Call for Papers – 23rd International Colloquium on the History of Education (SEDHE)

Social Commitment in History of Education 

Date: 5 – 7 November 2025

Venue: University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Social commitment is the overarching topic at this 23rd Colloquium on the History of Education. Its presence in the discipline and, particularly, amongst historians through research, teaching and outreach, has been noted in the past, questioned in the present day and is set to be prevalent in the future.

The new history or social history of education involved looking into past societies’ approach to education and, particularly, raising questions to better understand present-day scenarios. The resulting social commitment amongst historians thus became inseparable from this new take in the field. Moreover, the current coincided with the end of the Francoist dictatorship in Spain, meaning this commitment was oftentimes political in nature. Historians of education worked on research, teaching and outreach to provide an answer to social issues and sensibilities at that time. Their social commitment enabled new knowledge and new ways of understanding the history of education to be circulated not only amongst academics but also across society at large.

Nevertheless, sociopolitical and academic issues over the years seem to have diluted this commitment and initial social engagement amongst historians of education. In this sense, in the 21st century we once again have to ask ourselves why we study the history of education and for whom.

Over the last 20 years, there has been a growing interest in advocating for this social commitment once more, with a view to re-engaging with society and bringing knowledge in history and education to a wider audience. This has sparked investigation into several historiographic ‘twists’ and an interest in other approaches to the history of education (e.g. so-termed Public History), all with a view to recapturing public awareness and attention, and re-establishing the true sense of our work as teachers, researchers and communicators in the history of education.

In turn, historians and the field itself currently face major challenges they are ill-prepared for (in the same vein as all social sciences), ranging from general misgivings with regard to the certainty or objectivity of their interpretations to ever-increasing difficulties in handling new digital resources. Hence, we must be aware that current debate requiring us to address methodological approaches and ethical responsibilities will determine and frame the future social commitment of historians in the discipline.

Submission deadline: 13 January 2025

Follow this link to find more in information in Catalá, Spanisch, and English: Website 23rd International Colloquium on the History of Education (SEDHE)