes articles for the GuardianBBC History Magazine, the New Statesman and Times Higher Education, as well as contributing regularly to History Today. A specialist in medieval language, Kate has also worked as a consultant for film and television,
  • Professor Emma Griffin (chair) is President of the Royal Historical Society and Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia.

Watch the event video

 

 


About RHS Training Workshops

 

Started in 2021, the Society’s ‘Getting Started’ workshops are tailored for early career historians. Sessions provide practical guidance and insight into key areas of professional development.

 


 

HEADER IMAGE: Photo by Kevin Laminto on Unsplash

 

‘Applying for your First Job: a Guide to Preparing & Interviewing for a History Teaching Post’

 

An RHS Online Training Workshop for Early Career Historians

 

Tuesday 8 March 2022

Watch the recording of this event

 

‘Applying for your First Job: a Guide to Preparing and Interviewing for a History Teaching Post’ is the next in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians.

In ‘Preparing and Interviewing for a History Teaching Post’ we’ll provide a practical, step-by-step guide to applying for teaching positions in History at UK universities. The Workshop will cover how to prepare for the academic job market, and what to do while you’re researching your PhD; and how best to present yourself — in writing, online and in person — for a specific application and interview.

The Workshop brings together historians from UK universities with extensive experience of seeking and recruiting new academic staff, both for fixed-term and permanent teaching posts. Panellists will offer advice on what a department seeks, and what makes for a strong application and interview.

Topics for the Workshop include: when to start thinking about the job markethow best to prepare while researching your PhD (including advice on teaching and publishing); CV writingsubmitting a strong applicationinterviews and presentations on the day; and what happens next.

The Session will also consider the current state of the UK job market in History, and its possible future development; what departments seek when they create a vacancy; and — importantly — History vacancies and applications from the perspective of Heads of Department and hiring committees.

Our panellists bring experience of working in a range of universities, with advice focused on applying for teaching posts in the UK. We intend to return to ‘applying for a research position’ in a later Workshop session.

After contributions from the panel, the event will take the form of a discussion involving all attendees. Those attending will be invited to submit questions in advance of the Workshop.

 

About our panel

Elaine Chalus is a historian of English social and political history in the long eighteenth century with a particular interest in the interplay of gender and politics. Elaine joined the University of Liverpool in 2016 as its new Head of Department following an earlier teaching career at Bath Spa University.

As a historian, Elaine has extensive experience of mentoring PhD researchers as they prepare for academic careers. As a Head of Department, Elaine will also offer insight into the application process from the perspective of those seeking to hire new teaching staff.

Matthew Johnson is a historian of modern Britain with a specialism in the impact of war on politics and society, and in militarism as a political and ideological phenomenon in Britain during the twentieth century. At Durham Matthew serves as the History department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies and has extensive experience of candidate shortlisting and interviewing.

Julian Wright is Deputy Faculty Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Arts Design and Social Sciences, having been Head of Northumbria’s Department of Humanities since 2017. A historian of modern Europe, Julian taught previously for 13 years at Durham University.

As a Head of Department, Julian has similarly extensive experience of career preparation and planning in History, and of academic applications. In January 2022 Julian joined the RHS Council as its new Secretary for Professional Engagement, and will oversee the Society’s work to promote career development and networking for historians at all career stages.

Emma Griffin is President of the Royal Historical Society in which role she is in regular contact with History Heads of Department across the UK.

As Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia, Emma also has wide experience of departmental management, student mentoring, and the recruitment of new early career teaching staff. Emma researches the social and economic history of Britain during the period 1700-1870, with a particular interest in gender history, the industrial revolution, and working-class life.

 

Watch the recording of this event

***

 

About RHS Training Workshops

‘Applying for your First Job’ is the next in a new series of RHS ‘Getting Started’ training events for early career historians. Events will provide guidance and insight into key areas of professional development. Details, and videos, of the first workshops in the series — on publishing a first article and creating a public history project — are available here.

The ‘Getting Started’ series runs three times a year with the next session — on finding employment in History outside academia  — to take place on 14 July 2022.

 

Dr Katrina Navickas – RHS Lecture 5 February 2021

“The contested right of public meeting in England from the Bill of Rights to the Public Order Acts.”

 

Dr Katrina Navickas (University of Hertfordshire)
Friday 5 February 2021

18.00 GMT – Live online via Zoom

 

Abstract

The ‘right of public meeting’ was a persistent demand of political movements in Britain throughout the long 19th century. Participation in a public meeting was perhaps the most common experience that the majority of the population had of the constitutional system. Until the Human Rights Act 2000, however, there was no legal right of public assembly in England and Wales. At points of crisis from the 1790s onwards, governments passed legislation to restrict public assemblies, and local authorities policed their public spaces to prevent gatherings.

