History
We’re a vibrant community dedicated to dissecting the past, strongly rooted in our local community but global in outlook.
A leading centre for the study of Welsh history, our expertise ranges across the globl, from the early Middle Ages to the recent past.
We’re endlessly curious about what history can mean and how history can be done.
Our historians work across social, cultural, political and intellectual history, and the medical, digital, and environmental humanities.
History matters. Through our work we illustrate the relevance of the past in our fast-changing, interconnected world, from hyperlocal resonances to global, centuries-long trends:
Strengths
Identities and communities
We explore social and professional identity formation, including urban and rural communities and the evidence provided by visual and material cultures.
Transnational encounters and global entanglements
From medieval diplomacy to the spread of revolutionary ideas and the legacies of empire, we explore the global connections that have shaped the world we live in.
Political Extremes, revolution, and war
In recent years, we have established ourselves as a major centre for the study of war , with particular specialism in the Second World War. We are also leaders in exploring revolution and the extremist politics of the twentieth century, left and right. Geographic expertise ranges from the Age of Revolution in the Atlantic world to the USSR and modern China and Japan.
Health and environment
We conduct cutting-edge research into the histories of public health, the body, ageing, disability, and the intersections between environment and technologies.
Theories and methods
We push the boundaries between history and interdisciplinarity . We are methodologically attuned and theoretically reflective, with a drive to make history accessible and resonant for everyone.
Religion and belief
We have a strong interest in the various meanings of the sacred throughout history. Working at the intersection of belief, doubt, and rationality, we explore the histories of established religions but also of witchcraft, Enlightenment, and extremist political conviction.
Engagement and collaboration
A mark of our interdisciplinarity is the ScienceHumanities initiative. Forged across English, History, Law, Medicine and the Social Sciences at Cardiff, this trail-blazing collaboration is encouraging valuable exchange on contemporary topics, with partnerships now crisscrossing Europe and North America.
Our award-winning approach to public engagement and civic mission is making powerful impacts in communities, with our research being used in inclusive and mutually-informative ways. Evolving from partnerships nurtured since 2011, the multi-award-winning CAER Heritage Project is widely recognised as a beacon of best practice in the UK.
In its biggest phase yet, the £1.65 million Hidden Hillfort project is now harnessing research across history and archaeology to empower a community to transform itself through its heritage. All only possible through partnerships centred in the community around Action for Caerau and Ely, and thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Since the Research Excellence Framework review in 2014, History and Ancient History academics accelerated their publications to 670 outputs, an increase of 18%. This has been achieved through ongoing investment in early-career scholars as well as established historians.