About ESSHC

Goal

The European Social Science History Congress (ESSHC) aims to bring scholars within the field of Social Science History together so they can exchange ideas and build networks. The congress is held every other year, taking place at different cities in Europe each time. Though the congress is held in Europe, it is open to researchers from all over the world. 

Usually the congress lasts four days and hosts around 1500 participants. The participants will have submitted their own research paper, and based on their papers they will be grouped with similar ones into panel sessions of 3-6 papers. It's also possible for participants to propose a panel instead of only a paper. For more information see the information and registration page. Usually a panel will also have a commentator, who will provide commentary and insights based on the different papers. The panel should be an interactive environment and participants are expected to have read each other's papers beforehand, rather than only presenting their own work. As the congress lasts four days, there will be hundreds of panels in total, many of them occurring simultaneously. Participants are highly encouraged to be audience members in other panels during the congress, so they can learn about other research and build their network. 

To create some structure in all this, the ESSHC currently has 27 thematic networks. All papers and panel proposals will be submitted to one of these networks, and the network chairs will then evaluate whether the submission is suitable for the congress. The networks form a way for researchers to meet others within their field and exchange ideas. 

Team

The ESSHC is being organised by two staff members of the IISH, Els Kuperus and Manuela Rot. Els has been the main coördinator of the ESSHC since the 2002 edition of the congress. Manuela started working in December 2023.