This lecture examines the debates around the right of public meeting in the 19th century, and the challenges made by democratic and social movements on the ground to defend that perceived right.

The ‘new political history’ of the 1990s proposed a model of 19th century popular politics that subdued previous interpretations of class conflict. Historians then went on to treat the different democratic and social movements separately, and the bigger picture was obscured. 19th century studies has therefore fragmented over the last twenty years or so. Recent research on the prevalence of petitioning parliament, and colonial frameworks of politics however promise to bring 19th century Britain back into the foreground. This lecture builds on this new interest to place the role of public meetings firmly within a broader understanding of the relationship between British imperial state and the people over the long duree.

 

Speaker Bio

Dr Katrina Navickas is Reader in History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her third monograph will be on the history of public space in England, 1700-2000, resulting from a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship. She is the Open Spaces Society Fellow at the Museum of English Rural Life for 2021.

 

Watch the Lecture

 

‘Digital History and Collaborative Research: a Practitioners’ Roundtable’

Panel Discussion

Co-hosted by Royal Historical Society and The Living with Machines Project

17:00 BST, Tuesday 23 May 2023, Online 

Watch the recording of this panel

 

Speakers at the event

  • Ruth Ahnert (Queen Mary, University of London, and chair)
  • Dan Edelstein (Stanford University, CA)
  • Maryanne Koweleski (Fordham University, NY)
  • Jon Lawrence (University of Exeter)
  • Katrina Navickas (University of Hertfordshire)

 

About the event

History’s ‘digital turn’ has reshaped how nearly all us access and search sources, analyse historical content at scale, and present our research. For some, research also involves the creation of new digitised resources and / or tools for the gathering and study of historical data in ways impossible a generation ago. The scale and speed of these developments means we are all digital practitioners, even if we are not digital historians.

Notwithstanding the ubiquity of digital content, ‘digital history’ as a sub-discipline remains much more specialist and obscure to many historians. In this panel, we bring together five historians — who are also experienced digital researchers and leaders of digital research projects — to discuss their own experience of, and approaches to, digital history.

With speakers from the US and UK, we’ll consider differing research environments and attitudes to digital history, as well as how other humanities disciplines, such as literature, are engaging with digital technologies. While appreciating the opportunities created by digital working, we’ll also reflect on the impediments that mean digital history projects remain daunting for many. As experienced practitioners, our panellists speak about their own routes in to digital history, as well as its potential for new ways of working — fostering a collaborative approach to research that extends well beyond the humanities. Hosted by Professor Ruth Ahnert, PI for Living with Machines, the panel will offer practical advice on digital working, at scale and in partnership, for historians.

This event is co-organised by the Society and The Living with Machines Project. Funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Strategic Priority Fund, Living with Machines is a multidisciplinary collaboration delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), with The Alan Turing Institute, the British Library and the universities of East Anglia, Exeter and London (Queen Mary, and King’s College).

 

About our panellists

  • Ruth Ahnert is Professor of Literary History & Digital Humanities at Queen Mary, University of London. A specialist in early modern literary culture, Ruth’s publications include The Rise of Prison Literature in the Sixteenth Century (2013) and an edited collection, Re-forming the Psalms in Tudor England (2015). Since 2012, Ruth’s work has increasingly focused on applying data science to research in the humanities. Her recent publications include The Network Turn: Changing Perspectives in the Humanities (2020, with Sebastian E. Ahnert, Nicole Coleman and Scott Weingart) and Collaborative Historical Research in the Age of Big Data (2023, with Emma GriffinMia Ridge and Giorgia Tolfo) which draws on her experience of interdisciplinary project work as Principal Investigator for Living with Machines based at the British Library and Alan Turing Institute. 
  • Dan Edelstein is William H. Bonsall Professor of French History at Stanford University, CA. A specialist in the history of eighteenth-century France and European intellectual life, Dan’s many publications include The Terror of Natural Right: Republicanism, the Cult of Nature, and the French Revolution (2009), The Enlightenment: A Genealogy (2010), and Let there Be Enlightenment (2018, co-edited with Anton Matytsin). Dan’s digital history experience is as lead investigator on the NEH-funded digital humanities project Mapping the Republic of Letters. This international collaborative project, aims to map the correspondence and social networks of major intellectual figures in the enlightenment era.
  • Maryanne Koweleski is Joseph Fitzpatrick SJ Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Medieval Studies at Fordham University, New York. Maryanne’s research interests include the professional lives of those resident in medieval and early modern London, South-West England and – most recently – the English coast and seafaring communities. Her publications include edited collections on Medieval Domesticity: Home, Housing and Household in Medieval England (2009) and Reading and Writing in Late Medieval England (2019). Maryanne is also the project lead for the Medieval Londoners Database, a digital prosopography which records the activities of London residents between c.1100 and 1520, and about which Maryanne has recently published here.
  • Jon Lawrence is Professor of Modern British History at the University of Exeter. Specialising in social, cultural and political history, Jon’s recent books include Me, Me, Me? The Search for Community in Post-War England (2019) and Electing Our Masters: the Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair (2009). He is currently a Co-Investigator on the interdisciplinary UKRI/AHRC project Living with Machines based at the Turing Institute and British Library which seeks to transform our ability to study the history of modern Britain at scale.
  • Katrina Navickas is Professor of History at the University of Hertfordshire and an expert in history of protest and collective action, and contested spaces in Britain from the eighteenth century to today. Her publications include Protest and the Politics of Space and Place, 1789-1848 (2015) and Loyalism and Radicalism in Lancashire, 1798-1815 (2009). Katrina’s work engages extensively and collaboratively with digital resources and practices, with a focus on mapping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Watch the video of this panel

