About

In early 2025, the American Historical Association vetoed a resolution that condemned scholasticide in Gaza, even though its members earlier passed the resolution by a margin of 428-88. Other subject organisations similarly failed to condemn the genocide of the Palestinians that escalated after October 7th 2023, and the historicide that was part of this project of annihilation. The Society for the Study of the Past is a new subject organisation founded in response to the fact that existing organisations have betrayed their members and history itself.

The Society for the Study of the Past is open to all who have an interest in the past, anywhere in the world and whichever period in time. It is founded on five core principles:

That all history is political, and that the way we understand the past shapes the world in which we live. That a more equal future therefore requires a different narrative for world history.
That the over-focus on the Global North (and white supremacy, Eurocentrism, Western hegemony, orientalism etc) are detrimental to the doing of history. That opposing and unpicking them is an ongoing and active process that includes, but is not limited to, what is usually referred to under the heading ‘decolonisation’.
That the ‘view-from-nowhere’ is a fantasy propagated by those most empowered by its assumed neutrality. That a suspicion of positivism is necessary for a more critical approach to doing history.
That all history is global history, that all history is historiography, and that the traditional periodisations of the history of the world (e.g. ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’, ‘early modern’, ‘modern’) are of limited use. That a justice-focussed way of doing history will require the rethinking of the politics of time among other tools of history.
That the boycotts of colonial occupiers are to be respected, and that solidarity with the oppressed, liberation of the occupied and a more just future are core concerns of the historian.

We are at the beginning of a journey to craft a subject organisation that understands the relevance of history in the present world, and is not afraid to stand on the side of the oppressed and represent its members. Join us to find out how you can get involved, or click here to see those organisations that work with us.