The New Left Histories seminar series at the Raphael Samuel History Centre, is organising a workshop to assess the current state of research on the New Left, broadly conceived from both national and transnational perspectives, and to foster critical discussion on its historiography – a field that has recently experienced renewed scholarly interest.

Argument

The New Left Histories seminar series at the Raphael Samuel History Centre, is organising a workshop to assess the current state of research on the New Left, broadly conceived from both national and transnational perspectives, and to foster critical discussion on its historiography – a field that has recently experienced renewed scholarly interest.

Emerging in the postwar era as a heterogeneous and evolving constellation of radical political movements, intellectual currents, and activist practices across multiple regions, the New Left profoundly reshaped socialist and Marxist thought and political practice and engagement. By breaking with orthodoxy and embracing new forms of political subjectivity, cultural critique, and emancipatory struggle, it also contributed to significant transformations within historical scholarship, emphasising lived experience, political agency, and subaltern voices in advancing what became known as “history from below.”

The workshop aims to identify emerging research questions, methodological challenges, and new interpretative frameworks, to contribute to the consolidation of an international scholarly network, and to promote the formation of a broader academic community engaging with the New Left both as a historical phenomenon and as enduring methodological interventions. Particular attention will be devoted to its epistemological implications from transnational and comparative perspectives, encouraging participants to explore how ideas, practices, and analytical categories circulated across borders and were reconfigured in diverse political and cultural contexts.

We particularly encourage proposals from PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early career scholars. Proposals from established scholars are also welcome, especially those combining historical depth with a strong transnational or international approach.

We welcome papers engaging with (but not limited to) the following themes:

• The New Left as a historical object - intellectual, political, and social movements in European and global contexts
• The New Left as a foundation for new methodologies and frameworks
• Transnational and comparative histories of the New Left
• Intellectual and political genealogies of New Left movements
• The New Left and the transformation of Marxism
• History from below, subaltern studies, cultural studies and political agency
• Archival research, oral history, and methodological innovations
• Circulation of ideas across Europe and beyond
• The New Left and questions of race, gender, class, and decolonisation
• Memory, historiography, and the legacy of the New Left
• The New Left as an analytical category: uses and limits

Submission Guidelines

Please submit: an abstract of 300-400 words and a short biographical note (maximum 150 words). Please submit abstract and bio together on one Word document.

Deadline for submissions: 4 May 2026

Notification of acceptance: by 11 June 2026

Submissions and enquiries: k.pettit@bbk.ac.uk

We will seek funding to support a small number of speakers’ travel expenses and will advertise available funding as soon as it is confirmed.

A selection of papers presented at the workshop will be considered for publication in an edited volume or a special issue.

Practical Information

• Date: 5 and 6 November 2026
• Location: Queen Mary University of London, Mile End campus, London
• Format: Workshop (in-person, with possible online participation – to be confirmed)

Seminar Conveners

• Madeleine Davis (Queen Mary University of London)
• Christos Efstathiou (University of Birmingham)
• Marzia Maccaferri (Queen Mary University of London)
• Joseph Viscomi (Birkbeck, University of London)