Call for Papers – RAF Museum Conference 2023
Published on: 30 March 2023
Progress, Regress, and Change: Air forces since the early 20th Century
5-6 September 2023. RAF Museum, London
Deadline for proposals: 1 May 2023
The Royal Air Force Museum is pleased to announce a call for papers for this year’s annual conference which will be on the theme of Progress, Regress, and Change. This two-day conference will explore the complex ways in which air forces have been transformed since the early 20th Century.
This conference will be interdisciplinary and invites scholars working on topics which relate to air forces, their personnel and technologies, the economies and societies with which they interact, the conflicts in which they have engaged, and the global and international context with which they are connected.
[Image credit: Abram Games]
The Museum is keen to encourage submissions of proposals for 20 minute papers from a wide range of academic fields including but not limited to:
- International Relations
- Air Power, Aerospace and Military History
- Race and Ethnicity
- Gender Studies
- Law and Ethics
- Business and Economic History
- Social and Cultural History
- Strategic Studies
The organisers would particularly welcome proposals related to:
- Air forces and the use of air power on the periphery of larger conflicts
- The interconnection between air forces, their personnel, procurement and strategies and societies, economies and politics
- Technological developments driven by the changing needs of air forces and how procurement interacts with unforeseen developments
- The organisation, personnel, management, and logistics of air forces
- Air forces, other than the RAF, in British and international historiography
- Topics relating to Empire, globalisation, and changes in the international landscape and how these have affected air forces
- Comparative examinations of different air forces and their adaptability to changing operational and technological environments
- Social and cultural changes in the composition, posture, and attitude of the RAF and other air forces
Proposals should demonstrate awareness of the current state of the historical and other literature on the themes to be addressed, and should indicate how the research to be presented advances our understanding of the changing role, nature and significance of air power in the context of our existing knowledge.
If you are unsure whether your topic would fit the conference theme, or would like further details, then you are warmly encouraged to contact the RAF Museum’s Historian, Samuel Hollins, for an informal discussion.
The conference will be held on-site at the RAF Museum, London which is located in Hendon. The conference will have an in-person audience but will also be live-streamed. It is anticipated that the majority of speakers will present their papers in person. If you would be unable to speak in-person then please email the Museum’s Historian before submitting a proposal.
Proposals for papers of 20 minutes should consist of a title, 300 word abstract, and a short biography (maximum 200 words). We will also be accepting proposals for posters to be shown during intermissions between sessions. Poster submissions should be no more than 200 words detailing what the poster will include. Proposals should be emailed to Samuel Hollins (samuel.hollins@rafmuseum.org) by 1 May, 2023.