Institute of Historical Research launches major archive of historian interviews

The archive comprises the newly digitised ‘Interviews with Historians’ collection, which includes conversations from the 1980s and 1990s, and ‘A Historian's Life’, a new podcast series featuring current historical practitioners discussing their work and careers.

The original ‘Interviews with Historians’ series captured conversations between established historians and younger interviewers, creating a unique record of how the historical profession developed through the 20th century. The interviews reveal not only the personal journeys of historians but also give a documentation of the academic and social contexts that shaped British historical research.

Neil Stewart, Head of Library & Digital at the IHR, said:

 It has been a pleasure to reconstruct the Interviews with Historians collection. We used state of the art digitisation techniques to bring the interviews back to life, and they are now available for all who wish to access them once more. I hope that this fills a gap in the historical record, and that the Interviews collection will be a useful resources to understand history and the historians who study it.

Professor Philip Murphy, Director of History and Policy at the IHR, said: 

These conversations illustrate the way in which intellectual diversity and debate have long been among the historical profession’s greatest strengths. ‘Interviews with Historians’ showcases scholars from across the political spectrum, from Marxists like Christopher Hill, Eric Hobsbawm and E.P. Thompson to Conservatives like Maurice Cowling. But what unites them is an appetite for free thinking, argument and iconoclasm.

The ‘A Historian's Life’ podcast features contemporary historians reflecting on current challenges facing the discipline. 

The timing of the archive's launch is particularly significant, coming at a moment when British history departments face mounting pressures. A recent joint statement, signed by leading historical organisations including the IHR, states that job cuts and course reductions have contributed to "a growing sense of crisis within the discipline."

An accompanying exhibition in the IHR's Common Room allows visitors to experience the interviews in their original setting while viewing production ephemera and materials from the digitisation project.

Access the collections:

• Interviews with Historians
• A Historian's Life
• Contact the IHR Library