Tag: conferences

50 Years On: the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act

Safety poster, c.1979, courtesy British Safety Council.

Love it or hate it, you can’t escape it: the Health and Safety at Work Act has been an important part of UK working life (and wider) for 50 years.

To mark its 50^th anniversary, a day-long symposium was held in London on 25 November 2024: Health & Safety at Work Act – 50 years on: still fit for purpose?

It was hosted by the Trade Union & Employment Forum of History & Policy, and brought together practitioners, trades unionists and academics – including the University of Portsmouth History team’s Dr Mike Esbester. Mike’s research focuses on histories of safety, risk and accident prevention in modern Britain. Some of that has looked at the changing landscape of health and safety at work and beyond since 1960 – including the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act. The change of law was much needed; in the 1960s and early 1970s, UK workplaces were still killing and injuring large number of people. Their impacts were felt beyond the factory walls, too, as workplace incidents affected more than ‘just’ employees.

The principles underlying the Act had both radical and conservative elements. They extended the duty of care far beyond the boundaries of the workplace. At the same time, they modelled older ideas about who was able to prevent harm. Mike brought these tensions and contradictions out in his presentation to the symposium, which gave a long-term historical overview of the Act’s originals. He’s explored some of these aspects in this piece for The Conversation. This piece, written for History & Policy at the 40^th anniversary of the Act, is also still relevant today. All of this work draws upon Mike’s research, including the ‘Changing Legitimacy of Health and Safety at Work’ project, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health.

The symposium brought together different approaches, from the historical to the present day, the philosophical to the practical. It wrestled with the question of how far the 1974 Act has kept pace with the world around it, and whether or not it might be time for a new means of approaching health and safety in the UK.

November 28, 2024
Reimagining and decolonising higher education

Below Dr Jodi Burkett, UoP senior lecturer in late twentieth-century history, imperial history and race, writes about a conference she attendance sharing ideas for decolonising the university curriculum.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Reimagining Higher Education: Journeys of decolonising conference held at the Institute of Education in London (thanks to SASSHPL for funds to support this!). I was attending with my colleague Bhavin Dedhia (Dentistry) to present some work that we have been doing with Lena Grinsted (Biology) to decolonise science teaching and promote inclusive teaching and learning spaces here at Portsmouth. This work is based on research that Lena undertook a few years ago which will be published shortly in Plos One.

While it was really helpful and interesting to present what we’ve been working on, listening to the keynotes and other speakers was perhaps even more useful. In reflecting on the day I think that there were three things in particular that stood out to me about the conference and the presentations that I saw.

First, there was a clear recognition that we need to pay more attention to the emotions involved in decolonising work. One of the first plenary sessions was from the team at De Montfort who have done extensive work on decolonising the university. They encouraged conference participants to reflect on the joy that came with doing decolonising work. This is very true – undertaking work to decolonise curricula has allowed me to work with colleagues that I might never have met which has been amazing. The work itself has also encouraged me to think about my research and my teaching in new and different ways and has been fulfilling work. That said, the reason we needed to be reminded to reflect on the joy is because the challenge and the emotional difficulty of doing this work are so apparent and ever-present, which I will expand upon a bit next.

The second thing that kept recurring throughout the day was the particular challenges that most people across the sector are experiencing. Decolonising work is challenging to do, not just because it requires a high level of self-reflection and commitment to change the way you think and do things. It is also challenging because there are many people who don’t think it is possible or worth doing (or who are adamantly opposed to it). One of the keynote speakers spoke about trying to do this work while politicians in his state actively sought to prevent him. Doing this work therefore becomes logistically and strategically difficult and takes an emotional toll that is often overlooked.

Finally, the importance of history for decolonising was mentioned repeatedly by a whole range of speakers. One of the most significant first steps in decolonising is to know about the context in which our societies, our assumptions, and our ways of knowing were created. And understanding context is what we, historians, do best! One of the main pillars of the work that I’ve been doing with Lena and Bhavin has been to highlight how important transdisciplinarity is to the project of decolonising. This is a collective endeavour that is best achieved in partnership. We all need to know and understand the context of the world we live in, but that doesn’t mean that everyone needs to be an historian. What it does mean, is that historians are crucial. Teaching students the skills of historians – to evaluate data, to understand various interpretations, and to know the historical context – is, itself, part of the decolonising project. This conference reinforced for me the importance of historians and historical knowledge and the importance of historians in sharing this knowledge and working with those outside of our disciplines and in the wider world.