 

More on the Royal Historical Society’s events programme, 2023 >

 

Map of the British Isles, Zannoni, 1771

National History and Record Societies

** This Society’s publications can be found in the Royal Historical Society collections in the UCL History Library

AIR HISTORICAL BRANCH

Air Historical Branch Publications

The AHB is a small department within the RAF with the responsibility of providing the Air Staff, the wider RAF and MOD, and other government departments with RAF related historical support on operational and other matters. It has a specialist staff of historians and researchers who use material held within AHB or other official repositories as sources through which to provide this support.

Enquiries to: Air Historical Branch, Building 824, RAF Northolt, West End Road, Ruislip, Middlesex. HA4 6NG; tel: 020 8833 8175; email: ahb.raf@btconnect.com; https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/units/air-historical-branch/

ANGLO-NORMAN TEXT SOCIETY

Anglo Norman Text Society Publications

Learned society with the aim of promoting the study of Anglo-Norman by publishing a series of texts of literary, linguistic, historical and legal value and interest.

Enquiries to: Dr Daron Burrows (ANTS Secretary), St Peter’s College, Oxford. OX1 2DL; email: daron.burrows@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk; http://www.anglo-norman-texts.net

ANGLO-SAXON CHARTERS – BRITISH ACADEMY

Anglo-Saxon Charters Publications

The term ‘Anglo-Saxon charter’ covers a multitude of documents ranging in kind from the Royal diplomas issued in the names of Anglo-Saxon kings between the last quarter of the seventh century and the Norman conquest, which are generally in Latin, to the wills of prominent churchmen, laymen and women which are generally in the vernacular.

Enquiries to: The Publications Officer, The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London. SW1Y 5AH; tel: 020 7969 5200; email: pubs@thebritishacademy.ac.uk; https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/projects/academy-research-projects-anglo-saxon-charters/

ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

Antiquarian Horological Society Publications

Enquiries to: The Secretary, 4 Lovat Lane, London. EC3R 8DT; tel: 07733 481 595; email: secretary@ahsoc.org; http://www.ahsoc.org/

ARMY RECORDS SOCIETY **

Army Records Society Publications

Enquiries to: Honorary Secretary, Dr Timothy Bowman, School of History, Rutherford College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent. CT2 7NX; email: t.bowman@kent.ac.uk; http://www.armyrecordssociety.org.uk

AUCTORES BRITANNICI MEDII AEVI – BRITISH ACADEMY

Auctores Britannici Publications

This is a series of definitive Latin texts which are essential for the study of medieval British thought.

Enquiries to: The Publications Officer, The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London. SW1Y 5AH; tel: 020 7969 5200; email: pubs@thebritishacademy.ac.uk; http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/cat/Medieval_British_Authors.cfm

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

Bibliographical Society Publications

Enquiries to: The Honorary Secretary, The Bibliographical Society, c/o Institute of English Studies, University of London, Senate House, Mallet Street, London. WC1E 7HU; email: admin@bibsoc.org.uk; http://www.bibsoc.org.uk

BEVIS MARKS RECORDS / SPANISH & PORTUGUESE JEWS’ CONGREGATION

Bevis Marks Record Publications

Enquiries via: Spanish & Portuguese Jews’ Congregation and Bevis Marks Synagogue, https://www.sephardi.org.uk/bevis-marks/bm-contact/

BORTHWICK INSTITUTE FOR ARCHIVES

Borthwick Institute Publications

Enquiries to: Publications Team, Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York, Heslington, York. YO10 5DD; tel. 01904 321 166; borthwick-institute@york.ac.uk; http://www.york.ac.uk/borthwick

