The society for the history of human thought
A global community of scholars since 1994.
The International Society for Intellectual History (ISIH) organises regular international conferences, publishes the Intellectual History Review, supports Early Career Researchers and publishes news from across the field.
We embrace a wide variety of approaches, methods, and disciplinary perspectives and are truly international in our membership. Join today!
The Conference
Our major international conference, held at venues across the world on a regular basis, is at the heart of the Society’s activities. The next conference will be held in Venice, 12-15 September 2022.
The Journal
Published quarterly, the IHR is a forum for the international intellectual history community. It publishes articles, literature surveys, and essay reviews of current work.
Prizes
The Society awards two awards each year to early career researchers for outstanding work (essay and first monograph) in the field of intellectual history.
What is intellectual history?
Intellectual history is the study of ideas and intellectual patterns over time.
It is a broad subject, addressing the history of philosophy, religion, science, scholarship, anthropology, technology, the book, psychology and the social sciences, and other relevant intellectual formations.
Why join the Society?
If you are working in the history of philosophy, theology, and scholarship; the history of science, medicine, and technology; the history of legal and political thought; the history of literature, the visual arts, and music…then ISIH is for you!
Latest news
See all news
CFP: Afterlives of Empire in the Public Imagination
21-22 September 2023 Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies, Sapienza University of Rome Keynote speakers: Corinne Fowler (University of Leicester), Pablo Mukherjee (University of Oxford). The resurgence of nationalist ideologies in Europe and the US has reignited interest in the histories and legacies of modern Empires. As of late, this has been strongly visible in the UK. The…
Michael J. B. Allen (1941–2023)
It is with great sadness that we share news of the death Professor Michael J. B. Allen, who died on 25 February 2023 in his Santa Monica home at the age of 81. Michael was an outstanding scholar, renowned for his work on the Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino. Professor Emeritus at UCLA, he was a…
CFP: Nationalism, Internationalism, and the Liberal World Order
ECR Seminar, 12 May 2023, City, University of London
EMPHASIS Seminar in the History of Early Modern Philosophy and the History of Science 2023
The EMPHASIS seminar focuses on the history of early modern philosophy (broadly construed), and the history of early modern science (including the occult sciences). It is one of the only seminars in London which addresses these themes together. This year there will be a mixture of in-person seminars and online zoom seminars. The in-person seminars…
From Twitter
The Future of Intellectual History: A Celebration of Quentin Skinner’s London Years
10 May @qmHPT @QMHistory
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-of-intellectual-history-tickets-590123123147
Just over a week left to apply for “Global Ideas”, the 4th EUI Graduate Conference in Intellectual History, 1-2 June @EUI_History in Florence (& online) organised @inthisEUI. Do apply &/or share! Deadline 31 March https://twitter.com/inthisEUI/status/1630101676970450945
🚨CfP: Graduate Intellectual History Conference “Global Ideas” @EUI_EU
Application deadline: 31 March
Wonderful proposals so far, and still over a month to apply.
We welcome abstracts from PhD students from all around the globe.
#twitterstorians #CfP #intellectualhistory
ISIH 2023: Crisis and Change in Intellectual History since c. 1450 (CfP: 8 May 2023.) https://is-ih.com/isih-conference/isih-2023-crisis-and-change-in-intellectual-history-since-c-1450/
[🆕NEW ARTICLE] Ann Thomson (European University Institute), “The English Universal History’s treatment of the Arab world” IHR (2023). http://doi.org/10.1080/17496977.2023.2179883.