November 13, 2024
Exploring the transgressive use of clothing by female groups from the 1920s to the 1970s

Emily Jays graduated in Summer 2021 with a 2:1 in History and Sociology. Her dissertation was titled “Transgressing Gender Norms and National Identities Through Dress: Three 20^th Century Case Studies”. This explored how clothing was used by flappers within 1920s America, butch lesbians and transgender women in post-1950 Britain and Muslim women and the veil in French Algeria and modern day France. She is now studying a Master of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, with an intersectional approach on the relationship between working-class women, higher education and their habitus. She is about to start the process of applying for PhDs, in which she hopes to do abroad.

Last year, I presented my undergraduate dissertation research at the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR). My experience, from initial interest to the conference itself, was nothing other than positive. I had applied for another conference about which I had spoken with one of the History team at Portsmouth, Mike Esbester; because of this he informed me of the BCUR. I was somewhat sceptical due to it being a multi-disciplinary conference, however I thought I would have more regrets not applying than doing so and not being accepted. Before I submitted my application, I informed Mike and my personal tutor, Natalya Vince, that I wished to apply, and they were on hand straight away to help me with my abstract. A few back-and-forths via email of abstract drafts and my application was ready to go. This really helped me go into the process feeling confident and knowing that I had given my best work, and whatever the outcome would be I would be fine.

Silent film actress Colleen Moore was considered the archetypal flapper in films like Flaming Youth (1923) and (above) We Moderns (1925).

A few weeks later I found out that I had been accepted into the conference and would be presenting my ideas and research – I was over the moon about it! From there – Mike, Natalya and Julian Ingle (Deputy Head of the University’s Academic Skills Unit) helped massively in preparing my presentation and making it the best it could possibly be. There were a few practice runs with other students who were also in the conference watching, as well as times when tutors from the department came to watch and give their feedback. Of course, this was all done over Zoom which at first was a strange experience but you soon get used to it. Seeing the faces of my tutors pop up on the screen to come and watch my presentation was so comforting and their feedback was invaluable. The communication from Julian, who led us UoP students through the process, was second to none. We were aware of what was needed from us and what was happening at all times, as well as his vast experience to give us feedback.

The conference itself was so enjoyable and it was great to see other subjects and perspectives from students all over the country. We had a group chat over the 2 days which was lovely, as we could all communicate and cheer each other on when we were due to present. The only negative thing I can say is that it would have been so much fun to have gone to Leeds for a few days and had the full experience. With that being said, the BCUR team’s organisation was fantastic and the whole thing run over Zoom was seamless.

The cover of Rebel Women (1960) by Harry Whittington.

One of the most important things I have taken from the conference was that by presenting a part of my dissertation, it really allowed me to solidify my line of argument. By speaking my research aloud for others, who perhaps are not familiar with that part of history or the subject itself meant I had to ensure there was clarity in my presentation and argument. Although of course this took up extra time near the end of the year, the process helped significantly and my writing of my dissertation was better for it, as I achieved a first!

Another way in which the process benefitted me significantly is my confidence in my own research and ability. To be chosen to present but also receive a positive response to my work from my tutors and those at the conference was a great feeling, particularly as my subject was relatively niche and others were intrigued. Being amongst other researchers was a great buzz and very inspiring, which has given me the boost to apply for a PhD in the near future after my MRes this year.

If anyone was unsure about applying, I would tell them to just do it. Every part of the process was a learning experience and the whole time was extremely enjoyable. I have absolutely zero regrets. Thank you to the University of Portsmouth team and my tutors for their support and encouragement!