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR LOCAL HISTORY **

BALH Publications

Enquiries to: BALH Head Office, Chester House, 68 Chestergate, Macclesfield. SK11 6DY; tel: 01625 664 524; email: admin@nalh.co.uk; https://www.balh.org.uk/

BRITISH RECORD SOCIETY **

British Record Society Publications

Enquiries to: Prof. Patrick Wallis, Honorary Secretary, Department of Economic History, LSE, Houghton Street, London. WC2A 2AE; email: secretary@britishrecordsociety.org; http://www.britishrecordsociety.org

BRITISH SOCIETY OF FRANCISCAN STUDIES (1908-1937)

British Society of Franciscan Studies Publications

CANTERBURY AND YORK SOCIETY **

Canterbury & York Society Publications

The Canterbury and York Society exists to publish medieval bishops’ registers and other ecclesiastical records. It has published 100 volumes and more than fifty complete registers to date. Membership is open to all and at its AGM, a paper is given on some aspect of late medieval church history.

Enquiries to: Dr Charles Fonge, Honorary Secretary, Canterbury and York Society, Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York, Heslington, York. YO10 5DD; email: charles.fonge@york.ac.uk; https://www-users.york.ac.uk/~cf13/

CANTILUPE SOCIETY (1908-1925)

Cantilupe Society Publications

CATHOLIC RECORD SOCIETY **

Catholic Record Society Publications

The Catholic Record Society was founded in 1904, and has so far published over ninety records volumes, which form a unique and broad collection of primary source material indispensable to anyone working on any aspect the history of the Catholic Church in the British Isles. It has also published a number of monographs dealing with particular topics or with Catholic individuals prominent in public life.

Enquiries to: Honorary Secretary, Dr Serenhedd James; email: secretary@crs.org.uk; https://www.crs.org.uk/

CAXTON SOCIETY (1844-1854)

Caxton Society Publications

CHRONICLES AND MEMORIALS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND (1965)

Chronicles and Memorials Publications

CHURCH OF ENGLAND RECORD SOCIETY**

Church of England Record Society Publications

The Society was founded with the object of promoting interest in and knowledge of the history of the Church of England from the sixteenth century onwards. The Society aims to do this by publishing primary material of significance for the history of the Church of England, whether in the form of letters, diaries, treatises, visitation articles, or other documents. Since the intention is to publish material of national, as distinct from purely local interest, the Society is not in competition with local or county record societies.

Enquiries to: Honorary General Editor, Dr. Grant Tapsell, Lady Margaret Hall, Norham Gardens, Oxford. OX2 6QA; grant.tapsell@history.ox.ac.uk; http://www.coers.org/index.html

CLARENDON HISTORICAL SOCIETY (1882-1888)

Clarendon Historical Society Publications

COUNCIL FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BUSINESS ARCHIVES (1950-1951)

Business Archives Publications

DUGDALE SOCIETY **

Dugdale Society Publications

Enquiries to: Dr Robert Bearman, General Editor, The Dugdale Society, The Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire. CV37 6QW; email: dugdale-society@hotmail.co.uk; http://dugdale-society.org.uk

EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY **

Early English Text Society Publications

EETS was founded in 1864 by Frederick James Furnivall, with the help of Richard Morris, Walter Skeat and others, to bring the mass of unprinted Early English literature within the reach of students. It was also intended to provide accurate texts from which the New (later Oxford) English Dictionary could quote; the ongoing work on the revision of that Dictionary is still heavily dependent on the Society’s editions, as are the Middle English Dictionary and the Toronto Dictionary of Old English. Without EETS editions, study of medieval English texts would hardly be possible.

Enquiries to: Executive Secretary, Prof. Daniel Wakelin, Faculty of English Language and Literature, St Cross Building, Manor Rd., Oxford. OX1 3UL; email: daniel.wakelin@ell.ox.ac.uk; http://users.ox.ac.uk/~eets/

ENGLISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY (1838-1856)

English Historical Society Publications

ENGLISH EPISCOPAL ACTA – BRITISH ACADEMY **

English Episcopal Acta Publications

The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences. It publishes a wide range of scholarly monographs, editions and catalogues.

Enquiries to: The Publications Officer, The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London. SW1Y 5AH; tel: 020 7969 5200; email: pubs@thebritishacademy.ac.uk; http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/cat/eea.cfm

ENGLISH PLACE-NAME SOCIETY **

English Place Name Society Publications

Enquiries to: Mrs Christine Hickling, English Place Name Society, School of English, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham. NG7 2RD; email: name-studies@nottingham.ac.uk; http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~aezins/epns/

GERMAN HISTORICAL INSTITUTE LONDON **

German Historical Institute Publications

The German Historical Institute London is an academically independent institution and part of the foundation German Humanities Institutes Abroad. It promotes research on medieval and modern history in particular on the comparative history of Britain and Germany, on the British Empire and the Commonwealth and on Anglo-German relations. Its public library specializes in German history.

