Submitted by Max Portman (He/Him) on 02/11/2026 – 9:19pm

Announcement Type: Call for Papers

Date: February 11, 2026 – March 31, 2026

Location: United Kingdom

The British Society of Sports History is pleased to announce the call for papers for its 2026 Annual Conference, which is to be held at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland between the 26th and 28th of August 2026 is officially open. Please check the text below or the attached document to find out more information regarding this year’s conference.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstracts are accepted as follows:

* Individual: a single abstract from an individual/ co-researchers for 20-minute presentations.

* Proposed panel: a set of abstracts (ideally 3, or 4 maximum) submitted by a representative for a group of individuals/co-researchers examining a single topic or theme (session 90 mins, including c. 30 minutes questions/discussion).

* Abstracts should be c. 200 words, including:

– Full title: as it will appear in the conference programme.

– Outline of the context and/or academic literature informing the research as appropriate; identification of core themes/argument of the paper and broad theoretical and/or methodological approach adopted as appropriate; significance of the research.

– Also include your preferred name; affiliation or whether an independent researcher; email address and a short biography detailing relevant experience (c. 50 words).

The Abstract submission deadline is on Tuesday the 31st of March 2026. Abstracts must be emailed directly to Dr Matthew McDowell at matthew.mcdowell@ed.ac.uk

When submitting your abstract, please indicate to Dr McDowell whether you are likely to seek on- or off-campus accommodation.

If you need any guidance or assistance regarding your submission, please contact in the first instance BSSH Vice Chair and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion representative Dr Amanda Callan-Spenn (amandathyme.writer@gmail.com ).

The BSSH invites PhD students and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) for a pre-conference workshop at the John McIntyre Conference Centre, University of Edinburgh, on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, directly preceding the BSSH 2026 annual conference. Open to PhD students and early career researchers, who have submitted a paper to the main conference and/or who are interested in meeting with peers, the workshop serves as a dedicated research and networking forum.

To ensure the session does not become overcrowded, the workshop is limited to twenty spaces. The workshop will take place from 10am – 4.30 pm and will include a complimentary working lunch and refreshments during the day. Interested applicants should state their interest to Dr Lauren Beatty at lauren_beatty@hotmail.com by Friday, 10 April 2026.

Richard Cox Postgraduate Prize

This prize is awarded for the most promising work submitted by a new researcher in sports history. To be eligible, authors must be a PhD student and be engaged in full-time or part-time postgraduate research or an Early Career Researcher who is within one year of completing their research degree. Co-authored papers will not be considered.

The written paper must be submitted to the conference organisers a month prior to the first day of the annual conference (Monday the 27th of July 2026). Interested applicants should state their interest or ask any questions regarding the prize to Dr Lauren Beatty at lauren_beatty@hotmail.com

Provisional rates (subject to change)

* Full delegate: £160 for both days, £90 for one day.

* Retired/unwaged/postgrads & ECRs (not presenting): £100 for both days, £60 for one day

* Postgrads & ECRs presenting at the main conference (and who are not in a permanent role: Free.

BSSH will pay the conference and conference dinner fees for presenters who are students or within 3 years of completing a PhD and who do not hold a full-time academic post.

Please note all presenters must be BSSH members. Membership can be taken up at the time of registration.

Wine reception and conference dinner

The wine reception and conference dinner will be held on the evening of Thursday, 27 August at St Leonard’s Hall, Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh. The cost of this will be approximately £50.

Accommodation

Given the incredible demand for accommodation in Edinburgh in August (the month of the Fringe and the Festival), we will have a significant amount of on-campus student accommodation available for delegates at Lee House, Pollock Halls. 12 rooms are available here on the night of Tuesday, 25 August; 50 rooms are available on Wednesday, 28 August and Thursday, 29 August each. Rooms are available at £63 each. When submitting your abstract, please indicate to Dr Matthew McDowell (matthew.mcdowell@ed.ac.uk) whether you are likely to seek on- or off-campus accommodation.

