Conferences
About Us
BSHS Conferences & Events
The BSHS organises a wide range of events and conferences that support research, discussion, and exchange in the history of science. This includes some of the largest and most established events in the field, as well as smaller workshops and conferences. Alongside in-person meetings, the Society increasingly supports online and hybrid events to broaden access and participation. Through these activities, the BSHS aims to foster networking, collaboration, and dialogue both within academia and across related knowledge cultures. Our academic events are designed to engage established scholars and early career researchers alike. Read on to find out more about our activities (including the BSHS Annual Conference) and to find out how the Conferences Committee can support your event.
Please note that the Conferences Committee’s remit is academic events; if you are interested in public engagement and outreach, please see our Outreach and Engagement pages.
News
Conference & Event News
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- BSHS information
Information regarding the HSS/ESHS conference in Edinburgh, 12-16 July 2026
News The BSHS Singer Prize 2026 – Call for Contributions The British Society for the History of Science is delighted...
News The BSHS Pickstone Prize 2026 – call for nominations Nominations are now open for the BSHS Pickstone Prize, awarded every...
Other events
details of more specialised conference events, plus joint meetings with other societies, including the four-yearly Three Societies Meeting
BSHS
Support for Events
Alongside co-ordinating the BSHS’s annual conference and postgraduate meeting, the Conferences Committee also supports academic events organised by our members. That takes numerous forms, including:
1. Financial Support
The Conferences Committee offers various grants to help defray the costs associated with conference organisation. The Small Conference and Workshop Grants scheme is our main initiative, in which we invite our members to apply for up to £500 of funding in two annual rounds. You can find out more about what we offer in our ‘Grants and Prizes’ pages.
2. Technical Support
We are happy to offer non-financial support and guidance to BSHS members who are organising conferences. For instance, we can offer advice on administration and programming or share your event through our social media channels.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss conference support (conference@bshs.org.uk). In return, we may ask that the BSHS’s support be recognised in the literature associated with your event.
3. Collaboration
The Society is open to proposals for joint events, where we collaborate with one or more partners to organise an academic event.
Previous collaborations include the DHST Global History of Science and Technology Festival, and we are currently working with HSS and ESHS on their 2026 joint meeting in Edinburgh.
If you would like to enquire about BSHS support for your academic event, or if you have an idea you think we will be interested in, please contact the Conferences Committee on conference@bshs.org.uk. Please note that enquiries relating to public engagement events should be directed to our Outreach and Engagement Committee.
Become a Member
Join the BSHS, gain access to our publications, events and grants and help us support the history of science.
The Annual Conference was revived in 2003 to provide an opportunity for scholars throughout the history of science, technology and medicine to meet and exchange ideas.
Beside a mixture of loosely-themed and highly specialised panels, and plenary sessions from distinguished speakers — including the biennial Presidential Address — meetings have included visits to local museums and other attractions; themed discussion sessions on teaching and learning; and a variety of social events ranging from the meticulously-planned to the bewilderingly impromptu.
In 2026, the BSHS will not host an annual conference. Instead, we are collaborating with the History of Science Society and European Society for the History of Science in organising a joint meeting in Edinburgh from the 12th to the 16th of July. Find out more here.
- 2025 Annual Conference, 08-10 July 2025, Cambridge
- 2024 Annual Conference, 08-10 July 2024, Aberystwyth
- 2023 Digital History of Science Festival, 03-06 July 2023, online (YouTube Playlist)
- 2022 Annual Conference, 20-23 July 2022, Belfast
- 2021 Annual Conference, 13-15 July 2021, online
- 2020 Global Digital History of Science Festival, 6-10 July 2020, online
- 2018 European Society for the History of Science, 14-17 September 2018, London
- 2018 Postgraduate Conference, 4 – 6 April 2018, Manchester
- 2017 Postgraduate Conference, 5-7 April 2017, Florence.
- 2017 Annual Conference. University of York, 6-9 July 2017.
- Science in Public. University of Kent, 13-15 July 2016.
- Three Societies Meeting. University of Alberta, 22-25 June 2016.
- 2016 Postgraduate Conference. 6-8 January 2016, Cambridge.