Enquiries to: Anita Bellamy, Secretary, German Historical Institute, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London. WC1A 2NJ; tel: 020 7309 2050; email: ghil@ghil.ac.uk; https://www.ghil.ac.uk/

HAKLUYT SOCIETY **

Hakluyt Society Publications

Since its foundation in 1846, the Hakluyt Society has been centrally concerned with the publication of scholarly editions of primary records of voyages and travels. With some 370 volumes published, this remains our principal activity. The volumes, which are distributed to current members, are illustrated with maps and plates and are widely prized for their standards of scholarship and book production.

Enquiries to: Hakluyt Society Administrative Office; tel: 07568 468 066; email: office@hakluyt.com; http://www.hakluyt.com

HANSERD KNOLLYS SOCIETY (1846-1854)

Hanserd Knollys Society Publications

HARLEIAN SOCIETY **

Harleian Society Publications

The principal activity of the Society is the transcribing, printing and publishing of the heraldic visitations of counties, parish registers or any manuscripts relating to genealogy, family history and heraldry.

Enquiries to: Timothy H. S. Duke (The Honorary Secretary and Treasurer), Harleian Society, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, London. EC4V 4BT; email: info@harleian.co.uk; http://harleian.org.uk

HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS COMMISSION (HMC)

HMC Publications

Enquiries to: Historical Manuscripts Commission, The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. TW9 4DU; https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/our-archives-sector-role/historical-manuscripts-commission/

HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT

History of Parliament Publications

The History of Parliament is a research project creating a comprehensive account of parliamentary politics in England, then Britain, from their origins in the thirteenth century. Unparalleled in the comprehensiveness of its treatment, the History is generally regarded as one of the most ambitious, authoritative and well-researched projects in British History. It consists of detailed studies of elections and electoral politics in each constituency, and of closely researched accounts of the lives of everyone who was elected to Parliament in the period, together with surveys drawing out the themes and discoveries of the research and adding information on the operation of Parliament as an institution.

Enquiries to: The History of Parliament, 18 Bloomsbury Square, London. WC1A 2NS; tel: 020 7636 9269; email: website@histparl.ac.uk; http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/

HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND**

Huguenot Society Publications

In 1885, the directors of the French Hospital, established to serve the Huguenot community in 1718, created a Society to promote the publication and interchange of knowledge about Huguenot history. The Society publishes an annual Huguenot Society Journal (formerly Proceedings) and, since 1887, has brought out many volumes of Huguenot records. Originally known as ‘Publications of the Huguenot Society of London’, these volumes became the ‘Huguenot Society Quarto Series’ in 1969. In 1990, the Society started a New Series of monographs editing personal reflections by Huguenot refugees and their descendants.

Enquiries to: The Hon. Secretary, Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland; secretary@huguenotsociety.org.uk; http://www.huguenotsociety.org.uk

JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND **

Jewish Historical Society Publications

Is the oldest historical and learned society of its kind in Europe, founded in 1893 by the foremost Anglo-Jewish scholars and communal leaders of the day. The Jewish Historical Society of England publishes lectures, book reviews and occasional papers in its annual transactions known as Jewish Historical Studies.

Enquiries to: Honorary Secretary, Jewish Historical Society of England; tel: 01553 849 849; email: info@jhse.org; http://www.jhse.org

LIST AND INDEX SOCIETY **

List and Index Society Publications

The List and Index Society is a not-for-profit society that publishes editions and calendars of historical records. It has also published monographs from time to time. Its publications can be found in the major British and American public and university libraries: they are also available for purchase by individuals. The society is managed by its officers and a council representing the British historical community.

Enquiries to: Honorary Secretary, List and Index Society; listandindexsociety@nationalarchives.gov.uk ; http://www.listandindexsociety.org.uk

MALONE SOCIETY

Malone Society Publications

Enquiries to: Prof. Lucy Munro, Publicity Officer; email: lucy.munro@kcl.ac.uk; http://www.malonesociety.com

NATIONAL ARCHIVES (formerly Public Record Office)

Public Record Office Publications

Enquiries to: The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. TW9 4DU; http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY **

Navy Records Society Publications

The Navy Records Society was founded in 1893 by a small group of historians, naval officers, publicists and statesmen led by Professor Sir John Knox Laughton and Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, to publish original materials on the history of the Royal Navy. The Navy Records Society publishes an annual volume in print and online. Each work presents previously unpublished documents on naval history, edited, introduced and given an analytical commentary by an acknowledged expert in the field.

