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. 

Upcoming Events

Further information, dates, programme and registration links to follow.

• Global history and material culture 

This workshop will enable students to explore together the opportunities and responsibilities of historians and art historians in the museum sector and as agents of public engagement in a world where cultural exchange, the art trade material culture need to be located and contextualised within a global history framework. 

• Global Histories of Slavery from South Asia to the World

This half day workhop will be organized to coincide with the visit of Professor Indrani Chatterjee (Texas) to deliver the Edinburgh Centre for Global History’s Annual Lecture in the History of Slavery on 4 May 2022. Up to eight PGR students and ECRs (within two years of submission of PhD) will be recruited to submit chapter-length pieces of writing from their dissertations in progress for comment and discussion by peers. Chatterjee and Paton, and selected other academic staff members as appropriate, will attend the workshop. Other PhD students and ECRs will be able to take part so long as they commit to reading all the submitted writing in advance.  

Past Events

Previous events have included: 

• Writing Historical Biography
• 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  

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. ↓