Manon C Williams

CfP: Marginal Militaries: Navigating Historical Boundaries, Differences and Experiences at the Military Periphery From enslaved soldiers in republican-era Rome to foreign mercenaries in the Thirty-Years War and commonwealth soldiers in the World Wars, militaries have never been monolithic organisations. they have served as key sites in the formation of state power and different kinds of collective belongings. Yet the boundaries that determine who may serve, under what conditions and on whose behalf have never been fixed as these boundaries have shifted in response to changing configurations of citizenship, empire, class, gender, race/ethnicity, religion, physical capacities and national identity. Militaries have functioned both as mechanism for producing social hierarchies, and as arenas in which such hierarchies are negotiated, contested and reconfigured. This conference explores how lines of inclusion and exclusion have been drawn, negotiated and experienced within military organisations across diverse historical periods and geographical contexts. The aim is to foster a nuanced conversation that broadens our understanding of military institutions by focusing on the experiences and narratives of those often marginalised within them. We welcome contributions which examine how distinctions such as the following have been historically constructed, negotiated and embodied/experienced within and/or in relation to military institutions, organisations and structures: Race, ethnicity and minority status: Gender, gender-identity/non-conformity and sexuality Nationality, migration and statelessness: Religion: Disability status: While the emphasis is on historical perspectives, proposals are invited from scholars working in adjacent fields (political science, cultural studies). It will be held 22-23 October, 2026 the Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden. We are applying for funding to hold it fully in person, but depending on the outcome, it could be a hybrid event.

Please submit a preliminary title of maximum 150 characters and an abstract of maximum 350 words to MarginalMilitaries@gmail.com by no later than February 28. If you have any questions, please get in touch! Regards, Natalie Smith & Daniel Stridh

📢 CALL FOR PAPERS: Marginal Militaries: Navigating Historical Boundaries, Differences, and Experiences at the Military Periphery

Conference date: 22-23 October, 2026
Location: @forsvarshogskolan.bsky.social Stockholm, Sweden (hybrid participation tbc)
Cfp Deadline: 28 February, 2026

Advocating for History by Doing History - On History This blog was written by Claire Langhamer, Director of the IHR Historians are very good at crafting arguments and in recent times very many people have advanced very many arguments about why history…

New blog from IHR Director @clairelanghamer@bsky.social reflecting on how historians can advocate for history through our practice, and defend the important historical work that goes on within universities as well as beyond them. blog.history.ac.uk/2025/11/advo...

History of Medicine CFPs If you wish to share your CFPs on the SSHM website please contact the Exec Sec, Dr Justine Pick admin@sshm.org Life Histories in Mind: Mental Ill Health and Learning Disability in Context Location:…

Two #histmed CFPs with deadline for abstracts Jan 2026!
Life Histories in Mind: Mental Ill Health and Learning Disability in Context (Manchester) &
Blood is the price of coal: Coal communities, health and welfare in Britain and beyond from the 19th century to the present (Warwick)
For more details 👇

Who else is watching the fantastic #Empire series by @davidolusoga.bsky.social? It was a pleasure to be involved in this - dangerous and disease-ridden #prisonhulks were used in England for 80 years from 1776, propping up the rotten system of convict transportation. Check out episode 2 for more!

A new installation on ‘Medical alumni in history’ has been unveiled at the School of Medicine. It was designed and installed by our recent PhD graduate – and historian of medicine – @manoncwilliams.bsky.social, and features notable alumni from 19th and 20th century St Andrews. (1/3)

I am grateful for all the support I received on this project — special thanks to @aileenfyfe.bsky.social and @richardtbellis.bsky.social for their help.

You can see the online version here: medicine.st-andrews.ac.uk/alumniinhist....

