The British World Conference III seeks papers that explore the notion of the British World in comparative contexts, taking into account the distinctive and yet common points of ‘Britishness’ that occurred, and at times were contested, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and, back ‘home’, in Britain itself.

The British World Conference cycle is based on the assumption that, from the colonial period into the twentieth century, the British imperial world was held together not merely by ties of trade and defence but by a shared sense of British identity, which linked British communities – especially those in the ‘Old Dominions’ – around the globe.

The British World Conference III will be hosted by the Department of History and the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia in July 2004. It follows the successes of the recent cycle of British World Conferences in Cape Town (2002) and Calgary (2003). Subsequent conferences will be held in Auckland (2005) and London (2006).