Notes from the archive

On the 17-18th April we were proud to host The British Commission for Maritime History at the University of Southampton for their 31st ‘New Researchers in Maritime History’ Conference. This was organised by BCMH and Prof. Helen Farr (Archaeology), a trustee of the Commission, and supported by the Society for Nautical Research, the World Ship Society and Boydell & Brewer publishers.  The conference commenced with an excellent keynote lecture given by Prof. Continue reading →

This week, Dr Jacob Fordham (London School of Economics) gave a brilliant talk about translations and translators in the context of trade in south China in the 16th and 17th centuries. Continue reading →

On a cold and frosty late November morning, MA students taking Themes in Medieval and Early Modern History, along with two staff members, gathered outside Southampton Central railway station to catch the train to Salisbury for a day exploring the attractions of this medieval city. Continue reading →

Professor Maria Hayward and Dr Julie Gammon were awarded prestigious Fellowships at the Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, Connecticut which is part of Yale University this year, so they spent a very exciting couple of weeks this October immersed in the library's fabulous collection of eighteenth-century materials. The Library is so named, not after an individual person, but because its founders, W. S. Continue reading →

Dr Annelies Cazemier On Wednesday 5th November 2025, Professor Josephine Quinn spoke to our Departmental research seminar about her book, How the World Made the West. It has received rave reviews and was described by William Dalrymple (among others) as ‘one of the most fascinating and important works of global history to appear for many years’. Josephine Quinn is Professor in Ancient History at the University of Cambridge. Continue reading →

Author Hirah Azhar, Doctoral researcher in the Department of History, University of Southampton and Imperial War Museum Blog Who decides what we see of war? What is censored, erased, or amplified? And how have evolving technologies and political choices helped shape the visual narratives about war that we consume? In my recently launched podcast The War We See, I puzzle over these questions and more with a broad range of people connected to the world of war imagery, including... Continue reading →

Although most of our discussions and deliberations on HIST3275, ‘A Short History of Exploration’, have taken place in lecture theatres and seminar rooms, this week we decided to do something different. On Wednesday morning, an intrepid band of third-year historians and tutors gathered at Avenue Campus preparing to embark on our very own expedition of discovery. Our aim was to navigate our way to Greenwich in South East London in search of the National Maritime Museum. Continue reading →

History’s Charlotte Lydia Riley has won a very prestigious award from the American Historical Association. The prize is for her the American edition of her book, Imperial Island: An Alternative History of the British Empire (Harvard University Press, 2024). The prize is the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize for an author’s first book in European history from 1815 through the 20th century. The Awards ceremony will take place in Chicago, January 2026. Continue reading →

Blog Post – An Escape Room in a Box Last November, I began a Digital Humanities internship, investigating the possible uses of their Museum in a Box (MiaB) which had been previously rarely used. The project involved the Museum in a Box – an acrylic box designed to play audio clips when a programmed NFC is placed on it. Continue reading →

Department of History Colleague, Professor Tony Kushner, writes an important piece on the recent incident in Manchester for The Conversation: https://theconversation. Continue reading →