Throughout history, strategists and warriors have had to fight not only their opponents but also the elements, across land, sea, and air. The operational environment has played a key role in devising and determining strategies and tactics and influenced the outcome of many battles, while war has had a dramatic impact on its physical environment. This reciprocal importance of war and its theatre has left its trace in the written sources and also in the landscape. The organisers would thus welcome proposals addressing any period that approach the theme of ‘Theatres of War’ from different perspectives with a variety of methodologies, ranging from traditional archival-based research to battlefield archaeology and digital tools. Whilst papers should ideally embrace the conference’s broad theme, the organisers will also consider paper and panel proposals on topics relating to any aspect of the history of warfare.
This year’s edition of the innovative, increasingly successful and thus acclaimed ‘New Research in Military History’ Conference will be hosted by Lancaster University, and take place from 8 to 9 November 2019. These two days will also include a tour of Lancaster Castle, a conference dinner, and a keynote speech by Professor John Gillingham FBA (LSE), ‘War and the Enslavement of the Enemy’s Women: From (the) Iliad to (the) Islamic State’.
The British Commission for Military History is committed to providing a platform for early career scholars and to fostering original, innovative, and ground-breaking research in the History of Warfare. Therefore, the organisers are particularly keen to receive proposals from PhD students, post-doctoral and early career researchers.
Proposals for papers of twenty minutes should consist of a 300 word abstract and a short biography (maximum 200 words), and contain the applicant’s full name, institutional affiliation (if any), and contact email address. Panel proposals should provide the same material for each of the three panel members, as well as an introduction of 500 words and the name and contact details of a chair. All proposals should be submitted to both Dr Sophie Thérèse Ambler (s.ambler@lancaster.ac.uk) and Dr Marco Wyss (m.wyss@lancaster.ac.uk). The deadline for submissions is 19:00 on 30 June 2019. Applicants will be informed on whether or not their proposal has been accepted no later than 31 July 2019.