Call For Papers

Following the success of our previous events in London, Liverpool, Bristol, Preston and Huddersfield, we would like to invite you to the tenth of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies’ Black British History Workshops (WHBBHX) at the University of Leicester, on Thursday 2nd May 2019.

The aim of the series is to foster a creative dialogue between researchers, educationalists (mainstream and supplementary), artists and writers, archivists and curators, and policy makers. It seeks to identify and promote innovative new research into the history of people of African origin or descent in the UK and facilitate discussion of the latest developments in the dissemination of Black British history in a wide variety of settings including the media, the classroom and lecture hall, and museums and galleries, thus providing an opportunity to share good practice.

We welcome proposals for papers and presentations on a wide variety of themes relating to the history of people of African origin or descent in the UK. As we will be in Leicester local and regional or family histories from Leicester and the Midlands will be especially welcome. And, taking inspiration from Leicester archaeologists’ famous identification of the skeleton of Richard III, we would be particularly interested to hear from anyone using archaeology or anthropology to unearth medieval or earlier Black British History or to identify African skeletons.

We would be delighted to hear from researchers, educationalists, archivists and curators or others interested in offering a presentation, lasting for 15-20 minutes. Please submit a title and a brief description of your presentation either in writing (in which case, of no more than 300 words) or in some other form (for example a clip or podcast) to Dr. Miranda Kaufmann at [log in to unmask] by 15th March 2019.

In addition, we would be happy to consider proposals for a complete panel. The panel should have a coherent unifying theme, and the proposal should include the abstracts of three related presentations and the names and affiliations of the presenters. We would also be very interested in providing A-level students, undergraduates or graduate students with an opportunity to give presentations on projects relating to Black British History.

The day will run from 11am to 6.00pm, followed by a Reception. There will be a registration fee of £24 (£12 for students/unwaged) which includes lunch and refreshments. Registration will be open on the 31st of January.