The Centre for Historical Studies (CHS)
The Centre for Historical Studies is a lively hub for the discussion of the past and for the dissemination of historical knowledge. We are based in the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology at the University of Northampton where many of us are academic historians but we also work with colleagues in other subject areas, such as Journalism and English, as well as external partners outside of the Higher Education sector.
About The Centre for Historical Studies
We are particularly focused on developing collaborative partnerships across the UK and beyond. Our partnerships include institutions such as English Heritage, Northamptonshire Archives and Heritage and local sports clubs such as Northampton Saints RFC and Northamptonshire Country Cricket Club. The centre also includes the Searchlight Archive, a collection of material related to the history of the extreme right and antifascism of international importance.
Our aims are to develop an environment conducive to high quality and impactful research and to promote the value of history as a vital subject of enquiry best suited to answering the key questions and challenges of our times. Tim Reinke Williams is a member of History UK’s steering committee, helping to develop its advocacy around the decolonising agenda; and Matthew McCormack is a member of the Council of the Northamptonshire Records Society.
The choice of title ‘Historical Studies’ is also deliberate and is intended to be inclusive, signalling that anyone who researches the past or historical approaches to current issues can become involved in the activities of the Centre. We welcome anybody that is interested in sharing our values of an analysis of the past, if interested please contact a member of the leadership team.
Key Themes
Research within the group is clustered around four broad areas, which have captured the wide range of research activities and interests of the core researchers. These have scope for expansion and development in the coming years as well:
- Social and cultural history: this includes specialisms in the histories of crime, gender, medicine and health, sport, citizenship, elite society, economics, work and migration, and emotions. This theme also encompasses the history of education research led by Toby Purser.
- Ideology, intelligence and security: this includes work on military intelligence and the First World War.
- Radical and extremist ideology: this includes fascism, antifascism, wider forms of political radicalism, the history of emotions and political culture.
- Archives: As well as hosting our own collections such as the Searchlight Archive, our partners at Northamptonshire Archives and Heritage, Northampton Saints RFC and Northamptonshire Country Cricket Club who share similar interests in the preservation of the past.
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Find out more about past events and conferences at the Centre for Historical Studies.