October 21, 2021
From Margins to Centre? An undergraduate conference on marginalised histories

At Portsmouth we were delighted to have not one, but two students presenting their work at the recent ‘From Margins to Centre’ conference at the University of York – a testament to the innovative and exciting research our students are devising and doing. In this blog post our second contributor, third year student Amelia Boddice, discusses the conference and where her paper fitted into the themes of the day. As well as building her employability skills, the conference prompted some thought-provoking reflections on the nature of historical enquiry: Amelia clearly got lots out of the day – just as it should be! The whole history team here at Portsmouth pitched in to support Amelia’s preparation and secure the internal funding so she could attend, and we’re pleased to be able to feature this post.

I was invited to speak at this conference, on government solutions to racism in the British education system c.1976-1985 with a focus on the policy of dispersal. This was the first time I have prepared a paper for a conference and delivered a talk in front of more than a handful of people. But the helpful feedback I have received from individual/group presentations during my undergraduate degree helped to prepare me for this moment. I was apprehensive but ready for the challenge as marginalised histories is something I have been passionate about since my second year of university study. During the conference I was inspired by the range of topics covered by each of the panellists and the passion with which each person delivered their talks. It was also encouraging to see the diversity of the audience; I felt like I had found a place to discuss freely a topic which was so important to me and be received with friendliness and open discussion. It felt like a safe space to talk about issues within the historical field and to feel hopeful that we were all doing our part to shed light on topics previously under-researched. Some of my favourite talks included Farida Augustine’s paper on Identifying West Africans in the French resistance, Joe Moore’s paper on Marginalised groups in the Miners’ strike and Tallulah Maait Pepperell’s paper on Feminism, pacifism and aristocracy: the politics of Irene Clyde.

Amelia presenting her paper

I was especially inspired to hear the keynote speaker, Catherine Hall, say “if there are issues taught in your department, say so.” This emboldened me, it made me realise that questioning things, opening the margins and discussing concepts such as intersectionality is not being rebellious against the historical status quo but rather part of being a historian. These are issues faced in our society today, part of living life, everything is intersectional to an extent and understanding these nuances and asking further questions is essential. We should not accept things just because they seem to be the authority on the topic, whether that be an influential text or a key historiographical argument. Upon reflection, my dissertation rebels against the historiographical status quo, as it asks whether Catholics only used items to pray in the Elizabethan household. What evidence is there for this? What about the prayer manuals of the period? Did every household have access to religious items and/or did every household conform to the set standard for religion? On the other hand, to what extent were Elizabethan Protestants iconophobic? So, now it is clear to me that I have always been questioning the historical status quo but I need to take this further and use my platform to discuss the issues which really matter to me. This is because, as Catherine Hall stated, what starts at the margins can begin, slowly and surely, to unpick the centre. What was once marginalised history can become the norm; the history we teach to the younger generations should reflect the society around us. It should include diverse nationalities, ethnic origins, ages, abilities and sexualities. We need to find new histories and make new stories.

Recusant pendant found on the Isle of Wight

I would like to say thank you to Clare Burgess and Olivia Wyatt for inviting me to be a panellist at their conference and for being so organised and welcoming. I would also like to thank Katy Gibbons and Mike Esbester for being so encouraging and helpful in organising everything in addition to their useful feedback on my paper.

Photo credits:

Courtesy Olivia Wyatt & Clare Burgess.

May 5, 2020
Marginalised Histories – presenting undergraduate research on AIDs at a conference

In this blog post, third year student Sophie McKee reflects on her poster presentation at the recent ‘Marginalised Histories’ conference at the University of York. We were excited when the conference came up and encouraged our students to apply, working with them on their proposals and securing funding to support attendance. This was a great chance to disseminate their research, experience another aspect of the world of the academic historian, and gain value experience to enhance their employability. We were therefore delighted that Sophie was accepted to present a poster, based on her dissertation research.

Fiona McCall has asked me to write a blog post about attending conferences. Now, I have only attended one conference, but within a few weeks that number is going to be pushing to two, so I thought now might be a time to reflect on the one that has been, and potentially psyche myself up for the one that is coming.

