Date: 5-6 September 2024
The British Crime Historians Symposium meets every 2-3 years to discuss and debate original historical research on all aspects of crime, policing, punishment, law, criminal justice and social regulation.
Since the first meeting in 2008, the BCHS has become a leading academic forum in this broad and vibrant field of research.
The next conference will be held on the 5th and 6th September 2024 at the Friends Meeting House, in Manchester. It will be jointly hosted by the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University.
The conference welcomes proposals for papers, panels and other sessions concerned with the history of crime and criminal justice across medieval to modern history, especially (though not exclusively) in connection with Britain. This may include imperial and transnational histories that interrelate modern
British history with global legacies of slavery and colonialism, as well as international exchanges about crime and punishment. Papers on all topics and periods within this broad remit are welcomed. In addition, this year’s conference particularly welcomes proposals that engage with the following:
• Crime fiction/creative modes of writing the history of crime;
• Crime, migration, and empire;
• Spatial approaches to deviance, criminality and rehabilitation
Submissions are encouraged from researchers across a wide range of disciplines (including, but not limited to, history, criminology, English, law, socio-legal studies and sociology), and from postgraduate/early career researchers. Postgraduate presenters will be invited to submit their papers for the Clive Emsley Prize, awarded for the best postgraduate paper at the conference.
Typically speakers will have 20 minutes to present their paper. Panels should each consist of three papers selected to illuminate an overarching topic, theme or issue, and we encourage organisers to consider including postgraduate and early career researchers in their panels. Suggestions for alternative formats (roundtable sessions, source/method-based workshops, ‘author meets readers’ sessions,
etc.) are welcome; please discuss any ideas with the conference organising committee, in the first instance.
For individual paper proposals, please include: paper title; name(s) of author(s); institutional affiliation (if applicable); email address (of proposing author); paper abstract of no more than 250 words.
For panel proposals, please include full details (as outlined above) for each constituent paper, in addition to: panel title; name, institutional affiliation (if applicable) and email address of the panel organiser; abstract of the panel’s aims (no more than 150 words); name of panel chair (if nominating a specific chair).
The deadline for submission of proposals is 7 April 2024. Please send proposals by email attachment to: [email protected]
The conference organising committee is: Ruth Lamont (Law, University of Manchester); Eloise Moss (History, University of Manchester); Heather Shore (History, Manchester Metropolitan University); and Charlotte Wildman (History, University of Manchester).
