The Institute of Historical Research

“The Institute of Historical Research is part of the University of London’s School of Advanced Study. Situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, close to the British Library and other centres of specialist research, it is an important resource and meeting place for scholars from all over the world. It contains an open-access library and a common room, publishes works of reference, administers a number of research projects and runs courses and conferences. It offers research fellowships to students nearing the completion of their doctorates, and administers other awards.”

Founded in 1921 by A. F. Pollard, the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is an important resource and meeting place for researchers from all over the world. Based at the University of London, the IHR offers:

• IHR library – an outstanding open-access library
• conferences and seminars that are open to the public
• postgraduate degrees and research training
• The History Lab, a hub for postgraduate students
• resources for historical research in both digital format and print
• publications – including the Institute’s journal Historical Research”
  

The IHR is based in Senate House, where the Ministry of Information was located during the war – adds a special piquancy every time I enter!

“Cartoons and the historian” by Roy Douglas

Many historical books contain cartoons, but in most cases these are little more than a relief from the text, and do not make any point of substance which is not made elsewhere. Political cartoons should be regarded as much more than that. They are an important historical source which often casts vivid light on events, and which is useful both to the teacher and to the researcher. The essential of a political cartoon is that it is not meant to portray an actual event, but is designed to bring out points which are not adequately made by textual descriptions – or which can be understood by illiterate people, or by people in a hurry.

The medium of cartoons is a very old one. A famous palette from the dawn of pharaonic Egypt shows King Narmer (Menes) striking what appears to be a defeated enemy in front of a falcon, symbol of the god Horus.(1 ) It is unlikely that Narmer personally dispatched all his enemies, and even more unlikely that he contrived to have a falcon present to watch events. It is much more likely that this was a true cartoon, making an important point of propaganda. Pharaoh has divine backing. For that reason, he has been, and will continue to be, successful against his enemies at home or abroad. It is therefore advisable to support him in all his doings.

Read full article at the Political Cartoon Society.

BBC History Magazine

“BBC History Magazine is essential reading for anyone with a keen interest in all things historical. Helping bring Britain and the world’s rich past to life, each issue provides you with accessible and informative features from leading academic historians.

BBC History Magazine was established to publish authoritative history in an accessible and attractive format. But we give you much more than that: our contributors are the leading experts in their fields, and so whether we’re exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, we guarantee you’ll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine is first and foremost simply an enjoyable read for anyone who’s interested in the past.

FEATURES – Entertaining and informative features written by leading historians.

OUT & ABOUT – Our guide to:

• historic places to visit
• the latest exhibitions and events
• holidays in history

NEWS & ANALYSIS – Gain a new perspective on current affairs as we explore the background to world events.

REVIEWS – Our pick of the best new books, plus history on TV and the radio.”

History.com

More targeted at the American market, History.com is a very visual, games-focused site. I particularly like ‘This day in history‘ – always find it interesting to see what is focused on, and what that says about the person who’s chosen it, rather than any kind of ‘fact’ in history!

Wow, students, take note, they even tell you how to cite the site!

Best of British: Past and Present

One for the nostalgics… interesting to see how history is reconstructed, especially in a magazine which is popular overseas! “The UK’s best-read nostalgia monthly: Founded in 1995, Best of British celebrates our glorious past – and all that’s best about Britain today. The blend of cherished memories from yesteryear with features celebrating the people and the places that make Britain so special as established Best of British as a firm favourite with folks all around the world.”

History Today

“History Today is a unique cultural institution, bringing the best in historical writing and research to a wide audience. The magazine created the concept of popular history, mixing styles, genres and periods to achieve a fusion of intellectual excitement and readability.

As the world’s premier, and probably oldest, history magazine, we have been published monthly in London since January 1951. Our founder was the enigmatic Brendan Bracken, Minister of Information during the Second World War, publisher of the Financial Times and faithful lieutenant of Winston Churchill. We have been independently owned since 1980.

History Today publishes essays on all periods, regions and themes of history, many of them by the world’s leading scholars. All are carefully edited and illustrated to make the magazine a pleasurable, as well as an informative, read. The depth of our archives can be explored via the search option at the top of each page.”

One of those journals that spans the gulf between academic and popular, maybe getting an article in here is not so well regarded as that of an “truly academic”, but inspiring others to be interested in understanding who they are and how they got here (historical/cultural understanding) – I regard that as key. I have fun following History Today on Twitter!

The Social History Society

The Social History Society was founded in 1976 to encourage the study of the history of society and cultures by teaching, research, publication and other appropriate means. Since then it has organised a conference annually and acted to represent the interests of social and cultural history and of social and cultural historians both within higher education and in the wider community. The society is based in the UK but is concerned with social history internationally and it all its broadest forms. It welcomes not only contributions and members from overseas, but also historians and interested individuals from both inside and outside the formal academic community. It actively seeks to maintain links with other historical societies and bodies.

The Society produces the Social and Cultural History Journal.

Dan Cohen: Is Google Good for History?

“Is Google good for history? Of course it is. We historians are searchers and sifters of evidence. Google is probably the most powerful tool in human history for doing just that. It has constructed a deceptively simple way to scan billions of documents instantaneously, and it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of its own money to allow us to read millions of books in our pajamas. Good? How about Great?

But then we historians, like other humanities scholars, are natural-born critics. We can find fault with virtually anything. And this disposition is unsurprisingly exacerbated when a large company, consisting mostly of better-paid graduates from the other side of campus, muscles into our turf. Had Google spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build the Widener Library at Harvard, surely we would have complained about all those steps up to the front entrance.”

Read full story

Moving Words

“Cheerless and drab but ‘full of amazing stuff’. The British Library Newspapers collection at Colindale is moving and also becoming increasingly digitised. Huw Richards wonders if researchers will miss the feel of the paper beneath their fingers

// The journey to the far reaches of the Northern Line’s Edgware branch always did feel rather like time travel – an impression accentuated about 20 years ago when London Underground managers admitted that, on the “next train” indicators on that creaky, rattling stretch of line, one minute really was longer than 60 seconds.

Head out of the Tube station, cross the road and there stands the 1930s blockhouse that houses British Library Newspapers, known simply to its users as Colindale. There can be few historians, at least those concerned with the history of modern Britain, who have not made that journey. For many doctoral students it was the foundation of their research, requiring months of sustained attention to bound volumes and microfilm.

Not, however, for much longer. The announcement in mid-October of a £33 million capital grant, part of a government package for the cultural and creative industries, was Colindale’s death sentence. The hard copies – a collection estimated to total 750 million newspaper pages – will go to a new, purpose-built facility at Boston Spa in Yorkshire, while the 400,000 reels of micro-film and digital access will move to join the rest of the British Library at St Pancras, nine stops and 26 minutes down the Northern Line.”

Read full story. I spent MANY HOURS in Colindale researching material for my PhD

BBC History Website

As usual from the BBC, there’s a good mix of general history, including an interactive timeline (alongside other interactive options), links to the most recent BBC history programmes still available on iPlayer, and a number of themed stories, including a great collection of memories collected from “The People’s War“.