- 2015 Annual Conference. 2-5 July 2015, Swansea
- 2015 Postgraduate Conference. 7-9 January 2015, UCL
- 2014 Annual BSHS Conference. St Andrews, 3-6 July 2014.
- 2014 Postgraduate Conference. University of Leeds, 8-10 January 2014.
- 24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine, July 2013, Manchester. See a photo gallery of images from the conference courtesy of BSHS Viewpoint editor Melanie Keene.
- ‘Making up Autism’ by Ian Hacking – Inaugural C. L. Oakley Lecture in Medicine and the Arts, 13 May 2013, University of Leeds
- 2013 Postgraduate Conference, 3-5 January 2013, University of Kent, Canterbury
- 2012 Three Societies Meeting, 11-14 July 2012, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- 2012 BSHS Postgraduate Conference, 4-6 January 2012, University of Warwick
- Electrifying the City: Spaces and Places for Electricity in Twentieth Century Britain, (BSHS-sponsored). 19 November 2011. University of Leicester
- 2011 BSHS Annual Conference, 14-17 July 2011, University of Exeter
- 2011 BSHS Postgraduate Conference, 4-6 January 2011, University of Manchester
- 2010 BSHS Annual Conference, 22-25 July 2010, University of Aberdeen
The BSHS Postgraduate Conference is an annual event, with recent meetings held in Manchester, Florence, Cambridge, London, Leeds, Canterbury, Durham, Brighton, Warwick, and Oxford. You can read about our latest meeting at the University of Leeds here.
Postgraduate members of the BSHS in all areas of the history of science, technology and medicine throughout the world are welcome to attend and give papers. Each conference is organised entirely by postgraduates from the host institution, and provides an ideal opportunity to meet fellow researchers and gain valuable early conference experience.
Please note that the BSHS PG Conference is taking a pause in 2026, but we will be back next year. In the meantime, we are planning postgraduate events for this year’s joint Edinburgh meeting and working hard to ensure as many early career scholars as possible are able to attend what promises to be an extraordinary conference.
Would you like to bring BSHS PG to your institution?
The BSHS welcomes proposals from postgraduates keen to organise future meetings in the series. Your initial contact should be the BSHS Postgraduate Representative, Mika Hyman (2026-), on postgradrep@bshs.org.uk.
- 2025: University of Leeds, 25-26 April 2025.
- 2024: Warwick’s Global History and Culture Center (GHCC) & University of Warwick, 19-20 April 2024.
- 2023: University of Oxford (hybrid), 31 March - 1 April 2023.
- 2019: Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, 10–12 April 2019.
- 2018: Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), University of Manchester, 4-6 April 2018
- 2017: European University Institute, Florence, 5-7 April 2017
- 2016: University of Cambridge, 6-8 January 2016.
- 2015: UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies, 7-9 January 2015.
- 2014: University of Leeds, 8-10 January 2014.
- 2013: University of Kent, Canterbury, 3-5 January 2013
- 2012: University of Warwick, 4-6 January 2012
- 2011: University of Manchester, 4-6 January 2011
- 2010: University of Cambridge, 5-7 January 2010
- 2009: University of Manchester. 7-9 January 2009.
- 2008: University of Leeds. 3-5 January 2008.
- 2007: University of Durham. 4-6 January 2007.
- 2006: University of Brighton. 4-6 January 2006.
- 2005: University of Cambridge. 5-7 January 2005.
- 2004: University of Manchester. 6-8 January 2004.
- 2003: London Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. 4-6 November 2002, featured in Times Higher Education.
- 2002: University of Oxford. 18-19 December 2001.
- 2001: University of Leeds. 9-10 January 2001.
- 2000: University of Cambridge. 10-12 January 2000.
- 1999: University of Manchester. 11-13 January 1999.
- 1998: Science Museum, London. 7-8 January 1998.
The BSHS has been involved in a wide variety of meetings, ranging from lectures, through specialist day conferences, to much larger events. Several such meetings have been joint ventures, held in association with other organisations in the UK and internationally.
Organising a Meeting
If you have a suggestion for a possible future BSHS conference, we’d like to hear it. Please direct initial queries to the Conferences Committee at conferences@bshs.org.uk.