I study the AIDS crisis in 1980s and 1990s America. Often that elicits lots of questions, the most popular of which at the moment is: “have you seen the film Philadelphia?” to which I sigh heavily and say yes because I am well aware of the lack of representation on HIV/AIDS in popular culture. So, when the opportunity came up, to go to a conference on marginalised groups in history at the University of York I jumped at the chance. I am of the opinion that the AIDS crisis is one which not only is not academically investigated enough but is also not particularly known about in the UK. While the first cases of AIDS in the UK started around the early 1980s like in America, by the time that AIDS rose to national prominence in 1987 with the famous “AIDS: Don’t die of ignorance” campaign, there was a lot more information known about the disease.

For the conference, I was invited to present a poster. My dissertation examines the social and economic diversity of activists during the AIDS crisis. Many of the leading AIDS activists were middle class, white gay men who had previously been able to live within the closet and enjoy the privilege of “passing” as straight within the deeply homophobic social environment of 1980s America. Due to the physical manifestations of the disease, AIDS often forced people out of the closet and out of these powerful structures of privilege, forcing them to be marginalised. Modern discussions of this race and class element can often be problematic. At times, some voices online have attempted to apply their own ideas of diversity to the subject, when as we know, history doesn’t have the best track record of being the most equal. The “middle class, white gay man” trope can be used negatively and incorrectly when really, the men who were part of these organisations actively subverted expectations of privilege and class and fundamentally changed the way that the American Pharmaceutical companies tested and released AIDS medication to the market. While they do not conform to modern ideas of diversity, that does not mean that anyone is allowed to negate their achievements, for this is how history can be forgotten. This is what I was going to discuss in my poster.

One thing I loved about this experience was exactly what I have just done above. By being able to engage with my research, it gave me the opportunity to realise just how passionately felt about it. Lecturers, family, and friends would ask me what I was doing for this conference, and slowly but surely I had whittled down all this information that I had in my head to a few lines of a minute or so that I could succinctly explain what I was talking about and hearing it come out of my mouth made me feel more confident, I KNEW what I was talking about, it gave me pride in my work.

I will tell you this with love and for free. Academic posters are boring. They don’t have to be, we are studying some of the most fascinating things in the world but my goodness we don’t half make a boring poster. My poster was NOT going to be boring it was going to be COOL and FUN and MAKE A STATEMENT. Jokes aside, I was incredibly proud of the hard work I had put into it, so yes, I made it bold and hot pink and used the same font that AIDS activists used on their posters. This is because unlike a presentation, a poster needs to be eye-catching, and on the day of the conference, many people commented on the way it looked. (All of that thanks needs to go to my friend who helped me make it. Thanks, Bren!)

March 10, 2020
Nationalism, Regionalism and British identity in early 20th century England

Dr Melanie Bassett is a Research Associate for the Port Towns and Urban Cultures project. She also teaches undergraduate units in History. Here she talks about her chapter which is published in the Four Nations Approaches to Modern ‘British’ History. A (Dis)United Kingdom? edited collection, which is out now.

In 2015 I gave a paper at the United Kingdom? Four Nations Approaches to Modern ‘British’ History conference which prompted me to look at my research from a different perspective. My PhD thesis (completed at the University of Portsmouth) was entitled The Royal Dockyard Worker in Edwardian England: Culture, Leisure and Empire, and although I briefly considered the role of ‘Englishness’ and four nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) perspectives on the British Empire, it was not a central consideration in my argument.

However, there were certainly parallels in my research with the Four Nations methodology. This approach was sparked by J.G.A. Pocock’s call in the 1970s for a more integrated approach to the history of Britain by incorporating the influences, perspectives and histories from the other nations that made up the British world (this also could include White settler colonies such as Pocock’s native New Zealand). In subsequent years historiographical movements towards a ‘New British History’ have illuminated new discourses for understanding what it meant to be ‘British.’ [1] This was really interesting to me as my subjects of study were state-employed Dockyard workers. These were the men who built the British Empire’s warships during the time of the great naval arms race which heightened tensions prior to the First World War. They came from across the United Kingdom for work and as a consequence Portsmouth, as Britain’s premier Royal Dockyard town, saw great expansion both geographically and in terms of its population.

