In the spring semester we will once again be holding a Sport and Leisure History Seminar in the Ecclesiastical History Room of the Institute of Historical Research in London, at 17:15 on Mondays fortnightly. The purpose of this seminar group is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of leading edge research in the history of sport and leisure and its relationship with wider cultural, social and political issues, covering a vast selection of nations and periods, from antiquity to the present.

The spring programme for the seminar group is as follows:

12 Jan: Susan Barton (De Montfort): 'Healthy Living in the Alps, 1860-1914' [TBC]

26 Jan: Benjamin Heller (Oxford): ''I Was Much Pleased': Leisure, Taste and Society in London, 1760-1820'

9 Feb: Vanessa Heggie (Cambridge): 'Making the Athletic Body: A History of British Sports Medicine'

23 Feb: Nikos Papadogiannis (Cambridge): 'Tourism and Youth Politicisation in Greece in the Mid- and Late-1970s: The Case of Communist Youth Identity-Making'

9 Mar: Patrick Chaplin (Anglia Ruskin): ''They Are Temperamentally Unsuited to the Game': Women and Darts in the Interwar Years'

23 Mar: Robert Dewey (DePauw University): 'Fiji Islands, Empire and the Indigenous Embrace of Rugby Football'

We are now looking for papers for the 2009/10 academic year: if you would be interested in presenting your research at the seminar, please send an abstract (c. 200-300 words) along with a brief biography to us at sportshistory@hotmail.co.uk.* There is no set deadline, but we will hopefully be starting to compile our programme by the end of the summer semester, so please do get your proposal in to us as soon as possible. Moreover, if you are interested in attending the seminar, contact us at the same email address, and we will add you to our mailing list.

*Please note that if you are coming over to Britain from abroad, we will unfortunately be unable to help pay towards the cost of your travel and accommodation.