The organisers of a major conference on the ‘legacy of inclusivity and change’ left by the Labour politician Tony Benn have issued a call for papers. Titled The Benn Legacy, the event will take place on the Marylebone Campus of the University of Westminster on 12-13 April 2025, marking the centenary of Benn’s birth. Speakers will include Yanis Varoufakis, Grace Blakeley, Frances O’Grady and Jeremy … Continue reading Conference call: The Benn Legacy
People’s History Museum has appointed Dr Clare Barlow as its new Director. Dr Barlow joins the Manchester museum from the Foundling Museum, where she was director of programmes and audiences, and has previously worked at the Science Museum, Wellcome Trust, Tate and the National Portrait Gallery. Dr Barlow completed her PhD in 2010, as an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded collaborative doctoral award between the … Continue reading People’s History Museum names Clare Barlow as Director
National Service Life Stories is a new book that explores how the experience of compulsory military service shaped a generation of largely working class men. Continue reading National Service Life Stories: Masculinity, Class and the Memory of Conscription in Britain
Jim Phillips introduces his new oral history of the miners’ strike in Scotland, its aftermath, and the long but eventually successful campaign to right the wrongs of 1984-85. Continue reading Coalfield Justice: listening to veteran strikers
The Society for the Study of Labour History has created a resource pack and guide to sources on the history of the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Compiled by the Society’s Archives and Resources Committee, the guide includes information on the major archives and their holdings on this topic. Updated February 2025. Download it in PDF format. Find out more about the SSLH-Archives and Resources Committee. Continue reading Sources for the 1984-85 miners’ strike
Runing until 20 October 2024, Radical Halifax is a unique art exhibition, historical enquiry, and political intervention that seeks to recover hidden histories of the Yorkshire town’s radical past and demonstrate how people from, or with a strong connection to, Halifax have played important roles in transformative movements that sought to build a better world. The exhibition will include artworks by local artist Marcus Jack, … Continue reading Radical Halifax exhibition: from the Luddites to peace campaigners
The OAB (Centre de Recherches Anglophones, Paris Nanterre) and CREW (Sorbonne Nouvelle) are jointly organizing a study day titled Protest movements, political protests and social struggles in Great Britain (1811-1914) on 31 January 2025. The day will be held on the Paris Nanterre University site, Max Weber Building. Continue reading Study day: Protest movements, political dissent and social struggles in Britain, 1811-1914
Forty years ago Brenda Prince was one of four women photographers commissioned to do an exhibition titled Striking Women. Made up of more than 40 large black and white panels, it was shown at the Photographers Gallery in London in 1985 – but has since disappeared. Now, with the anniversary of the miners’ strike very much to the fore, Ms Prince is trying to track … Continue reading In search of Striking Women: can you help find the exhibition?
The organisers of this year’s HistoryLab+ conference report back from an event focused on human exploitation and its legacies. The day was supported by the Society for the Study of Labour History. This year’s HistoryLab+ conference took place at the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE), and focused on the histories of human exploitation and its legacies. The event took place … Continue reading Legacies of colonialism and enslavement: HistoryLab+ annual conference 2024
The October 2024 issue of our members’ newsletter is out now. If you are a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History, you will have received this in a PDF document by email. You can also download it from the Members’ Resources page here on the website. The newsletter is not sent to non-members, who are, instead, invited to join us. Continue reading SSLH members’ newsletter, October 2024
