MPhil/PhD Workshop and Seminars

The purpose of this workshop is to familiarise new MPhil/PhD students with the practical research and writing skills necessary for the preparation of a first-rate PhD thesis in history, and to discuss some general methodological and theoretical issues in international history as a research field.

Schedule of Meetings 2016-17
Wednesdays, 13:00-15:00, 32L.LG.20

Convenor: Dr N. Piers Ludlow and Professor Dominik Geppert

*MICHAELMAS TERM*

12 October
Introduction
The nature of a PhD thesis. The university regulations. The PhD upgrading requirements. The originality requirement. Examples of previous theses and thesis topics. Selecting a topic. Relationship to other researchers in the field.

19 October
Methodological aspects: the making of history
History and its relationship to the social sciences. International history and other forms of history. What do historians do when they do history? What are its claims to objectivity? Interpretation and controversy in history. History and post-modernism. Please do some reading beforehand and come prepared with questions.
Participating: Dr Robert Brier

26 October
Notes and record keeping
One of the main tasks of the historian is to accumulate evidence from written and oral sources on which to base their work. We will discuss how we can do this effectively and to minimise problems of storage and recovery.

9 November
Electronic sources for historians
A valuable opportunity to run through the search tools available on-line via the Library. Note: this meeting will take place in the Library, room to be confirmed.
Participating: Paul Horsler (History librarian, LSE Library)

16 November
Working in the archives
An informal discussion of aspects of archival research at home and abroad, with practical advice offered by several faculty members.
Participating: Dr Jeppe Mulich and Dr Ronald C. Po

23 November
Oral History and Interviewing
A useful, and occasionally the only, method of obtaining information on contemporary issues is by interviewing witnesses. There are, however, important issues of technique, confidentiality, reliability and record-keeping that arise from this procedure. Before attending this meeting, please consult one of the relevant items on the reading list and/or the website of the Oral History Association.
Participating: Professor Vladislav Zubok

30 November
The Writing Process
An informal discussion of aspects of thesis writing. Please note: bring to this meeting at least one example of GOOD historical or other non-fiction writing and be prepared to explain why you chose it.
Participating: Professor Steven Casey and Dr David Motadel

7 December
Presenting Papers at Seminars and Conferences
An informal discussion on how to give a paper: preparation and delivery, how to deal with criticisms and questions. IT aids: PowerPoint. How to get published: academic journals and book publishers: sources of advice. What makes a good paper/article?
Participating: Professor David Stevenson and Dr Tanya Harmer

*SUMMER TERM*

There will probably be three or so meetings in the Summer term, depending on the number of first-year students who are preparing for the up-grade. The meetings will be given over to presentations by students of the draft chapter they will be submitting for the upgrading exercise. Two students will normally make presentations at each meeting. They will be asked to summarise their chapter, explaining its thesis and how it is underpinned. The order of appearance will be decided toward the end of the Michaelmas term.

All International History PhD students are invited to attend HY509 on alternate Wednesdays during term time from 16:00 to 18:00 in 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Room B13 - they will be followed by drinks at the George IV pub.

This seminar is organised by the doctoral students in the Department and includes both internal and external speakers. Attendance is mandatory for all of the Department's research students who have passed their upgrade and are present in London.

The HY509 programme for 2016/17 is listed below. Papers will be circulated in advance and may be accessed here (please login with your LSE username and password. Participation is open to all, including non-LSE staff and students. External visitors will be required to register through Eventbrite to access the building. For further information please email the convenors.

Seminar Programme 2016-17

Venue: 32L.B.13

*MICHAELMAS TERM*

28 September 2016
Title: Culture and Perception in the Age of the Great War
Speakers:
Harry Richards (Keele University): “An Engineered Panic? Spy Fever and Spy Scares in August 1914”
Alex Mayhew (LSE): ““Long Distance Relationships”: Postcards to and from the Western Front during the First World War”

12 October 2016
Title: Italian Politics through American Eyes
Speakers:
Katy Hull (Georgetown University): “The So-Called Democracy: American Sympathizers with Italian Fascism in the 1920s”
Alice Ciulla (University of Roma Tre): “U.S. Intellectuals and the Italian Communist Party, 1964-80”

26 October 2016
Title: Religion, Violence and Terror
Speakers:
Burcin Cakir (Glasgow Caledonian University): “Ottoman Call to Jihad and Its Aftermath: Entangled Histories in the Middle East”
Judith Jacob (LSE): “Origin Myths: How an Indonesian Terrorist Group Shapes its History”

16 November 2016
Title: Circumventing the Cold War
Speakers:
Angela Romano (European University Institute): “The Business/Government Synergy in Pre-Gaullist France’s China Policy”
Valeria Zanier (LSE): “The Role of Economic Actors in the Making of China-Italy Relations”

30 November 2016
Title: Nationalism and Jewish Identities
Speakers:
Tamir Karkason (Hebrew University of Jerusalem): “The Jewish-Ottoman Enlightenment in the 19th Century: When Cultures Make Contact”
Roman Vater (University of Oxford): “National Alternatives to Zionism: The Case of the Young Hebrews, 1939-1976”

*LENT TERM*

Coming soon

***ACCESS THE PAPERS HERE***
(only available to HY509 participants)
Convenors: Bastiaan Bouwman, Alexandre Dab, Tomaso Millani and Eline van Ommen

Since 2014-2015 academic year, the Cold War Studies Project at LSE IDEAS, the Department of International History at LSE, and the Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po in Paris have co-organised the joint LSE-Sciences Po Seminar in Contemporary International History (HY510).

The seminar welcomes presentations on any aspect of contemporary international history, with a focus on the Cold War.

The seminar is open to all PhD students and staff at both LSE and Sciences Po. Outside participants are also welcome: if you would like to take part in the seminar, please e-mail the course organiser, Alexandre Dab, stating your affiliation and area of research.

More detais and full seminar programme for 2016-17 can be found here.