Histories of the Present

Since it began in the 1960s, the History Workshop movement has sought to make history relevant to contemporary politics. We continue this project through these Histories of the Present.

What

Where

When

Series

Medieval Kherson and Ukraine

Christian Raffensperger

In the tenth century, a powerful leader ruled over the medieval kingdom of Rus. Today, the modern nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors. Christian Raffensperger argues that the roots of…

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Hearing male survivors

George Severs

As part of our '(Un)Silenced' series, George Severs argues that the history of male victims of rape and sexual violence should make us all alert to the ways in which gender norms silence male experiences of abuse, and prompt us to hear male…

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Picket Line Perspectives

Administrator

Universities across the UK are taking part in the current UCU strike action over pay, pensions, and poor working conditions. On day 8 of the 10-day strike, three striking historians give us the view from picket lines across the country.

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Involuntary Sterilization

Allison McKibban

Can medical institutions participate in colonial violence? Allison McKibban argues the involuntary sterilization of tens of thousands of Native American women in the 1970s must be rehistoricised as part of the U.S. government’s broader…

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Divorce and Democracy

Saumya Saxena

What does divorce tell us of the state of Indian democracy? Saumya Saxena explores how the end of a marriage in the country became the site for a conversation about rights, statehood and equality that far exceeded just the separating…

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A Small Place

Joe Moran

Joe Moran reflects on his trip to scatter his father's ashes on Scattery, a tiny island off west Clare, Ireland, and in the process explores its resonances for histories of family, migration, and the power of small places.

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Wood Scarcity and Empire

Keith Pluymers

How far did wood scarcity in England trigger deforestation in its colonies at the dawn of empire? Keith Pluymers traces a complex story of conservation, commerce, and colonisation in the early modern Atlantic

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