CfP: History and the Public

The 2025 Annual Conference of the Basel Graduate School of History aims to explore the complicated relationship between history and the public. On the one hand, this relationship is strained, because historians find themselves in an increasingly precarious position politically, economically, and socially. On the other hand, there is a growing public interest in historical research and knowledge dissemination, particularly against the backdrop of current political and social conflicts.

The conference consists of two conceptually interlinked days: an input day, where experts share their experiences in workshops and Q&A sessions, and a conference day where doctoral students may present practical or theoretical examples of working with and within the public sphere. We invite doctoral students from Swiss universities to submit contributions related to the conference’s theme, stemming from their dissertations, voluntary work, or part-time activities. The conference aims to promote knowledge about and networking within existing formats of exchange between historical research and the public.

Submissions can address topics such as:
- Theoretical and conceptual contributions to history education and science communication
- Forms of historical storytelling, both online and offline
- Historians online: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn
- Museum tours and exhibition concepts
- History in schools and adult education
- Exchange between academics and the public
- Best practice examples of communicating historical knowledge

The conference is open to doctoral students in the field of history, regardless of time period or sub-discipline. Presentations are scheduled for 10-15 minutes.
Please submit an abstract (250 words in German or English) and a short biography (100 words). The deadline for submissions is July 18, 2025.
Abstracts can be submitted to jahrestagung-bgsh@unibas.ch.