- Medicine of Words (medicine, literature, and theology during the Middle Ages) (BSHS-Sponsored). University of Oxford, September 2015.
- Leibniz – scientist, Leibniz – philosopher (BSHS-Sponsored). Lampeter Campus, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, 3 – 5 July 2015.
- 1st International Summer School of Sciences, History and Philosophy of Sciences & Science Education (BSHS-Sponsored). Lille, 22-26 June 2015.
- Archival Afterlives: Live, Death, and Knowledge-Marking in Early Modern British Science and Medical Archives (BSHS-Sponsored). Royal Society, 2 June 2015.
- Ruling Climate: the theory and practice of environmental governmentality 1500-1800 (BSHS-Sponsored). Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and History Department, Warwick, 16 May 2015.
- Abnormality and the Abnormal in the Nineteenth Century (BSHS-Sponsored). Centre for Nineteenth-Century Studies, Durham University, 7 May 2015.
- Monasticism: Science, Medicine and the Natural World, Annual Postgraduate Monasticism Conference (BSHS-Sponsored). University of Leeds, 8-9 May 2015.
- Beyond Leeches and Lepers: Medieval and Early Modern Medicine (BSHS-Sponsored). University of Edinburgh, 2 May 2015.
- 10th Integrated History and Philosophy of Science Conference (BSHS-Sponsored). Durham University, 16-17 April 2015.
- Cultivating Innovation (BSHS-Sponsored). University of Leeds, 14 April 2015.
- The Total Archive: Dreams of Universal Knowledge from the Encyclopaedia to Big Data (BSHS-Sponsored). CRASSH, University of Cambridge, 19-20 March 2015.
- 6th Norwegian Conference on the History of Science, Oslo, Norway (BSHS-Sponsored). 11-13 February 2015.
- 9th London Ancient Science conference (BSHS-Sponsored). Science and Technology Studies (UCL) and The Institute of Classical Studies, London, 16 – 17 February 2015.
- Approaches Within the Philosophy of Science (BSHS-Sponsored). UCL, 2-3 September 2014.
- The “Artificial” and the “Natural” in the Life Sciences, c. 1850-1950 (BSHS-sponsored). University of Exeter, 25-27 June 2014.
- popular Science, Altered Consciousness and 20th-Century Culture (BSHS-sponsored). Queen Mary, University of London, November 2013.
- The Medical History of the First World War in Europe (BSHS-sponsored). University of Leeds, 17-18 October 2013.
- Scientiae (BSHS-sponsored). University of Warwick (UK), 18th-20th April 2013.
- Cultures of Ancient Science (BSHS-sponsored). University College, London, 15-17 March 2013.
- Integrated History and Philosophy of Science Annual Meeting (BSHS-sponsored), University of Aberdeen (UK), 11-12 April 2013.
- Medical Matters: the cultural politics of the body in eighteenth-century Britain (BSHS-sponsored). University of York, 9 March 2013.
- Electrifying the City: Spaces and Places for Electricity in Twentieth Century Britain (BSHS-sponsored). University of Leicester, 19 November 2011.
- Franco-British Interactions in Science since the Seventeenth Century (jointly organised). Maison Française, Oxford, UK, 24-25 March 2006. An outcome of this conference is Robert Fox and Bernard Joly (eds), Echanges franco-britanniques entre savants depuis le XVIIe siècle / Franco-British interactions in science since the seventeenth century.
- Third Annual Conference on Science and the Public (BSHS-sponsored). Victoria Baths, Manchester, UK, 21-22 June 2008.
