Oxford Centre for European History

The Oxford Centre for European History (OCEH), based in Oxford University’s History Faculty, was set up in 1999 to generate new and exciting research projects in European and British history from

the Renaissance to the present, to build collaborations and research networks with research institutes and universities in the UK, Europe and worldwide, to provide opportunities for research collaboration and facilities for Visiting Researchers, and to train new generations of research students in the field of modern European and British History.

The OCEH is supported by around forty leading historians at Oxford, from which it draws its management committee. This is headed by the Chair, Professor Giuseppe Marcocci, and the Centre's Research Director, Professor David Priestland.

Research Aims

The OCEH has established research networks with other universities and research institutes from Princeton to Sydney. It was part of EurHistXX - European Network of Contemporary History, funded by the French CNRS, which linked a dozen major historical research centres in Europe, and led to the publication of the volume Europe's Postwar Periods - 1989, 1945, 1918: Writing History Backwards, edited by Martin Conway, Pieter Lagrou, and Henry Rousso (Bloomsbury, 2018).

The OCEH encourages international collaboration between research students through annual graduate workshops held in conjunction with the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan, Paris, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the Humboldt University, Berlin, and the University of Padua, with Geneva University, with Mainz University, and with Sciences Po-Paris. Through the OCEH, the University of Oxford is also involved in the Graduate Conference in European History (GRACEH) Consortium.

People

Seminars and Events

Events

The OCEH has modest funds to support projects within its remit. As a rule, grants range from GBP 100-500, although larger amounts may be granted in exceptional cases. Applications should take the form of a letter specifying the purpose, aims and objectives of the requested funds; the number of expected participants; and whether funding has been received and/or applied for from other sources. An itemized budget and curriculum/a vitae of the chief applicant/s should be attached. Please note that OCEH will not financially support ongoing events.

Please email your application to oceh@history.ox.ac.uk

Related Centres and Projects

Visiting Researchers

The Centre welcomes expressions of interest from postdoctoral scholars and senior academics who are working in areas related to its own research interests. Academic Visitors are provided with research facilities, and encouraged to participate in seminars & workshops and contribute to the intellectual and social life of the Faculty during their visit. Visits would normally last between a term and one academic year.

Applicants must secure independent funding for accommodation and living expenses for the period of their proposed visit and are asked to pay a termly charge of £250 per 3-month term or £800 for 12 months as a standard bench fee. This fee includes all access to Faculty facilities, the issue of a University card giving acces to the Bodleian libraries and collections, an IT account and email address giving access to the libraries' online resources, and placing visitors on the Faculty circulation list. Our bench fees contribute towards the administrative costs of registering and welcoming academic visitors, as well as providing them with the above resources, and as such they cannot be waived. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist with finding accommodation, college association, travel or visa arrangements.

Please note that space available within the Faculty is very limited, and provision of a dedicated desk cannot be guaranteed. There is a charge for provision of desk-space within the Faculty and all desks are IT equipped. The current charge is £750 per 3-month term or £2,500 for 12 months. Please note that the bench fee mentioned above is absorbed within this fee.

Prospective applicants should complete the form below which should be read in conjunction with the visitor's agreement and e-mailed to the OCEH Administrator.

Research Students

We do not participate in co-tutelle arrangements, and there are only limited opportunities for History graduates who are currently enrolled in another institution to come to Oxford on a short-term visit:

Recognised Student Status - This status is given to (a) graduate research students registered with another university and admitted by an Oxford faculty to undertake research for their degree for a minimum of one and maximum of three terms; and (b) to early career researchers admitted to work with an Oxford academic. It does not involve membership of a College or an Oxford qualification. If this is the status you need, please do not fill in the OCEH Academic Visitor Application Form, but instead apply for admission as a Recognised Student via the form here. Please note that we do not require support from our Head of Department to be included with your application.

Erasmus - check whether your institution participates in this.

Cachan exchange – this is particularly suitable for students working on French history post 1789. The contact for Oxford History is Professor Gildea.

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