The History of Strikes, Lock-Outs and General Strikes

CFP: conference at Keele University, U.K, May 2006

Society for the Study of Labour History
and
Historical Studies in Industrial Relations

Call for Papers:
The History of Strikes, Lock-Outs and General Strikes
6 May 2006
Keele University

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out, the Society for the Study of Labour History and Historical Studies in Industrial Relations are organizing a conference on the historical experience of strikes. The strike has special place in labour history and in the imagination of labour movements across the globe. The conference intends to draw together the latest research in this field.

Papers will be considered that examine the following topics:

The 1926 General Strike and Miners’ Lock-out: Regional and local studies, industry studies, law and the police, employer and government perspectives, volunteers and the OMS, political parties, administration and preparation of the dispute.

Studies of strikes and lock-outs: Case studies of strikes, comparative studies of strikes, analysis of different types of strikes.

Strikes in political thought: The strike in intellectual traditions within the labour movements from Chartism to syndicalism.

Strikes in memory and popular imagination: The deep impression of strikes upon culture and collective memory, the contested ‘lessons’of strikes, strikes and identity/class formation.

Send abstracts of papers (up to 1,000 words) to

Jon Murden c/o School of History
9 Abercromby Square, University of Liverpool L69 3BX
or by email to

Deadline: 15 January 2006