Timetable 10.30-11.00 Coffee and registration 11.00-11.15- Welcome and co-convenors report by Lucinda Matthews-Jones and Jamie Wood 11.15- 12.00- Plenary paper one Stefan Collini (Cambridge), ‘In the valley of its saying: on not “justifying” the humanities’ 12.00-12.45- Plenary paper two Karen Salt (Nottingham), ‘Equity, Justice and the Necessity of Radical Thought’ 12.45-1.30- Lunch 1.30-1.45- Conferring new delegates to the Steering Committee 1.45-3.15- Roundtable and delegate discussion Sara Barker (Leeds) ‘Thinking about the Past for the Future: students and the study of his- tory’ James Baker (Sussex) ‘Born Digital Archives’ Sihong Lin (Manchester) 'Diversifying Public History: A Medievalist's Perspective' 3.15-3.30 Coffee 3.30-5.00 AGM meeting and SC meeting.
Plenary Speaker One: Stefan Collini, ‘In the valley of its saying: on not “justifying” thehumanities’ A short summary: 'Attempts to "justify" thehumanitiesare toooften simultaneouslydefensiveand over-ambitious. In this lecture, Stefan Collini argues that we need to adopt different
strategiesfordifferentaudiences,andthatbyfocussingonthemeritsofgoodworkinindividualdisciplineswecanhitanotethatisatoncemoremodestbutalsomoreconfident.'Stefan Collini is Professor Emeritus of Intellectual History and EnglishLiteratureatCambridgeUniversity,andaFellowoftheBritishAcademy.Heistheauthorof,amongotherbooks,PublicMoralists(1991),MatthewArnold:aCritical Portrait (1994), English Pasts: Essays in History and Culture (1999),Absent Minds: Intellectuals in Britain (2006), Common Reading: Critics,Historians, Publics (2008),and Common Writing: Literary Culture and Public
Debate (2016), as well as a frequent contributor to The London Review of Books, The TimesLiterarySupplement,TheGuardian,TheNation,andotherpublications.His2012bookWhatAreUniversities For? and its sequel Speaking of Universities (2017), have becomemajor points ofreferenceininternationaldebatesabouthighereducation. PlenarySpeakerTwo:KarenSalt,‘Equity,JusticeandtheNecessityofRadicalThought’
A short summary: Inorder to create just, equitable futures,wemust re-visionourworldusingtools(andcreatingnewones)thatembraceradicalhopeandcriticalreflection.
DrKarenSalthasover26years’worthofexperienceworkinginandwithcommunities,organisa-tions,charitiesandgovernmentalbodies,includingrunningnon-profitsandengagingincommu-nity developmentwork. Based at theUniversity of Nottingham, she directs the Centre for Re-search inRaceandRightsandleadstheuniversity’sBlackStudiesPhDprogramme—thefirst in-terdisciplinaryprogrammeofitskindinEurope.Anexpertonsovereignty,power,collectiveactiv-ismandsystemsofgovernance,sheleadsandcollaboratesonanumberofresearchprojects,in-cludingtheAHRC-funded“GeographiesofBlackProtest”thatformedpartofthelargernetworksfundedaspartoftheUNDecadeforPeopleofAfri-canDescent.
She is a member of the Arts & Humanities Research Council AdvisoryBoard where she advises on the development and implementation ofstrategicapproachestofundingwhichreflectthechallengesandopportu-nitiesarisingforartsandhumanitiesresearchandthosethatengagewithit. She is also Deputy Chair of the UKRI’s External Advisory Group forEquality,DiversityandInclusion.Sheisasoughtafternationalspeakerand
frequentlyworkswithartsandculturalorganisationsontransformationalsocialjusticeandinsti-tutionalchange.Hermonograph,TheUnfinishedRevolution:Haiti,BlackSovereigntyandPowerinthe Nineteenth-Century Atlantic World, will be published by Liverpool University Press in Nov2018.Sheisalsoworkingonnewprojects, including,StatesofBlackness:Debt,NationhoodandPowerinHaiti,LiberiaandAbyssinia.