Enquiries to: Andy Plumbly, Hon. Secretary; email: honsec@navyrecords.org.uk; http://www.navyrecords.org.uk

PARKER SOCIETY (1841-1855)

Parker Society Publications

PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY RECORD SERIES

Parliamentary History Record Series Publications

The Record Series has been replaced by a new series, Parliamentary History: Text and Studies.

Enquiries to: Editor Linda Clark (History of Parliament). For more information see the Wiley Online Library site for the Parliamentary History Journal.

PIPE ROLL SOCIETY **

Pipe Roll Society Publications

Enquiries to: The Pipe Roll Society, c/o The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey. TW9 4DU; email: prs@nationalarchives.gov.uk; https://piperollsociety.co.uk/

RECORD COMMISSIONERS (1802-1832)

Record Commissioners Publications

RECORDS OF EARLY ENGLISH DRAMA (REED)

Records of Early English Drama Publications

Enquiries to: Prof. Sally-Beth MacLean, Director of Research and General Editor, Records of Early English Drama, Jackman Humanities Building, University of Toronto, 170 St George Street, Suite 810, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M5R 2M8; email: smaclean@utoronto.ca; http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/

RECORDS OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY (RSEH) – BRITISH ACADEMY **

RSEH Publications

The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences. It publishes a wide range of scholarly monographs, editions and catalogues.

Enquiries to: The Publications Officer, The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London. SW1Y 5AH; tel: 020 7969 5200; email: pubs@thebritishacademy.ac.uk; http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/cat/rseh.cfm

ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS OF ENGLAND (1908-1999)

AHMC Commission for England Publications

ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL MONUMENTS AND CONSTRUCTIONS IN WALES AND MONMOUTHSHIRE | Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru

AHMC Commission Wales Publications

Enquiries via: https://rcahmw.gov.uk/

SELDEN SOCIETY **

Selden Society Publications

The Selden Society’s motto is ‘to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of English law’. It has published some 150 volumes of original legal records and source-materials, translated and edited, and continues to do so at the rate of one or more volumes each year.

Enquiries to: The Selden Society, School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London. E1 4NS; tel: 020 7882 3968; email: selden-society@qmul.ac.uk; https://www.seldensociety.ac.uk/

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON **

Society of Antiquaries (London) Publications

The Society of Antiquaries of London was founded in by Royal Charter in 1751. Its remit is the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries.

Enquiries to: The Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London. W1J 0BE; tel: 020 7479 7080; email: admin@sal.org.ukhttp://www.sal.org.uk

ST GEORGE’S CHAPEL, WINDSOR

St George’s Chapel Publications

The series of Historical Monographs relating to St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, commenced in 1939. It aims to make more accessible the principal historical collections in the custody of the Dean and Canons of Windsor and to examine and publicize aspects of the Chapel’s rich history.

Enquiries to: Archives, tel: 01753 848 888 (please leave a message and your call will be returned); email: chapteroffice@stgeorges-windsor.org; https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/archives/resources/historical-monographs/

WESTMINSTER ABBEY RECORD SERIES

Westminster Abbey Record Series Publications

Enquiries to: Westminster Abbey Library, East Cloister, Westminster Abbey, London. SW1P 3PA; tel: 020 7654 4830; email: library@westminster-abbey.org; https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/library-research/record-series

 

Apply for Membership

Closing date for next application round:

Monday 25 March 2024

 

Membership of the RHS is open to all those who have an interest in the rich and varied world of the past. You may be involved in teaching, libraries, archives, museums, heritage, or the media in either a professional or volunteer capacity. You may be actively engaged in local or family history, or simply want to join our worldwide community of historians.

Membership is open to all applicants 18 years or older.

If you are a published or practising historian, our Fellowship or Associate Fellowship categories may be more appropriate for you. Please also consider these options before applying to join the Society. From August 2022 we are extending the benefits available to Members of the Society (please see below).

To apply for the RHS Membership please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category.


