SHS Conference at Northumbria

From 8 to 10 April, the annual conference of the Social History Society (SHS) took place at Northumbria University, preceded by a pre-conference event on 7 April. The largest annual gathering of social and cultural historians in the UK, the conference brought 220 delegates from 15 countries to Newcastle. There were 191 papers presented across seven thematic strands.  The conference attracted new and established scholars in the field. The 'Histories of Activism' group was responsible for the local organisation of the event, with Daniel Laqua and Nicole Robertson acting as coordinators and several PhD students and Northumbria historians helping out as volunteers.

In addition to the conference panels, the event featured a number of special activities: on 7 April, an afternoon event inaugurated the new conference strand on ‘Global and Transnational Approaches’ (reflecting Northumbria’s own work in this area). On 8 April, a reception at the Great Hall of the Sutherland Building marked the launch of the SHS’s new book series. This was followed by a very memorable event at the North East Mining Institute, with stories and folk music performances by Vic Gammon and Benny Graham. Finally, on 9 April, we had the pleasure to welcome Prof. Colin Jones, who gave the keynote lecture on the topic of ’24 hours in the French Revolution’, followed by a conference dinner at the Assembly Rooms.

British Academy support for 'Portraits of Integrity'

We are delighted that the British Academy has agreed to support a project that the 'Histories of Activism' group is involved in: Portraits of Integrity. This initiative has secured £9,068 in funding, with the aim of building a series of detailed portraits of historical, fictional and contemporary figures whose lives raise questions about the nature, value and limits of integrity. The British Academy grant will fund a monthly reading group, a public conference at the end of 2015, and the publication of a series of essays. The successful bid was put together by Rachael Wiseman (University of Durham), Charlotte Alston (Northumbria University) and Amber Carpenter (University of York). It is one component of a wider research project on integrity.

Workshop on Activism in the 1970s

On Tuesday, 18 February, the 'Histories of Activism’ research group hosted a one-day workshop on  ‘Activism in the Face of Crisis: Conflict and Contestation in the 1970s’.

The half-day workshop included contributions from several visiting speakers:
Prof. Lawrence Black (York University) discussed the ‘New Right’ in Britain.
Dr Maud Bracke (Glasgow University) considered ‘second wave’ feminism in light of broader patterns of cultural change. 
Dr Eleanor Davey (Overseas Development Institute) examined French humanitarian campaigns.
Prof. Matthew Worley (Reading University) shed light on the relationship between punk and politics.

There were also several local speakers: Claudia Baldoli and Felix Schulz from Newcastle University compared developments in 1970s Italy and Germany; Nicole Robertson considered activism for consumers’ rights; and Daniel Laqua traced the relationship between left-wing politics and musical journalism in West Germany.

Activism and Integrity Workshop

Hosted by the 'Histories of Activism' group at Northumbria, this workshop will explore the ways in which concepts of integrity have shaped debates among activists from across the political spectrum; how it has governed action as well as intention; and how forms of organization and collective action are negotiated to preserve the integrity of the actors. 

The event will take place from 1:00 to 4:30 pm on 16 December 2013. The location is room 121, Lipman Building at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Programme

1pm: Arrival and Welcome 

1.15-2.30pm: Panel One: Integrity and nineteenth-century reform movements

• Dr Charlotte Alston (Northumbria) ‘Facing life as a whole: Tolstoy, Tolstoyans and the philosophy of non-resistance’
• Dr James Gregory (Plymouth) ‘”What’s my motivation?”Personal integrity and other “springs of action” in the lives of nineteenth-century reformers”

2.30-3pm: Coffee break

3-4.14pm: Panel Two: Conservativism and radical activists in the twentieth century

• Dr Joe Street (Northumbria) ‘The Black Panther Party and street protest’
• Dr Mark Pitchford (Visiting Research Fellow, KCL) ‘Conservative activism’

4.15-4.30: Concluding remarks and close

Feel free to take a look at the website of the Integrity Project for further information on the event and the wider project that it forms part of.The workshop is free and all are welcome. For further details on this event, please contact the workshop organisers: Dr Charlotte Alston (charlotte.alston[at]northumbria.ac.uk) and Dr Joe Hardwick (joseph.hardwick[at]northumbria.ac.uk).

AHRC Research Network Workshop: Labour Behind the Label: Working with Textiles, Northumbria University, 8 November 2013

This one-day AHRC-funded cross-disciplinary workshop will investigate the impact that operational and professional developments in the British textile industry had on workers and workers’ communities. Organised as part of the ‘Tailored Trades Tailored Trades: clothes, labour and professional identity 1880-1939’ research network, speakers will include Dr Pete Maw (University of Leeds), Dr Sally Tuckett (University of Edinburgh), Professor Jutta Schwarzkopf (Bielefeld University), Dr Janet Greenlees (Glasgow Caledonian University) and Professor Joseph Melling (University of Exeter). The event will take place at Northumbria University on 8 November. For further information, please visit the event pages. After the event, you will also be able to access podcasts from the project site.