Childcare Bursaries

This year, the BSSH is also offering a small number of bursaries of up to £100 to contribute towards the costs of childcare, or other caring responsibilities. These are open to those wishing to present and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like more details, please contact BSSH Vice Chair, Dr Amanda Callan-Spenn (amandathyme.writer@gmail.com ).

Finally, any questions or queries about the conference can be directed to Dr Matthew McDowell at matthew.mcdowell@ed.ac.uk

Contact Information

Dr Lauren Beatty- lauren_beatty@hotmail.com for any questions relating to the PhD/ECR workshop or Richard Cox Prize

Dr Matthew McDowell- matthew.mcdowell@ed.ac.uk for any questions relating to the conference

Max Portman- bsshmembershipsecretary@outlook.com for any questions relating to the BSSH.

Contact Email

matthew.mcdowell@ed.ac.uk

We invite you to join us for the Eighteenth International Conference on Sport & Society, the annual meeting of the Sport & Society Research Network, taking place 17–18 June in Niterói, Brazil, and online, hosted by Federal Fluminense University. Held in Brazil in the period leading up to the Women’s World Cup, the conference brings together scholars, practitioners, educators, policymakers, athletes, advocates, and community leaders concerned with the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of sport. The annual conference serves as the Network’s central meeting point for interdisciplinary inquiry into how sport both reflects and reshapes wider social relations.

Special Focus and Themes

The special focus of the 2027 conference, “Gender, Race, and Inclusion in Sport,” examines how power, identity, and inequality are produced, contested, and transformed through sporting practices and institutions. Sport has long functioned as a site of both exclusion and possibility—reinforcing hierarchies of gender, race, class, nationality, and ability, while also offering arenas for resistance, visibility, and social change. This focus invites participants to interrogate how inclusion is defined, enacted, and limited within sporting cultures, and how struggles for equity unfold across local, national, and global contexts.

Hosted in Brazil, where sport—particularly football—plays a central role in national identity, popular culture, and global visibility, the conference foregrounds the intersections of race, gender, and inequality that shape sporting life. From women’s and girls’ participation to racialized labor systems, media representation, fan cultures, and governance structures, Brazilian sport provides a powerful lens for examining broader dynamics of inclusion and exclusion. The proximity of the Women’s World Cup further sharpens attention on questions of gender equity, professionalization, access to resources, and global visibility in women’s sport.

We welcome contributions that examine gendered and racialized experiences of athletes, coaches, officials, and fans; the politics of representation and media coverage; access, participation, and exclusion across different sporting contexts; governance, policy, and institutional reform; activism and social movements within sport; and the role of sport in education, health, and community development. Proposals may also explore intersections with sexuality, disability, migration, nationalism, and economic inequality. Alongside the special focus, the Sport & Society Research Network welcomes proposals aligned with its ongoing concerns, including sport and social identity; sport and politics; sport, health and wellbeing; sport, education and youth; and the globalization and commercialization of sport.

Knowledge Experience and Format

The conference is organised as a hybrid knowledge experience, integrating in-person and online participation within a unified scholarly environment. All accepted proposals become Presentation Pages, where presenters upload abstracts, media, and reflections, and where delegates can engage in discussion before, during, and after the event.

In-person sessions at Federal Fluminense University are interwoven with live online presentations and asynchronous contributions within a single integrated program. Regardless of participation mode, all delegates have access to the full schedule, session media, and a growing digital archive. Across formats, the emphasis is on reciprocal, human-scale exchange—conversation, reflection, and collaborative inquiry rather than one-way presentation.

Publication Pathways

Presenters are invited to develop their conference contributions for possible publication in the journals associated with the Sport & Society Research Network, including The International Journal of Sport and Society, or in the Sport & Society Book Imprint, which publishes monographs and edited collections advancing interdisciplinary research on sport and society. Both outlets offer options for traditional and Open Access publication.

Key dates

Early proposal period: Now – 16 November 2026

Early registration period: Now – 16 December 2026

For full details and submission guidelines, visit the conference website.