My research focused on how Royal Dockyard workers processed the messages of the British Empire, and how this was communicated through their culture and leisure patterns. What struck me when writing my abstract in application to speak at the conference [2] was that there was a burgeoning leisure culture of regional and national societies (such as the Portsmouth and District Caledonian Society, the Portsmouth Cambrian Society, the Portsmouth Society of Yorkshiremen, and the Portsmouth Pembrokeshire Society, to name but a few) which were being established around the Edwardian period. Their proliferation showed that, not only were the public aware of their roots, but they were very keen to highlight and exploit these! Certainly, these societies were not just about ‘having fun’, but were important mechanisms for migrant workers to establish networks and kinship-like relationships away from ‘home.’ They were also important conduits through which to explore ideas of citizenship (and citizen rights) both in their adopted city, and within a wider context.

Following the conference I was invited to write a chapter for the book which was inspired by the conference. [3] The book combines prominent scholars in the field of ‘New British History’, and also Early Career Researchers such as myself, and will stand as an anthology which re-examines and challenges the four nations methodology as much as it celebrates and highlights its usefulness. My chapter, entitled “Regional Societies and the Migrant Edwardian Royal Dockyard Worker: Locality, Nation and Empire”, combines a four nations perspective with an understanding of social and workplace relations. Royal Dockyardmen, especially those who had relocated to work in the Dockyard, had many concepts about belonging to contend with – not least ideas about where they fitted in locally, nationally and in the British Empire as a whole. They also were subject to influential codes of conduct based on their place in society – as a skilled or unskilled worker and as part of the working class more generally – and they had limitations on what they could feasibly take part in in order to express their interests and wants.

What I wanted to explore was the process of identity-making in-situ through a case study of the naval dockyard town of Portsmouth, in the South of England, c.1900-1914. I did this by comparing local newspaper reports, the surviving archives of regional societies, and cross-referencing Royal Dockyard employment and Census records. Using these primary sources I was able to quantify the migrant experience and build up a picture of the activities and attitudes surrounding ideas of regionalism, nationalism and imperialism in the Edwardian era. By doing this I was able to highlight the intersection between national and local identities, personal and professional identities, and articulate the nuanced and complex subjectivities of working people.

The chapter extends and challenges the historiography of ‘New British History’ by adding nuance to the idea that there is a monolithic, one-size-fits-all interpretation of Britishness. Instead, the chapter highlights the importance of regionalism and the diffuseness of the British experience. It asserts that by investigating the national and regional societies formed in this period, alongside national and local expectations of the British ‘imperial citizen’, we can begin to explore the hybridity of British identity in a way that moves away from a ‘top down’, Anglo-centric history of the United Kingdom. A four nations approach is a useful conceptual model with which to seek out British patriotism and imperial identity. However, this should not negate other considerations which enable a more holistic understanding of the state of ‘Britishness’.

Notes

[1] J.G.A. Pocock, The Discovery of Islands: Essays in British History (Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 2005). See also, D. Cannadine ‘British History as a “New Subject.” Politics, Perspectives and Prospects’ in A. Grant and K. Stringer (eds.) Uniting the Kingdom? The Making of British History (London: Routledge, 2005), p.22.

[2] In order to speak at a conference you are either invited as an established academic in the field, or more likely as someone who applies through sending an abstract. The abstract is generally 200-500 words about what you intend to speak about alongside an accompanying CV or profile. Speakers are then selected by a panel of the conference convenors.

[3] I also wrote a short blog on the Four Nations History Network website. Melanie Bassett, “Working-class leisure and Four Nations History: A study of regional societies in Edwardian Portsmouth.” Four Nations History Network https://fournationshistory.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/working-class-leisure-and-four-nations-history-a-study-of-regional-societies-in-edwardian-portsmouth/ last accessed 09/11/2017.

Out now: M. Scull and N. Lloyd-Jones (eds), Four Nations Approaches to Modern ‘British’ History. A (Dis)United Kingdom? (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

November 16, 2017