Benefits of Membership

  • Print and online copies of the latest volume of the RHS academic journal, Transactions.
  • Online access to the current issue and entire searchable back archive of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: the collection comprises 144 volumes and more that 2200 articles, published between the journal’s foundation in 1872 and the early 2020s.
  • Online access to all 380 volumes of the Society’s Camden Series of primary source material, including the latest titles published in 2021 and 2022. Since 1838, the Camden Series has made primary records available in accessible scholarly editions, compiled and introduced by specialist historians. The Series is especially strong in material relating to British history, including the British Empire and Britons’ influence overseas.
  • All other RHS publications offered at a substantial discount: includes the Bibliography of British and Irish History and Camden Series volumes.
  • 30% discount on all academic books (print only) published by Cambridge University Press.
  • 30% discount on purchases of print copies of the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series, offering monographs and essay collections, and produced in association with the Institute of Historical Research and University of London Press.
  • 30% discount on History titles published by Oxford University Press.
  • 20% discount on print subscription to History Today, Britain’s leading history magazine (£52 per annum, usually £65 full price). 20% discount on online subscription to the archive of History Today (£56 per annum, usually £70 full price).
  • Receipt of the weekly ‘RHS News Circular’ (this example, August 2023): regular update on RHS activities, plus listings of events / calls for papers from other UK historical societies and research networks.
  • Copies of RHS newsletters and the Society’s annual reports.
  • Eligible for RHS training and career development events / workshops reserved for Fellows and members.
  • Eligible to apply for the Society’s Research Funding programmes available to historians at all career stages.
  • Access to the RHS Archive and Library collections, and  RHS Library rooms, at University College London (UCL).
  • Become part of a thriving international community of historians, of all kinds and from many backgrounds.
  • Help us support and advocate for the study and practice of history in its many forms. Society income also supports our grants programme for historians at the start of their careers
  • Read more on the Society’s 6 priority areas: Policy & Advocacy, Events & Training, Innovative Publishing, Grants & Support, Awards & Recognition, and Library & Archive.

 

 

Annual subscription

From November 2021, annual subscription rates for Membership, payable on election, are: 

  • for Members, UK-based: £40 pa
  • Members, International: £50 pa
  • Members, Hardship Rate: £10.00 pa (online access to Transactions only)

The RHS subscription year runs July to June with renewals due on 1 July of each year. 

The Associate Fellow Hardship Rate is available to unemployed and low income/wage members (self-defined) and includes unfunded/self-funded students.


How to Apply

Prior to making your application, please consult the FAQs relating to Membership

To apply for the RHS Membership please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category.

Applications to join the RHS are welcome through the year. Dates for applications in 2024 are as follows: 25 March 2024, 27 May 2024, 12 August 2024 and 14 October 2024.

Rejoining the Society as a Member

If your Membership has lapsed / has been cancelled, and you would like to re-join the Society, please contact our Membership department at membership@royalhistsoc.org in the first instance. We will be glad to assist you.


All applications are considered by our Membership Committee who meet five times a year. You can expect to hear the outcome approximately eight weeks after the closing date for your application. Incomplete applications will be held on file until we have received all the necessary information.

All enquiries about applying for election to the Membership should be addressed to the RHS office: membership@royalhistsoc.org

 

Eric Williams’ Capitalism and Slavery: debates, legacies and new directions for research

 

Panel Discussion

17:00 BST, Tuesday 13 June 2023, Online 

Watch the recording of this event

 

Speakers at the event

  • Dr Heather Cateau (University of the West Indies and University of St Andrews)
  • Dr Stephen Mullen (University of Glasgow)
  • Professor Harvey Neptune (Temple University)
  • Professor Meleisa Ono-George (University of Oxford)
  • Professor Matthew J. Smith (University College London, and chair)

About the event

Eric Williams’ Capitalism and Slavery (1944) remains a powerful, provocative and influential work of historical scholarship. For Williams, chattel slavery provided Britain with the capacity to develop commercial and industrial capitalism, and—in turn—the means to power an eighteenth-century industrial revolution. As the profits of slavery declined, Williams argued, so did British commitment to the slave trade—the motivations for abolition of the slave trade (1807) and of slavery (1834) being economic rather than humanitarian.

In this international panel, historians working in the fields of eighteenth-century Caribbean slavery and slave economy, and Anglo-Caribbean society, come together to consider the debates and legacies of Capitalism and Slavery. First published in the UK by André Deutsch in 1964, Williams’ classic text — ‘perhaps the most influential book written in the twentieth century on the history of slavery (Oxford DNB) — is gaining a new readership following its republication as a Penguin Modern Classic in 2022.

Panellists will introduce, and set in context, the scholarly and political work of Eric Williams (1911-1981), as well as review nearly 80 years of responses to Capitalism and Slavery. Our panel considers the value and contribution of the ‘Williams’ thesis’ in contemporary scholarship. Speakers will also offer their perspectives on future research directions for histories of slavery and the slave economy, as well as the social and economic history of the Caribbean, in the long eighteenth century.