- Darwinism after Darwin: new historical perspectives (BSHS-sponsored). University of Leeds, UK, 3-5 September 2007
- Science and Religion: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (BSHS-sponsored). University of Lancaster, UK, 23-26 July 2007
- Geographies of Nineteenth-Century Science. University of Edinburgh, UK, 18-21 July 2007
- Varieties of Cultural History: Theory and Practice in the Cultural Histories of Medicine, Science, Literature, and the Arts (BSHS-sponsored). University of Aberdeen, UK, 5-8 July 2007
- Lifting the lid on radiation risks. Evening speaker meeting. Dana Centre, London, UK, 19 September 2006
- Scientists and social commitment. Science Museum, London, UK, 15-17 September 2006
- Computers in use: historical and social perspectives (BSHS-supported). University of Manchester, UK, 22-23 July 2006
- The Worlds of Oronce Fine: mathematics, instruments and the book in Renaissance France (BSHS-supported). University of St Andrews, UK, 12-14 May 2006
- Electrifying Experimentation: Science in Nineteenth-Century Britain. University of Sheffield, UK, 25 February 2006 (co-sponsored event)
- Science and technology in Ireland, 1780-1920: historical and cultural perspectives. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 23 June 2005
- Do collections matter for instrument studies? Held in association with the Scientific Instrument Commission. University of Oxford, 29-30 June 2002
- Les rêves et les choses. Joint BSHS/SFHST meeting on the history of science in museums. Musée des arts et métiers, Paris, 30 June – 1 July 2001
- Edwardian Science: Was There Such a Thing? Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, 21 May 2001
- Ideas Whose Time Had Come. Royal Institution, London, 15 September 2000
- Science Communication, Education and the History of Science. Royal Society, London, 12-13 July 2000
- Portraiture and Scientific Identity. National Portrait Gallery, London, 23-24 June 2000
- ACE 2000. Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Pilot Model Automatic Computing Engine, London’s first computer. Science Museum, London, and National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, 18-19 May 2000
- Two Hundred Years of Electricity. Organised jointly with the Royal Institution and the Institute of Electrical Engineers, marking the bicentenary of Volta’s discovery of electricity produced by chemical means and of the Royal Institution’s foundation. Royal Institution, London, 7 April 1999
- Defiant Modernism. Sponsored jointly with the Science Museum and Institute for Contemporary British History, addressing technological and cultural change after the Second World War. Science Museum, London, 25-26 June 1999
- On Time: History, Science, Commemoration. Organised jointly with the Royal Historical Society and National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, an interdisciplinary meeting on time, timekeeping and commemoration. Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, 16-18 September 1999
- The History of Scientific Textbooks. University of Leeds, 10 January 1998
- P M S Blackett: Science and Politics in Twentieth-Century Britain. Imperial College London, 16-17 April 1998
- New Directions in the History of British Computing. University of Manchester, 16-17 June 1998
- Gender and Science. St Edmund Hall, Oxford, 11 July 1998
- Anthropology and Psychology: the Legacy of the Torres Straits, 1898-1998. Joint meeting with several institutions and university departments. St John’s College, Cambridge, 10-12 August 1998
- The Electron: 100 Years of Physics and History. Royal Society and Science Museum, London, 11-12 April 1997
- Aspects of the History of Microscopy. Joint meeting with the Royal Microscopical Society. Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, London, 4 June 1997Psychoanalysing Robert Boyle. Birkbeck College, London, 12 July 1997
- Fiftieth Anniversary Conference: History of Science as Public Culture. University of Leeds, 9-11 September 1997
- The Meanings of Practice. Joint meeting with the Society for the Social History of Medicine on the meanings of the term ‘practice’ in analyses of the history and current organization of STM. University of Manchester, 14 November 1997
- Semaphores to Short Waves. Joint meeting with the Newcomen Society and the Royal Society of Arts. Marking the 150th anniversary of the Electric Telegraph Company’s incorporation. Royal Society of Arts, London, 29 July 1996
- Images and Practice. Three-site meeting considering issues of representation in the history of Science. Modern History Faculty; Museum of the History of Science; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 12 June 1996
- Archives of the Scientific Revolution. Joint meeting with the Royal Society. Royal Society, London, 11-12 April 1996
- Medical Matters: the cultural politics of the body in eighteenth-century Britain
The BSHS organises a range of online events, including digital festivals, large-scale virtual conferences, online lectures connected to our prizes, and focused workshops. These formats allow us to reach a wide and international audience and to experiment with new ways of exchanging knowledge. The Society also supports partner organisations with the technical infrastructure and online organisation of events, including international bodies such as the DHST. Where possible, recordings of online events are made available via the BSHS YouTube channel to extend their reach beyond the live event.
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