Information about forthcoming conferences, calls for papers and invitations to register, plus reports on conferences, seminars and similar events that have already taken place.
Llafur, the Welsh People’s History Society, is holding a series of summer talks, panels and discussions on the 1926 General Strike and lock-out in Wales. The following programme of six online sessions will take place over the course of this summer and early autumn. All online sessions are accessible to all and will be held via Zoom at the times shown below. Summer Programme: “Now … Continue reading Wales, 1926 and the coalfield community
Dr Laura C. Forster (University of York) will deliver an online and in-person talk on Tuesday 9 June titled: “Exile, affinity, and the afterlives of the Paris Commune in Britain”, covering her recent book, The Paris Commune in Britain: Radicals, Refugees, and Revolutionaries after 1871 (Oxford University Press, 2025). Dr Forster’s paper examines the intellectual and political afterlives of the Paris Commune in Britain. Focusing … Continue reading Event: Exile, affinity, and the afterlives of the Paris Commune in Britain
To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike, a new exhibition at the University of Newcastle, reveals how workers, politicians, and trade unionists faced the challenge of the General Strike and how its opponents organised to resist it. The exhibition is part of the broader General Strike 100 which brings together stories, exhibitions and events to remember the strike and its impact on working … Continue reading Exhibition: When Britain Stood Still: The General Strike at 100
Following the publication of Militant Migrants: Clements Kadalie, the ICU and the Mass Movement of Black Workers in Southern Africa, 1896-1951 and the launch of the play, Forgotten Voices, historian Henry Dee, and playwright David Moorhead, reflect on their journey to retrace the voices of two of the most significant figures in the Southern African Black liberation struggle. In the early 20th century, Eva and … Continue reading Retracing the voices of Eva and Clements Kadalie in Southern Africa
Academics, independent historians, heritage professionals, trade unionists, activists, and many more gathered in Manchester at the People’s History Museum for a one-day conference marking the centenary of the 1926 General Strike. May 2026 marks the centenary of the 1926 General Strike when, for nine days – from 3 to 12 May 1926 – industrial production across Britain ground to a halt as trade unionists and … Continue reading 1926 General Strike centenary open day report
The University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre is hosting a free one day conference on 18 June (9:15am – 5:30pm) to explore the history of health and welfare in Britain’s coal mining industry. Held jointly by the University of Warwick’s Centre for the History of Medicine, Science and Technology, and Modern Records Centre, the conference aims to bring together researchers from higher education, libraries, archives, museums, and … Continue reading Event: Blood is the price of coal: coal communities, health and welfare in Britain and beyond
On 6 May, acclaimed performer, balladeer, and SSLH EC member Jennifer Reid will be performing a unique set of historic broadside ballads at the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester. This unique event offers the chance to hear selections from the library’s broadside ballad collections brought vividly to life. Broadside ballads were short narrative verses or songs, printed on a single sheet of inexpensive paper … Continue reading Event: Spineless Wonders: songs and street literature
Earlier this week, Dr Vic Clarke delivered a lively talk on Joshua Hobson, his radical publishing, and his work on the Northern Star at the University of Huddersfield for the annual Luddite Memorial Lecture. Vic Clarke focused on Hobson’s life as a publisher and politician, charting his journey from teenage handloom weaver to a radical publisher of the unstamped press, through to his entry into … Continue reading Joshua Hobson: His radical publishing and work on the Northern Star
A century on, the strike that shook Britain comes to life on stage – and it’s now just weeks away. May 1926. Millions of workers across the country walked out, standing shoulder to shoulder for a fairer world. To mark the one hundredth anniversary of the 1926 General Strike, ‘Centenary’ celebrates the event at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. Created by Wisecrack … Continue reading Centenary: The 1926 General Strike on Stage
To mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike, Professor Michael Sanders (University of Manchester) will deliver an online talk on Wednesday 20 May at 7pm covering two Mancunian female trailblazers. Elizabeth Gaskell may have been one of the first to write a ‘picket-line’ romance, in her much-loved classic North and South, but she was certainly not the last. In the centenary year of the ‘General … Continue reading Online Talk: South and North rather than North and South: The ‘Big Strike’ Novel
Society for the Study of Labour History 