 

About our panellists

  • Heather Cateau is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of the West Indies where she teaches Caribbean history, economic history, and Caribbean historiography. Heather is a specialist in the study of plantation systems and comparative systems of enslavement. Her books include Capitalism and Slavery Fifty Years Later (2000, with Selwyn Carrington); History of the Caribbean in the Atlantic World (2005, with John Campbell), and Beyond Tradition: Reinterpreting the Caribbean Historical Experience (2006, with Rita Pemberton). From 2023 Heather is a Senior Research Fellow in the History department at the University of St Andrews.
  • Stephen Mullen teaches History at the University of Glasgow and is the author of The Glasgow Sugar Aristocracy. Scotland and Caribbean Slavery, 1775-1838, published in November 2022, which considers the Williams’ thesis in a Scottish context. Stephen’s other publications include the reports Glasgow, Slavery and Atlantic Commerce: an Audit of Historic Connections and Modern Legacies (2022, for Glasgow City Council) and Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow (2018, with Simon Newman).
  • Harvey R. Neptune is Professor of History at Temple University, Philadelphia, specialising in the post-emancipation history of the Caribbean. Harvey’s publications include Caliban and the Yankees: Trinidad and the US Occupation (2007) and ‘Throwin’ Scholarly Shade: Eric Williams in the New Histories of Capitalism and Slavery’, Journal of the Early Republic (2019).
  • Meleisa Ono-George is Associate Professor and Brittenden Fellow in Black British History at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford. A social-cultural historian of race and gender, Meleisa’s research and publications consider Black women’s histories in Britain and the Anglo-Caribbean from the late eighteenth century.
  • Matthew J. Smith is is Professor of History and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London. A specialist in the history of Haiti and Jamaica, Matthew’s recent publications include The Jamaica Reader: History, Culture Politics co-edited with Diana Paton (2021) and Liberty, Fraternity, Exile: Haiti and Jamaica After Emancipation (2014).

Watch the recording of this event >

More on the Royal Historical Society’s events programme, 2023 >

 

Camden Series volumes, 2022: new primary source collections for historians

Each year the Society publishes two volumes of primary source materials, edited by historians who’ve worked closely with these documents. The volumes appear in the Society’s Camden Series of scholarly editions and make new sets of primary sources available for research.

Each volume, compiled and edited by a specialist in the subject, includes an Introduction and full references and annotations. Camden Society volumes are published online and in print for the Society by Cambridge University Press.

The Camden Series volumes, 2022, provide primary sources on everyday life in Early modern England and high politics in Britain, Ireland and Germany in the interwar years.

 

Volume 64The Diary of George Lloyd (1642-1718), edited by Daniel Patterson (November 2022)

Virtually unknown to scholarship, Lloyd’s diary is not a record of notable events. Rather, it is a uniquely quotidian text consisting of regular daily entries documenting the activities and experiences of an individual far removed from great events.

Lloyd’s diary will be an invaluable resource for scholars studying many aspects of early modern English social and cultural history, including sociality, fashion, religious observance, courtship, food and drink, and working life.

The Diary of George Lloyd, 1642-1718 is now available online and in print from Cambridge University Press. RHS Fellows and Members may purchase hardback print copies directly from the Society for £16 per volume or £25 for both 2022 Camden Series volumes. To do so please email: administration@royalhistsoc.org.

Read the Introduction to The Diary of George Lloyd, 1642-1718.

Here, the editor Dr Daniel Patterson introduces George Lloyd and his world, on the Society’s blog, ‘Historical Transactions’.

 

Volume 63Aristocracy, Democracy, and Dictatorship. The Political Papers of the Seventh Marquess of Londonderry, edited by N. C. Fleming (September 2022).

The seventh Marquess of Londonderry (1878–1949) corresponded with the leading political figures of his day, including Winston Churchill (his second cousin), Neville Chamberlain, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald. Londonderry’s amateur diplomacy in the 1930s meant that his regular correspondents also included Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Franz von Papen.

Aristocracy, Democracy, and Dictatorship is now available online and in print from Cambridge University Press. RHS Fellows and Members may purchase hardback print copies directly from the Society for £16 per volume or £25 for both 2022 Camden Series volumes. To do so please email: administration@royalhistsoc.org.

Read the Introduction to Aristocracy, Democracy, and Dictatorship. The Political Papers of the Seventh Marquess of Londonderry.

Here, on the Society’s blog, ‘Historical Transactions’, the volume’s editor Professor Neil Fleming introduces the interwar political networks of the Marquess of Londonderry.

 


About the RHS Camden Series

 

 

The Royal Historical Society’s Camden Series is one of the most prestigious and important collections of primary source material relating to British History, including the British empire and Britons’ influence overseas. The Society (and its predecessor, the Camden Society) has since 1838 published scholarly editions of sources—making important, previously unpublished, texts available to researchers. Each volume is edited by a specialist historian who provides an expert introduction and commentary.

Today the Society publishes two new Camden volumes each year in association with Cambridge University Press. The series is available via Cambridge Journals Online and full access is available to the Society’s Members and Fellows, as part of new member benefits from 2022. We welcome proposals for new Camden volumes: for more on how to submit an idea to the editors, please see the Camden Series page of the RHS website.