‘Voices of the Marginalised in History’ conference - call for papers
Historians have, as a profession, been quite adept at ignoring certain groups in history, whether this be through intentional or unintentional bias. Until very recently whole swathes of people in history, everyone except the elites, were left out of the stories of their past. Most people were marginalised by historians, just as they were subordinated in their own time.
Marginalised peoples have fixed the gaze of historians since the 1960s. Early research focused on the working classes and working-class cultures, as well as more modest middling sorts. This agenda expanded into the period of feminist history in the 1970s and 1980s, when women took centre stage for the first time. Later the voices of colonised people began to be heard, rather than merely those of the colonisers who sought to oppress them.
This was part of a wider set of perspectives engaging with the histories of the global ethnic majority, widening the scope of history beyond white European colonisers. The history of disability, so often ignored in the medical history, also grew in significance. More recently sexuality and trans histories have become a new frontier in the development of a more inclusive and therefore rich and textured understanding of the past. New perspectives on non-binary genders are only just beginning, as are histories of neuro-divergent people.
The Voices of the Marginalised in History conference with keynote speaker, Dr Liam Liburd from Durham University is to be held at the University of Northampton on 7-8 July 2025. It engages with these step changes in multiple historiographies and asks some key questions about where historians are, as a profession, in understanding marginality in society and history:
What does the existing literature tell us about the nature of marginalisation and the impact of it on everyday life, both in history and in the contemporary world?
How might we best hear the voices of the marginalised in history in methodological terms and be alert to new marginalised groups
How has the nature of ‘marginal’ changed across time?
How should we engage with claims to ‘marginality’ from groups such as the far right, many of whom may be considered ‘elite’ in other ways?
What are the new frontiers in the history of marginalised peoples?
The organisers welcome submissions from researchers at all career stages, from postgraduate students to research professors. They are also especially keen to receive presentation proposals from professionals, advocates and people with lived experiences of marginality. Could that be you?
Topics might include but are not limited to:
Institutions, processes, systems and mechanisms of marginalisation
Opposing, overcoming and negotiating with marginalisation
Assessing the validity of claims of marginalisation
Representing and remembering marginalisation
Heritages of the marginalised
Marginalisation and archives
Intersections between forms of marginalisation
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to studying marginalisation
Research ethics and the study of marginalisation
Teaching histories of the marginalised and excluded
The History of Emotions and marginalisation
Marginalisation within academia and the history profession
If you would like to be involved, please submit abstracts or proposals for panels, along with either a link to a university/professional profile webpage, or a short CV, to marginalisedhistoriesconference@yahoo.com by 28 February 2025.
If you have any questions or queries about potential submissions, you should contact the conveners: Professor Mark Rothery at mark.rothery@northampton.ac.uk and Professor Paul Jackson at paul.jackson@northampton.ac.uk.