andgetthoseoutsidetheacademytorecognisethevalueofahistorydegree. SaraBarkerishistorianofearlymodernprintculture,particularlynews,translationandpamphlets.Veryslowlywritingabookaboutthis.Depu-tyDirectorofStudentEducationat theUniversityofLeeds,whereshehasparticular interest in the transitionbetweenschoolanduniversity,personal tutoring, employability and innovative assessments. Sheco-authorsablogonStudentEducationthingswithDrClaireMcCallum
Ashort summary:Mytalkisonthefundamentalchangestoourprimarysourcesthathavebeencausedbycomputers,thefactthatoursourceshavebecome'borndigital’.JamesBakerisaSeniorLecturerinDigitalHistoryandArchivesattheUniversityofSussex and at theSussex Humanities Lab. He is aSoftware Sustainability InstituteFellow,aFellowoftheRoyalHistoricalSociety,andholdsdegreesfromtheUniver-sityofSouthamptonandlatterlytheUniversityofKent,wherein2010hecompletedhisdoctoralresearchonthelate-Georgianartist-engraverIsaacCruikshank.Jamescaresabouthowpeopleinthepastinteractedwiththings.Hispublishedre-searchhasfocusedontopicsasdiverseaslongeighteenthcenturyBritishsatiricalartandnear contemporary information technologies.He is an expert in thehistory of theprintedimageandhismonographTheBusinessofSatiricalPrintsinLate-GeorgianEnglandwaspublished
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in2017.Hiscuratorialpracticefocusesonborn-digitalobjects,personaldigitalarchives,anddigi-talforensics.Currentfundedresearchprojectsfocusondigitalforensicsinthehistoricalhumanities(EuropeanCommission),thepreservationofintangibleculturalheritage(BritishCouncilandBritishAcademy),curatorial voice indescriptionsof artobjects (BritishAcademy), anddecolonial futures formu-seumcollections(ArtsandHumanitiesResearchCouncil).PriortojoiningSussex,JamesheldpositionsofDigitalCuratorattheBritishLibraryandPostdoc-toralFellowwiththePaulMellonCentreforStudiesinBritishArt.HeisamemberoftheArtsandHumanities Research CouncilPeer Review College, a convenor of theInstitute of Historical Re-searchDigital History seminar, amember ofThe ProgrammingHistorian Editorial Board, and acommitteememberoftheArchivesandRecordsAssociation(UK)SectionforArchivesandTech-nology.
A short summary:IwilldiscusswhatIthinkarethechallengesandopportunitiesofdoingpublicmedievalhistory,drawinguponmyexperiencesinengagingwiththewiderpublicthroughvariousplatforms.Sihong is a PhD student at theUniversity ofManchesterworking in cross-cultural connectionsbetweenWesternEuropeandtheeasternMediterraneanintheseventhcentury.I completed aBA in History and a MSc in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at the University of Oxford(2011-2015),witha special focusoncross-culturalexchanges in lateantiquity.This remainsmyfocusduringmyPhDandIaminterestedinallaspectsofmovementandtransnationalexchange,particularlyinintegratingconceptsfromthesocialsciencesintohistoricalstudies.
Firstly,wewouldliketothankPeterD’SenaandHeatherShorefortheirhardworkinputtingto-gether our teaching workshop on Transitioning in History from School to University. Here weheardstimulatingpapersfromBarbaraHibbertandDavidIngledew.Thiswasfollowedbyanin-troduction to A Level History from OCR’s history lead,Mike Goddard. Finally, a practical casestudyonstudent-ledinductionswasdeliveredfromOliviaSaunders.Onthistheme,LucindaMat-thews-JonesattendedonourbehalftheRHSNewtoSchoolCurriculumeventwherebothPeterD’SenaandJamieWoodwerespeakers.
