History Discipline+ Catalyst

The History Discipline+ catalyst supports the development of doctoral students through training in innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to the discipline, in practical research skills, and in professional development.  We aim to share expertise and open up opportunities for researchers across SGSAH institutions, sometimes in association with other partner organizations.  We seek to nurture doctoral researchers by engaging with their vision of the future of the discipline.   

We innovate through training events that focus on new approaches in history and/or highlight the latest developments within some long-established topics.  Our vision of disciplinary innovation includes both research methods, sources, and questions; and the dissemination of research findings within academia, in public engagement, and in teaching.  To support this, we partner with other catalysts and beyond the arts and humanities as appropriate to encourage cross-pollination of approaches, methodologies, and ideas. 

Previous events have included: 

• Approaches to Spatial History 
• Digital history: New approaches in historical research (in partnership with the Scottish Graduate School of Social Sciences) 
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in History (two events, one in partnership with the Royal Historical Society) 
• Universities, Heritage Bodies and Scotland’s Regional Pasts: Evidencing and Transforming from the Highlands and Islands 

Upcoming Events

• Archives and Special Collections for Scottish History (19 March 2021)

This event is split into two parts and is jointly hosted by the Universities of Aberdeen and Dundee, and the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives and Dundee City Archives, has been designed as an introduction for researchers to using archives and special collections especially for Scottish History. 

• Revolutions (24 May 2021)

In this one-day workshop hosted by the SGSAH and the Centre for the Study of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Edinburgh, we will explore the theory and practice of revolution. The first session will be a discussion of some classic texts in the history of revolution and revolutionary theory. This will be followed by a second session that looks at examples of revolutions throughout modern history.

• European Classical Reception Research Network (29 May 2021)

This training event is designed to feature the recent work of postgraduate students and early career researchers interested in the evolving field of classical reception.

• Emotionally demanding history (May 2021)

This full-day workshop will bring together researchers of sensitive and traumatic historical subjects for discussion, training, and networking. Working on difficult topics can often take an emotional toll on the researcher, and historical research in particular provides its own unique challenges. This event will provide researchers with an opportunity to consider and compare their experiences and strategies for coping.

• Editing historical texts (June 2021)

This event provides training in editing historical texts, a distinctive skill that has a long history within the discipline. Producing an edition can often seem an attractive type of publication, but the labour involved in this is often underestimated. This event will provide an introduction to different types of edition, the types of choices made during the editing process, and points to consider before embarking on an edition. 

When published, all event details and registration links will be found on the SGSAH Events and Training page. 

Have an idea for training? Want to learn more about a specific event? Get in touch with the Discipline+ Catalyst contact at your HEI. ↓