Historians without Borders, The Institute of Historical Research and the ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy cordially invite you to the following event, taking place on 15th January 2026 in London:
Narratives of Power: Memory Politics in Europe and the Contemporary World
The event brings together scholars, diplomats, and policy experts to explore the politics of memory and history in the current moment. Focusing on how not only Russia and other increasingly authoritarian regimes shape narratives of the past for present gains, and what the ideals of the German Vergangengheitsbewältigung could imply in the present, the discussions will examine strategies of remembrance, denial, and commemoration.
This high-level seminar will feature expert panels, diplomatic dialogue, and scholarly engagement on critical issues, including on how the history of colonialism is treated in public discourse and in history teaching, and on the evolving role of the past in shaping the present.
Date: Thursday January 15th 2026
Time: 14.00 – 17.00 (GMT+0)
Venue: The Institute of Historical Research, Wolfson conference suite, at the University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
The seminar will include a presentation of the principles and work of the international network of Historians without Borders and a discussion on how historians in the United Kingdom could contribute to the network and promote the use of historical knowledge
for peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
Registration:
Please complete the online registration form to confirm your participation.
For Remote Participants:
A freely accessible streaming link will be uploaded to the event page on ICD’s website.
Programme:
14:00-15:30 Discussion: Narratives of Power: Memory Politics in Europe and the Contemporary World
Speakers and Discussants:
- Professor Gurminder K Bhambra: On the Making of the English Land-Owning Class – Remembering Colonial Histories
- Professor Philip Murphy: Popular Memory of the Wars of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries and its Impact on Notions of Britain’s Place in Europe and the Wider World
15:30-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-17:00 Discussion: Historians without Borders
Speakers and Discussants:
- Dr. Erkki Tuomioja
- Dr. Michael Weatherburn
Both sessions will continue after the presentations with a moderated discussion with the speakers and the public.
Speakers:
Gurminder K Bhambra is Professor of Historical Sociology at the University of Sussex where her current research focuses on the political economy of empires and colonialism. Among her publications are the award-winning Rethinking Modernity: Postcolonialism and the Sociological Imagination and her recent co-authored book, Colonialism and Modern Social Theory. She is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Royal Historical Society; and has been President of the British Sociological Association.
Philip Murphy is Professor of British and Commonwealth History at the University of London and Director of History & Policy at the Institute of Historical Research. He was born and educated in Hull in East Yorkshire before leaving for university. From 2009 to 2022 he was Director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICwS). His first book, Party Politics and Decolonization (1995), was a study of the Conservative party and British withdrawal from Africa. He has subsequently published a biography of the British Colonial Secretary, Alan Lennox-Boyd (1999), the Central Africa volume in the series British Documents on the End of Empire (2005) and a study of the relationship between the British royal family and the Commonwealth, Monarchy and the End of Empire (OUP, 2013). His latest book, The Empire’s New Clothes: The Myth of the Commonwealth, was published by Hurst in 2018 and republished in paperback in an updated form in 2021.
Dr Michael Weatherburn is Field Leader of Humanities & Social Sciences and Data Science Institute Academic Fellow at Imperial College London. His research and teaching combines history, organisational analysis and ethics. In addition, Michael founded and now directs Project Hindsight, a growing consultancy focusing on enhancing large projects using historical sources, data, and scenarios. Proven case studies are in law, defence and banking.
Dr. Erkki Tuomioja is a docent of political history at the University of Helsinki, former member of parliament, Finland’s longest-serving Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Chairman of the Historians without Borders association since its founding in 2015. Tuomioja has written more than 20 books on history and current social issues.
For inquiries, contact:
- Historians without Borders in Finland: info@hwb.fi
- ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy: communication@culturaldiplomacy.org