The home has become an important focus of historical research, spanning work on the domestic sphere (including everyday domestic life, domestic architecture, interior design and domestic material cultures) to the significance of home beyond the domestic (including broader ideas about dwelling, belonging, privacy and security). Personal and sometimes hidden histories of home are closely intertwined with wider political, economic and social histories, as shown by ideas about the nation and empire as home, the intersections of home and work, and more recent histories of homeland security. Concerned with the intimate and everyday histories of home alongside their significance far beyond the domestic scale, this seminar series will bring together academics working across a wide range of disciplines with those studying home in the arts and cultural sector to address key themes and approaches for understanding histories of home from ancient to contemporary times.
Formally the Histories of Home, the seminar series is a core activity of the new Centre for Studies of Home, launched in 2011 in partnership between Queen Mary, University of London, and The Geffrye – Museum of the Home. The research centre aims to create an internationally important hub of research, knowledge exchange and dissemination activities on the home. The new IHR seminar series will provide an intellectual home for researchers based in London and visiting from elsewhere to exchange their knowledge and ideas.