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2012 CONFERENCE, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, 3-5 APRIL 2012.
Plenary lecture: Catherine Hall, 'On being a historian in 2012'
Go to the 'conference' page for links to photos, the postgraduate prize winner's paper, and lecture notes on the plenary lecture.
Follow us on Twitter @socialhistsoc
About the Social History Society
The Social History Society was founded in 1976 to encourage the study of the history of society and cultures by teaching, research, publication and other appropriate means. Since then it has organised a conference annually and acted to represent the interests of social and cultural history and of social and cultural historians both within higher education and in the wider community. The society is based in the UK but is concerned with social history internationally and it all its broadest forms. It welcomes not only contributions and members from overseas, but also historians and interested individuals from both inside and outside the formal academic community. It actively seeks to maintain links with other historical societies and bodies.
Joining the Society
SHS membership forms are available: Word (31k) PDF (107k)
Follow the Society on Twitter: http://twitter.com/socialhistsoc
And on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40816930759&ref=nf
A message from Penny Summerfield
Social History is a dynamic and popular force within academia and in our wider society. The Social History Society was founded in 1976, when, to quote Geoff Eley, social history worked “within a self-confident materialist paradigm of social totality, grounded in the primacy of class” (A Crooked Line, 2005). That vision of social totality was challenged in the ensuing years by developments that include, among others, women’s history, oral history, black history, post-colonial history, and the history of sexualities. Confidence in the materialist paradigm took a knock: cultural history moved in to take its place. The Social History Society did not stand by and wring its collective hands, but readily embraced these changes. In particular, with the founding of its journal Cultural and Social History in 2003, the Society refused a polarized division between the social and the cultural.
The Society’s dynamism and flexibility is demonstrated by the wealth and diversity of papers at its annual conferences where members present original material fresh from the archives, from oral history interviews, and from the “speaking stones” of material culture. It is also evident in the Society’s evident attractiveness to new young members and early career historians, as well as in the long-term loyalty and enthusiasm of older members. And it is borne out by the Society’s readiness to engage across boundaries with other types of history, other disciplines and wider publics than academics alone.
The vitality of history in museums and the media is very striking. Aside from well known telly dons, history is kept in popular focus by numerous film and television dramatisations of period novels and autobiographies, and many historical reconstructions and documentaries. And it is very much social history that is represented.
The pervasiveness of social history in modern society encourages me to think that our current funding and membership drive will not fall on deaf ears, in spite of global economic crisis. With charitable status the Society will receive a supplement of around 25% for every pound donated. An increase in funds will enable us to do more for our members and for our discipline. Please give generously!
Penny Summerfield
Chair, SHS 2008-2011
Professor of Modern History
University of Manchester
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