A conference on the place of women historians within different institutions, networks and communities relevant for the national history in Europe will be hosted by the European Science Foundation in the National University of Ireland, Galway, on 1 -2 October 2004.

Papers are invited on aspects of the intellectual lives and careers of European-based women historians from the end of the 18th century to the present day. Themes to be explored include the activity of women in the writing of history at professional and amateur level; their relationship with the academic world; women’s professional careers as historians in universities, research institutes, libraries, archival institutes and museums; their involvement in national, state and ecclesiastical historiography and biographical studies; and scholarship policies that enabled women to enter the academic curricula.

The conference is part of the ESF project entitled 'Representations of the Past National Histories in Europe'. National histories were not only written in academic milieus. Looking at the place of women in this process can enable us to identify writers, audiences and networks outside the academic world that also played a significant role in the writing and circulation of national histories.