History News

On Tuesday 30th October the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland celebrated the life and work of the late Professor Sir Christopher Bayly FBA, with the award of the inaugural Bayly Prize and the posthumous launch of Sir Christopher’s book, Remaking the Modern World 1900-2015: Global Connections and Comparisons.

The Bayly Prize is for an outstanding doctoral thesis on an Asian topic completed at a British university in the year prior to the award. In this inaugural year the prize was presented to Dr Johannes Lotze for his thesis, Translation of Empire: Mongol Legacy, Language Policy, and the Early Ming World Order, 1368-1453. The shortlist of five for the prize included Dr Kyle Jackson, former PhD student at the University of Warwick History Department, and Dr Callie Wilkinson, former PhD student at the University of Cambridge and now Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Warwick History Department.

Kyle Jackson (University of Warwick) for Colonial Conquest and Religious Entanglement: A Mizo History from Northeast India (c. 1890-1920). The judges said: “This high-quality piece of historical research draws on indigenous language sources and deploys indigenous terminology to re-centre the history of North-eastern India. Dr Jackson has an eye for a good story, and the thesis is written in elegant and fluid prose, making it a pleasure to read.”

Callie Wilkinson (University of Cambridge) for The Residents of the British East India Company at Indian Royal Courts, c. 1798-1818. The judges said: “This work is distinctive because it refreshes the study of Residents and indirect rule in India by applying new historical methods to the subject. Dr Wilkinson provides us with a rich and nuanced picture of East India Company rule in the subcontinent that moves us away from the main centres of EIC power and beyond traditional subjects of historical study.​”

For more details, please see the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland announcement.
 

 
The Caribbean: A Brief History by Emeritus Professor Gad Heuman has been republished as a Third Edition by Bloomsbury.

In this new edition of his crucial introduction to Caribbean history, Gad Heuman provides a comprehensive overview of the region's history, from its earliest inhabitants to contemporary political and cultural developments. Topics covered include: - The Amerindians - Sugary and Slavery - Race, Racism and Equality - The Aftermath of Emancipation - The Revolutionary Caribbean - Cultures of the Caribbean This third edition has been updated to reflect the latest developments in the literature, and takes into account important recent events including the rapprochement between the U.S. and Cuba, the ongoing problem of climate change and the threat of the Zika virus. The companion website, which includes chapter questions, primary documents, a timeline and link to relevant websites, has also been updated with new material. The book considers not only of the political and social struggles that have shaped the Caribbean, but also provides a sense of the development of the region's culture. The Caribbean: A Brief History is ideal for all students seeking a clear and readable introduction to Caribbean history.

Details of all the monographs and edited collection of the Warwick University History Department's current academic staff are available online, and the details of all the monographs and edited collection of the Warwick University History Department's emeritus academic staff are also available online.
 

 
The Nonviolent Struggle for Indian Freedom, 1905-19 is a new book by Emeritus Professor David Hardiman.

Much of the recent surge in writing about the practice of nonviolent forms of resistance has focused on movements that occurred after the end of the Second World War, many of which have been extremely successful. Although the fact that such a method of resistance was developed in its modern form by Indians is acknowledged in this writing, there has not until now been an authoritative history of the role of Indians in the evolution of the phenomenon. Celebrated historian David Hardiman shows that while nonviolence is associated above all with the towering figure of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘passive resistance’ was already being practised by nationalists in British-ruled India, though there was no principled commitment to nonviolence as such. It was Gandhi, first in South Africa and then in India, who evolved a technique that he called ‘satyagraha’. His endeavours saw ‘nonviolence’ forged as both a new word in the English language, and a new political concept. This book conveys in vivid detail exactly what nonviolence entailed, and the formidable difficulties that the pioneers of such resistance encountered in the years 1905-19.

Details of all the monographs and edited collection of the Warwick University History Department's current academic staff are available online, and the details of all the monographs and edited collection of the Warwick University History Department's emeritus academic staff are also available online.

The Department of History seeks to appoint a full-time Research Fellow for the fixed-term period of twelve months, starting in early 2019, to conduct research as part of the Wellcome Trust funded project, What’s at Stake in the Fake? Indian Pharmaceuticals, African Markets and Global Health, under the direction of Dr Sarah Hodges.