TheintroductionofaresearchofficertotheSteeringCommitteemeantthatthisyearweranourfirst research workshop. Neil Fleming, together with LucindaMatthews-Jones, organised a re-searchgrantworkshopwithspeakersfromtheBritishAcademyandAHRC.WewerealsojoinedbyEmmaGriffin,KieranFenby-HulseandMartinJohnes.
WearepleasedtoseethattheAcademicJobBootcampcontinuestobeacornerstoneeventofourwork.TheAcademicJobBootcampprovidesECRacademicsandPhDstudentsfirst-handex-perience of the academic recruitment process. They submit a letter and CV to us before theevent.Ontheday itself theythenhavean interviewwithmembersof theSteeringCommittee,whoalsoprovidefeedback.Thisyearover15peopletookadvantageofthisopportunity.Oneoftheattendees,AmyKing,reported,‘It’snotoftenthattrainingallowsforone-to-onesessionsandadviceforeachandeveryattendee,buttheBootCampgaveusjustthat…I’mabsolutelysurethistraininghelpedmetogetthejob!’
WeworkedinpartnarshipwithTheNationalArchivestoresearchandproduceaguidetocollab-orativeworkingbetweentheHEandarchivessector.ThiswaslaunchedataneventatTNAinthesummerandhasbeenpromotedwidely.WearecontinuingtoworkinpartnershipwithTNAand,as youwill seebelow,are contributing toa seriesofworkshops that theyareplanning for thecomingyeararoundtheissueofHE-archivalpartnership.
WewillcontinuetokeepaneyeonHEdevelopmentsin2019.WewerethefirsthistorysubjectorganisationtoreleaseastatementsupportingcolleaguesstrikingovertherestructureoftheUSSpension scheme. We co-signed, with other Art and Humanities Alliance members, a letter toAlistair Jarvis andUniversitiesUK.Wehave responded toREFandAHRC surveys. LucindaMat-thews-JonesrepresentedusattheOfqualALevelEvaluationworkshoponinDecember2017.
Wehaveanumberofplansfornextyear.Thisincludes
• Ateachingeventon ‘Empowering theHistoryClassroom’at Liverpool JohnMooresUni-versity
Wearepleasedatthiseventtoannounceournewfundingopportunities.HistoryUKiskeentosupporteventshostedbysubscribingmembersintheareaofhighereducationpolicyandissuesaffecting the subject areaofHistory and is thereforemaking grants of up to £500 available tosubscribing institutions.Pleasedo takea lookat amoredetailed call for fundingdocumentonpage8.
• Wearelookingforpartnerstohostandhelporganiseeventsonourbehalf.Pleaseletusknow if you and your department would be interested in running (or contributing to-wards):
a) BritishLibraryDigitalLabs b) AneventoncollaborationbetweenarchivesandHE
WewillconsiderapplicationsforeventsthatexploreHigherEducationissuesinrelationtothedisciplineofHistory.Wewillalsoconsiderapplicationsthatrequestfundingtocovercostsofpanelsorspeakersatac-ademicevents,suchasconferences.(Note:wewillnotfundattendanceofindividualsatresearchconfer-ences or provide support for the organisation of such events, exceptwhere they explicitly address thethemesoutlinedabove).
