Contribute

History Workshop is a digital magazine of radical history. It seeks to deepen understandings of the past, cast fresh light on the present and agitate for change in the world we live in now. We expand the work of History Workshop Journal, and continue the democratising spirit of the History Workshop movement.

History Workshop is committed to work that is radical, relevant, rigorous and accessible. We encourage contributions which bring history into dialogue with pressing questions in the present day. We also welcome articles that deal with the practice and politics of history or that challenge boundaries between academic and public engagement with history. History Workshop is a politically pluralistic platform and publishes a wide spectrum of progressive radical opinion.

We invite historically-driven work by academics, archivists, activists, family historians, heritage practitioners, illustrators and teachers, amongst others. We also work in collaboration with academic projects and community groups; recent examples include Windrush Strikes Back, the Wellcome Trust-funded SHaME project at Birkbeck, and the AHRC network Connected Curricula.

Our contributors work from a wide range of methodological positions, and their articles address a diversity of places, periods and perspectives. We feature short articles, works-in-progress and responses to current events, as well as supporting multi-media contributions such as video and podcasts. Work published on History Workshop reaches an expansive audience of academics and the public at large, in the UK and internationally.

Guidelines for Submission

We encourage the submission of short articles between 500 and 1,500 words in length. Most – although not all – are based on some form of original research, broadly defined.

We do not expect articles to adhere to a strict academic style. On the contrary, we prefer pieces that are informal and accessible in tone and that directly engage the reader with the key issues at hand from the outset. Articles should be free from jargon and clearly explain concepts and historical contexts to a non-expert audience. 

We encourage hyperlinks to relevant blogs, websites and articles or to resources that explain more specialised concepts. We do not use footnotes.

Articles should be submitted with at least one relevant image. Please ensure that images are public domain, belong to the author or that permission has been granted for their use. You should also supply a short author bio and author photograph (or other preferred image), as well as any links to personal or professional webpages and social media profiles.

If you have an idea for a podcast or would like to collaborate with us on a series of articles, please get in touch to discuss.

Unfortunately, we do not have funds to pay contributors for articles.

All proposals or submissions should be sent to History Workshop’s editors: hwoeditors@historyworkshop.org.uk.

To submit work to History Workshop Journal, please visit their website.

Regular Series

Radical Objects

Radical Objects is a platform for historians, archaeologists, curators, archivists and members of the public to explore the radical histories of pieces of material culture. We’ve featured prominent transgender activist April Ashley’s birth certificate; the re-emergence of the ‘Gandhi cap’ in contemporary India; and a North African book circulating in medieval Britain.

Have you come across an object or a piece of ephemera that tells a story of solidarity or everyday lives? Why was the object itself radical in the connections it forged or the ideas it activated? We’d love to hear from you.

Historians’ Watch

Historians’ Watch invites short-form rapid responses, which illuminate the historical context of current events. In this extended period of global uncertainty and instability, interest in historical precedents and parallels has become widespread. People are struggling to comprehend startling events and processes that lie beyond our own immediate experience, and are reaching back into the past for illumination. Historians are well-equipped to bring considered and complex perspectives to unfolding debates and events today.

Historians’ Watch is not intended to provide ‘lessons from history’, nor will it look for straightforward parallels. Instead, it is intended to provide historical depth and clarity where it is missing, and to suggest ways in which knowledge about the past might help us not just to grasp the present, but to think constructively about the future. Examples include historical reflections on abortion rights in US, the war in Ukraine, and Brexit narratives about the working class.