London’s Surprising Medieval Ban on Tennis Balls

Jul 16, 2026

This blog has been written by Eliot Benbow During Wimbledon season one discovery from our AHRC/DFG funded project London’s medieval customs accounts seems particularly intriguing. We have been struck by the sheer variety of goods and commodities that were imported and...

All the World’s a Stage: Performativity in the Life History Interview

Dec 11, 2025

This blog post was written by IHR Fellow Nilakshi Das. Life history interviews are rarely simple acts of narrating one’s life story. They unfold as a dynamic, relational interaction in which the interviewer and interviewee jointly shape how a life story is told and...

Advocating for History by Doing History

Nov 25, 2025

This blog was written by Claire Langhamer, Director of the IHR Historians are very good at crafting arguments and in recent times very many people have advanced very many arguments about why history matters. We have pointed to the skills of critical analysis that lie...

A History of England in 25 Poems

Sep 12, 2025

This new book from IHR Professor Catherine Clarke explores the history of England in new ways—drawing on her work here in the Institute. It’s been quite a journey. From hours in the archive to writing and revisions, from my desk at work and home to sitting behind the...

Histor(AI): Doing History in an AI World

Sep 9, 2025

This blog post presents an overview of the opportunities and challenges artificial intelligence (AI) presents for those engaging with history in a novel technological age. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries worldwide, and the historical profession...

Precarity and Independence

Jun 30, 2025

This blog post was written by Hélène Maloigne, archaeologist, historian, cultural heritage professional, and IHR Fellow. As a historian, you meet a lot of people. Or at least, that is how I like to think about my research on the history of archaeology in the Middle...