Subjectivity in History: A workshop

Join the School of History as well as visiting speaker Tracey Loughran (Professor of History at the University of Essex) for a  workshop thinking through themes of subjectivity and researcher positionality in history.

Research Context

What is the place of the ‘I’ in History? In the wake of the cultural turn, most historical practitioners acknowledge that objectivity is impossible, but hold too that relativism is not a viable philosophical, moral or political option. At the same time, over the past half-century an autobiographical turn within and outside History has affected both the discipline, and wider understandings of ‘the historical’.

These developments raise urgent questions about how to acknowledge, understand and place the ‘I’ within History while maintaining evidential and analytic rigour. This workshop examines these questions in an informal, discussion-based setting. We will consider the significance of the ‘I’ for historical practice, the current relation between history and autobiography, and how explorations of the historian’s self reflect the changing relationship between History and other disciplines. On sign up, we'll send you joining instructions, including a tiny bit of preparation.

Historians of all stripes and career stages (including postgraduate students) welcome.

About the speaker

Tracey researches women’s emotional, psychological, and bodily health in late twentieth-century Britain. Her work tries to explore the experiences of groups often marginalised in traditional histories.

If you would like to come along and take part in this workshop then please sign up here.

This event will take place from 2-3.30pm, and refreshments will be provided.