[Photo credit: Edward Broughton]

I was thrilled to travel to Scotland this week to open an installation I’ve been working on for the School of Medicine @uniofstandrews.bsky.social. The installation showcases diverse alumni from St Andrews’ past to inspire incoming students to the #MBChB. #histmed #medsky #medhums #skystorians

Think about the way that the current scientific publishing system is draining resources out of the research ecosystem... That drain is most obvious in terms of money (and this is so despite #openaccess), but there's also an erosion of time, trust and control [1/n]

Salons in the Queen's House: Unfit for Service In this free lunchtime talk, historian Dr Manon Williams will explore how the Royal Navy treated sailors who were judged ‘unfit for service’ due to injury, illness, or old age

If you’re in London and want to learn more about how aged and disabled sailors were declared ‘unfit for service’ and invalided from the Navy, join me on 26 November. I’ll be giving a public talk in Greenwich based on my Caird Research Fellowship.

More info here: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/que...

Friedrich Engels ‘took creative liberties’ with descriptions of class divides in Manchester Cambridge historian Emily Chung finds philosopher’s blistering depictions of segregation may have been exaggerated

"Friedrich Engels ‘took creative liberties’ with descriptions of class divides in Manchester"

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Article itself is #OpenAccess:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

#History 🗃️

Pen and ink drawing of a Black Victorian gentleman

In 1837, James McCune Smith became the first Black doctor to graduate from a UK university. You can use the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) to learn about the many Black individuals who have contributed to the development of medicine and medical communities in the UK and Ireland

Trafalgar Eyewitness Account by the Assistant-Surgeon of H.M.S Swiftsure – The Navy Records Society This letter by Robert Hilton appears to be a collaborative account of the engagements of Trafalgar, as a surgeon’s mate would have been below deck during the battle.  Each of the surviving letters…

The Battle of Trafalgar took place #OnThisDay in 1805 ⚓
Discover an Eyewitness Account of the battle by the Assistant-Surgeon of H.M.S Swiftsure – in The Navy Records Society's online magazine: buff.ly/iGWYEvn

#Navyrecords #navalhistory #OTD #Trafalgar #nelson #Admiralty #historic

We're excited to announce the call for papers for #MBS26, the next Modern British Studies conference, at Birmingham in June 2026. We'll be launching the #MBS Association at this event, to support further regular conferences in Modern British Studies.

www.birmingham.ac.uk/events/moder...

What is the history of knowledge? | Scilicet Scilicet is a blog dedicated to the history of knowledge. In the broadest terms, we’re interested in what people in the past knew, what it meant to know things, and what we as historians can learn abo...

This week we have a special article in which we share our thoughts about the History of Knowledge and what it means to us.
It was great fun to write and we hope you will find it thought provoking!
#skystorians #historyofknowledge
scilicet.org.uk/what-is-the-...

SSHM 2026: In/Out Location: University of Leeds Dates: 30 June to 3 July 2026 Submission Deadline: 5.00pm (GMT) 11th January 2026 Conference Co-Convenors: Dr Alexia Moncrieff & Dr Katherine Rawling Conference Co…

The 2026 SSHM Conference will be @universityofleeds.bsky.social. The theme will be In/Out and we are inviting papers that consider experiences of being in and/or out of health or health care in any period or geographical location. #HistMed #HistSTM
sshm.org/sshm-2026/

Very excited that I’ve been elected as an Associate Fellow for the Royal Historical Society — what a wonderful community of historians, academics, curators, archivists, and scholars to be a part of!

Migration and Mobility History Call for Papers: IHR History Lab and Migration and Mobility Seminar Taking place at the IHR Senate House and online, 10th February 2026, 5.30pm-7.30pm. The IHR History Lab and Migration and Mobility are coming together for a special edition of our seminar series to showcase the work of PGRs and ECRs working on migration and mobility history. We invite submissions of 20 minute papers from PGRs and ECRs on the topic of migration and mobility (broadly defined), focusing on any period or place. This is an opportunity to share your research with, and recieve feedback from, established and emerging scholars working on migration and mobility studies. To apply, send abstracts of under 250 words, with a short bio, to Kathleen Commons at kabcommons@gmail.com by 5pm on 15th November.