Sincerely,

Visit Conference Site

https://tracking.cgnetworks.org/t/49106470/1764764213/108361094/1/79911/?x=978a2555

Submit Proposal

https://tracking.cgnetworks.org/t/49106470/1764764213/108361095/0/79911/?x=4a85ddd2

Dr. Lívia Gonçalves Magalhães

Local Conference Chair, Federal Fluminense University, Brazil

Dr. Jörg Krieger

Research Network Chair, Aarhus University, Denmark

Dr. Phillip Kalantzis-Cope

Chief Social Scientist, Common Ground Research Networks, USA

Submitted by Rachel Ozerkevich (she/hers) on 02/11/2026 – 9:21pm

Announcement Type: Call for Papers

Location: TX, United States

North American Society for Sport History 2026 Pre-Conference Workshop:

The Meaning of Muscle in the History of Sport, Health, and Physical Culture

Once more, muscle is making headlines. News outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Atlantic have recently published a series of articles ranging from condemnation of the “protein boom” to “weight training for senior citizens” and everything in between. Indeed, two important trade books, published just this year, signal the singular importance that muscle is taking on in the present era. Michael Joseph Gross’s Stronger: The Untold Story of Muscle in our Lives (2025) details how the discovery and value of muscle has shaped our perceptions of health, aging, and human potential, from the ancient Greek gymnasium to the modern nursing home. Similarly, Bonnie Tsui’s On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why it Matters (2025) explores how individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds use muscle to achieve resilience, connection, and identity in ways different from muscle’s traditional association with strength and masculinity. Now more than ever, it seems, muscle is on many minds.

This pre-conference workshop therefore invites scholars to address the meaning of muscle throughout the history of sport, health, and physical culture. Because the topic of muscle cuts across so many disciplines, it will provide an ideal occasion for interdisciplinary and collaborative research between sport historians and those working in other fields, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, medical history, exercise physiology, media studies, among others.

Although muscle has played a prominent role in many essential and groundbreaking articles in the Journal of Sport History, this pre-conference workshop will present the first special issue dedicated to the topic.

Scholars are encouraged to consider some of the following general questions in their proposals:

* In what ways has muscle shaped, refuted, and transformed norms of masculinity and femininity in different historical periods?

* What role has muscle played when it comes to issues of race and racism in sport, medicine, and health?

* How have ideas about muscle impacted the history of exercise and exercise science?

* How has muscle changed the trajectory and practice of specific sports?

* What role does muscle play in the history of scientific and medical discourse pertaining to health and longevity?

* What role has media played in the perception of muscle and its social value?

* How have the cultural and social associations of muscle shaped institutional policies and procedures around sport?

*What social and political functions has the emphasis on muscle played in nationalist or other ideological movements?

Organizers

Charles Stocking: charles.stocking@austin.utexas.edu

Jan Todd: j.todd@austin.utexas.edu

Tolga Ozyurtcu: tolga@austin.utexas.edu

Details

When: The Preconference Workshop will take place over two days,

Thursday May 21st and Friday May 22nd (prior to NASSH opening reception)

Where: University of Texas at Austin

Meals and 1 night hotel accommodation provided

Submission Guidelines

Invitation: Both early career and established scholars

Abstracts: Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words outlining your proposed paper

Deadline: Abstracts are due by March 1st, 2026

Submission: Please submit your abstracts to Charles Stocking (Charles.stocking@austin.utexas.edu) with subject heading, NASSH Pre-Conference

Publication: The intention is that full papers developed from the NASSH Pre-Conference workshop will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Sport History

Notification: You will be notified about accepted Paper by March 9, 2026.

Provision of Draft: to organizers by May 8, 2026.

Contact Information

Submission: Please submit your abstracts to Charles Stocking (Charles.stocking@austin.utexas.edu ) with subject heading, NASSH Pre-Conference

Contact Email

Charles.Stocking@austin.utexas.edu