1.HistoryUKResearchGrantWorkshopTheone-dayResearchGrantWorkshopheldon4September2018wasaresoundingsuccess. ItwasaimedprincipallyatMCRs,thoughPhDstudents,ECRsandrepresentativesofuniversityre-searchschoolswereamongthe32registeredtoattend.Theyheardandquestionedrepresenta-tivesfromtheAHRCandBritishAcademy,andexpertcontributionsfromProfessorEmmaGriffin(EastAnglia),DrKieranFenby-Hulse(Coventry),andProfessorMartinJohnes(Swansea).HeldattheInstituteofHistoricalResearch,attendeeswerecharged£10tocovercateringexpenses.The success of theWorkshop suggests that there is demand amongMCRs for similar events. IwouldrecommendthereforethatHistoryUKhostsasimilareventinSeptember2019.Drawingonthefeedbackforthisevent,thefocuscouldbeonwritingandhandling‘Impact’inresearchgrantapplications,andagainincludeexpertcontributionsfromthefundersandawardees.2.ConsultationExerciseonREF2021DraftGuidanceandCriteriaHistoryUKwasunabletosubmitaresponsethatfocussedonthepositionofhistoriansasnooneontheSteeringCommitteewasinapositiontosubmitaresponsebythedeadline(28September2018).3.OpenAccessMonographsandtheREFAsdiscussed at a previousmeetingof the SteeringCommittee, there is a proposal thatmono-graphsenteredforREF2027mustbeOUcompliant.IcontinuetoliaisewiththeRoyalHistoricalSocietywhichhasexpressedanumberofconcernsaboutthepracticalimplicationsofsuchapol-icyonhistoriansandHEinstitutions.TheSociety’sbriefingpapercanbeaccessedviaitswebsite:https://royalhistsoc.org/oa-briefing-march2018/Universities UK has since published its own report:https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Pages/UUK-open-access-recommendations-and-guidelines-for-best-practice.aspx In contrast to theRHistS,UUK focusses on facili-tatingratherthancritiquingorscrutinisingthetransitiontoOUmonographs.ThisappearstobeborneoutbyUUK’seventon ‘OpenAccessandMonographs for LearnedSocietiesandSubjectAssociations’,heldattheBritishAcademyon11September2018.AsIwasunabletoattend,theTreasurer,DrRichardHawkins,kindlydidsoonbehalfofHistoryUK.Hisfullandcomprehensive
reportisfoundbelow.Thefollowingarethekeypointsraisedontheday:1. Itwouldappear thatonly limited institutional funding isavailable to support thepublicationcostsofOAmonographs.Theimplicationisthatifyoudonothavearesearchgrantwhichcoversthis cost youmight have to find perhaps £10,000 out of your own pocket to publish your OAmonograph.Thiswoulddisadvantagepost-1992academicsinparticular.ButitwouldappearthisisalsoanunresolvedissueateliteRussellGroupHEIstoo.2.ItwouldappearthatseveralRussellGroupuniversitiestogetherwithotherpre-1992universi-tieshaveestablisheduniversitypressestopublishtheiracademics’OAmonographs.Thesepress-eshavethesamestandardsastraditionalpresses–i.e.e.g.peerreview.ItwouldalsoappearthatthesenewOAmonographfocusseduniversitypressesarebeingsubsidisedbytheirHEIfounders.3. Several university librarian delegates pointed to the inconsistent university ofOA repositorypracticeacrossthesector;thereisaneedfortheestablishmentofanationalstandardforUniver-sityOArepositories.Having read Richard’s report, below, it is reassuring to see that the practical consequences ofmoving toOAmonographswere raised indiscussionat theUUKevent,not leastby theRHistSrepresentative.Itisclearthattheproposalhaspotentiallyfarreachingconsequences,foralltypesof HEI and career stage. I am particularly concerned with the potential financial impact onpost-doctoraljobseekers(orparttimeorzerohoursemployee)tryingtosecureabookcontractfortheultimatepurposeofsecuringemployment.
SimonPeplowECRRepresentativereportWhileIhaveunfortunatelyhadlesstimetodonatetothisrolerecentlythanIwouldhaveliked–duetorelocatingtoadifferentuniversityandmeetingabookfinaldeadline–overthepastfewmonthsIhavehaddiscussionswithSarahHollandregardingpotentialcollaborationbetweenHis-toryUKandHistoryLabPlus.Wewillcontinuetodiscussthis,andIhopetobeabletoreportfur-therdevelopmentssoon.Also,IhaveconfirmedanumberofECRandPhDcolleaguestocontrib-uteblogpostsforthewebsitetoaddressarangeofsubjects,suchasbalancingteachingandre-search, experiencesof postdocprojects, public impact, andoptions available toPhDgraduatesoutsideofacademia.Theseshouldbegintoappearwithinthenextmonth.