Migration and Mobility History About the Seminars History Lab is the national network for postgraduate students in history and related disciplines. Based at the Institute of Historical Research, it serves as an intellectual and social forum that connects, empowers, and supports the postgraduate community. The IHR Migration and Mobility seminar provides a space for historians and scholars from other disciplines to come together to discuss migration and mobility in history. The seminar seeks to attract papers on a diverse range of themes and periods in migration and mobility history, including the emerging field of pre-modern migration histories, and histories of migration within the Global South. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, working with sociologists, legal scholars, and geographers with an interest in historical migration and mobility. if you have any queries about this seminar, contact Kathleen at kabcommons@gmail.com

📢 New Seminar Series!

We are thrilled to be working alongside @ihr.bsky.social on a brand new seminar series titled Migration and Mobility. We are coming together for a special edition of the seminar to showcase the work of PGRs and ECRs on migration and mobility history (1/3)

An early pamphlet printing of The World Turn’d Upside Down (1647).

What do beekeeping books tell us about changes in early modern science and society? @jamesafox.bsky.social has some suggestions, especially in relation to #17thCentury England scilicet.org.uk/the-hive-tur...
#Skystorians #EarlyModern #Bees #AnimalHistory

Early career fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions: 2025 Apply for funding to conduct research at participating cultural and heritage institutions.

Exciting early-career fellowships with UK cultural institutions, funded by #AHRC, www.ukri.org/opportunity/... (look for the spreadsheet with the list of institutions!) Deadline for EoI: 10 December.

First page of 'Record-Keeping and the Business of Books in Pre-Union Edinburgh' by James Fox

The latest issue of Scottish Archives has now been published, featuring work from @mchapelproject.bsky.social @nicolemaceira.bsky.social @ksmcgregor.bsky.social and myself, among others. If anyone would like a PDF of my article, just send me a message!

#bookhistory #scottishhistory #Archives

It is perhaps an unsatisfactory summary to say that the sea shaped identities in multifaceted and conflicting ways, but it’s still important to push back against persistent homogenising linear narratives and to hear from researchers committed to bringing new and diverse stories to light. (3/3)

Covering #modernhistory, panelists discussed the sea and identity from diverse perspectives, including Black Bermudian seamen, working class stokers, women in the merchant service, and postcolonial Indian authors. (2/3)

How did the sea shape British, maritime, and post/colonial identities? What is the role of #maritimehistory in telling these stories?

These are some of the questions tackled this weekend at this excellent conference at the #NationalMaritimeMuseum, supported by @britishacademy.bsky.social (1/3)

As a medical historian who’s dabbled in amateur printmaking as a hobby, I loved reading this article! @richardtbellis.bsky.social explores how translational printmaking, as a social and collaborative process, shaped the visual appearance, epistemic content, and communication of anatomical pathology.

Check out our latest free exhibition!

'Hooked' explores the history of addiction, from snuff to gambling, from alcohol to love.

It runs until Feb 2026. Find out more www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

📣Exciting News 📣
Dates & host institution for the SSHM Biennial Conference #SSHM2026 are confirmed!
Save the Date in your planners 📅
Theme and CFPs to follow later
#histmed #medhumanities #histSTM

Food for thought: Recipe books through history | Scilicet We all need to eat, but the way we do says much about our place in society. Looking at a range of recipe books through history shows this has long been the case.

We all need to eat, but the way we cook and share food says a lot about class, culture and identity. In our latest post, @guyfassler.bsky.social, @jamesafox.bsky.social and @nataliesmith.bsky.social dig in to some historical recipes from across Europe 🍽️
scilicet.org.uk/food-for-tho... #Skystorians

Congratulations to Manon C Williams who won the British Commission for Maritime History 2024 Boydell & Brewer Doctoral Prize in #MaritimeHistory! Read about her thesis and research into the journals of Royal Navy ship surgeons in Manon's blog post. buff.ly/NUEE1Uq

Catherine Beck shares how the papers and letters of Admiral John Markham, acquired by the National Maritime Museum, inspired her book, Patronage and the British Navy, 1775-1815 in this video Q&A blog post: buff.ly/M4gEOVM @catsbeck.bsky.social‬ #militaryhistory #maritimehistory #Navalhistory