You will have a first degree or equivalent, a PhD in history or a related field, and experience of conducting archival research. Preference may be given to candidates with familiarity with WHO archives or experience in the anthropology of pharmaceuticals.

All applications must be accompanied by a CV and covering letter. Please see the full advert and job description for more details, including how to apply. Please direct all informal inquiries to the project PI, Dr Sarah Hodges, at S.Hodges@warwick.ac.uk.

Closing Date for Applications: 15th November 2018
Provisional Interview Date: 26th November 2018

Child Protection in England, 1960-2000: Expertise, Experience, and Emotion is a new book by Dr Jennifer Crane, Research Fellow for the Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator Award "The Cultural History of the NHS" at the Warwick University History Department.

This book explores how children, parents, and survivors reshaped the politics of child protection in late twentieth-century England. Activism by these groups, often manifested in small voluntary organisations, drew upon and constructed an expertise grounded in experience and emotion that supported, challenged, and subverted medical, social work, legal, and political authority. New forms of experiential and emotional expertise were manifested in politics - through consultation, voting, and lobbying - but also in the reshaping of everyday life, and in new partnerships formed between voluntary spokespeople and media. While becoming subjects of, and agents in, child protection politics over the late twentieth century, children, parents, and survivors also faced barriers to enacting change, and the book traces how long-standing structural hierarchies, particularly around gender and age, mediated and inhibited the realisation of experiential and emotional expertise.

Professor David Lambert will be giving the keynote lecture at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine's Commonwealth Cultural Day at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham on Thursday 11th October. The title of his lecture is 'Fighting for Empire: From Slavery to Military Service in the West India Regiments'.

The Department of History at Warwick invites applications for doctoral study commencing in September 2019.

History at Warwick was ranked first in the UK in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) for the proportion of world-leading research activity (4*) in the Department. We have an outstanding reputation as practitioners of social and cultural history and expertise covering all regions of the world.

The following financial support will be available on a competitive basis for exceptional candidates and projects:

• AHRC studentships, as part of the Midlands4Cities (M4C) Doctoral Training Partnership for Home and EU applicants, covering maintenance and full tuition fees over 3.5 years;
• Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships for Home/EU applicants, covering maintenance and full tuition fees over 3 years;
• Chancellor’s International Scholarships, for Overseas (non-EU) applicants, covering maintenance and full tuition fees over 3.5 years;
• EU Chancellor’s Scholarships, for EU applicants, covering maintenance and full tuition fees over 3.5 years;
• Department of History Doctoral Scholarships, for Home/EU and Overseas (non-EU) applicants, covering maintenance and tuituion fees (up to the level of a Home/EU student) over 3.5 years;
• Research Grant Funded Scholarship, working as part of the project team for What’s at stake in the fake? Indian pharmaceuticals, African markets and global health, for Home/EU and Overseas (non-EU) applicants, covering maintenance and tuituion fees (up to the level of a Home/EU student) over 3.5 years;

 
The History Department will select outstanding candidates to nominate for these award competitions. To allow sufficient time for us to consider your application and to work with you to develop it prior to the final closing dates for submission of written materials (early in 2019) we ask that you make contact with us as soon as you can.

For more details on these and other Warwick University funding schemes see here.

Applicants for AHRC awards whom we intend to nominate for the M4C Doctoral Training Partnership competition will be required to attend a Skype interview. We guarantee to interview all candidates who have submitted their complete applications by the 7th January 2019, with interviews taking place on the 15th, 17th and 18th of January 2019. Please note that although, formally, M4C awards to non-UK EU candidates will only cover fees, internal consortium arrangements are expected to enable full fees & maintenance to be awarded to non-UK candidates from the EU.

To search for a potential supervisor in the Department by their specialism, click here.

Individual staff and their specialisms can be viewed here.

Applicants who may be interested in doctoral study are advised to contact the Director of Postgraduate Research in the Department.

Please include a brief outline of your proposed research project and a CV or short description of your academic qualifications and experience, including your degree classification or overall result at BA and MA level, or equivalent. If we think we can offer appropriate supervision for your project we shall provide further information about the application process for the relevant scholarship(s) at that point.

While we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals, we particularly those from with backgrounds that are currently under-represented within the postgraduate community at Warwick and in academic posts in the UK.