Conference: Society for the Social History of Medicine conference 2026

The letters SSHM stylised into a circular shape in light purple letters on a dark purple background

Date: Tuesday 30 June 2026
Location: University of Leeds
Interval: Every day
Until: Friday 3 July 2026
Cost: Registration costs apply.
Download: Outlook, iCal

The theme for the Society for the Social History of Medicine conference 2026 is In/Out.

What does it mean to be ‘in good health’?

How did people enter and exit healthcare systems?

How can considerations of the terms ‘in’ or ‘out’ help us understand the histories of health?

As healthcare systems around the world come under increasing pressure in terms of their capacity, cost, and capabilities, ‘In/Out’ asks how the history of health and healthcare has been shaped by structural, material, emotional, and psychological boundaries. By bringing together histories of health and medicine from antiquity to the present day, we will explore what ‘in’ and ‘out’ can reveal about the impact of different gateways, routes, breaks, and barriers on people’s experiences of health, disability, illness, and healthcare in the past. Care inequalities are ever-present, and we also seek to reveal the experiences of those who could not or chose not to access medical care, or whose access was partial, delayed, interrupted, or contingent. We also seek to understand the associated legacies of harm that can accompany such inequalities. Finally, whether inside or outside formal care settings, medical practitioners also entered and exited practice as both givers and receivers of healthcare, so we also seek to consider the experiences of those individuals.

Taking a broad definition of both ‘in’ and ‘out’ speakers will consider experiences of being in and/or out of health or health care in a range of periods and geographical locations.

The call for papers is now closed, but registation is open. Please see details below.

Key dates

Monday 23 March 2026: SSHM bursary application form can be downloaded from the SSHM website.

Wednesday 15 April 2026: Early bird registration deadline.

Monday 1 June 2026: Standard registration deadline.

Monday 15 June 2026: Registration closes.

30 June – 3 July 2026: Conference

Keynotes

SSHM Keynote: Professor Keith Wailoo

Professor Wailloo will present the SSHM Keynote on Tuesday 30 June 2026.

Keith Wailoo is Henry Putnam University Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University where he teaches in the Department of History and the School of Public and International Affairs. He is an award-winning author on drugs and drug policy; race, science, and health; and genetics and society; and he is known also for insightful public writing and media commentaries on history of medicine, pandemics and society, and medical affairs in the U.S. In 2021, he received the Dan David Prize for his “influential body of historical scholarship focused on race, science, and health equity; on the social implications of medical innovation; and on the politics of disease.” In 2021, he was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2007 he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine. From 2020 to 2022, he was President of the American Association for the History of Medicine.

Roy Porter Prize Winners Keynote: Dr John Matchim and Charlotte Stobart

Dr John Matchim and Charlotte Stobart will present the Roy Porter Prize Winners Keynote on Tuesday 30 June 2026.

Dr. John Matchim (Roy Porter Prize Winner 2023-24) is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Department of Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture. John earned his PhD in History at the University of New Brunswick in 2024. His dissertation examines the history of the International Grenfell Association, a semi-autonomous health care provider that operated in northern Newfoundland and Labrador, and its hospital ship Strathcona III. John was previously employed by Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Faculty of Medicine, and his research on rural-remote health care in eastern Canada has been published in several journals and two edited collections: The Grenfell Medical Mission and American Support in Newfoundland and Labrador (2019) and An Accidental History of Canada (2024). John is currently co-editing a history of the Gulf of St. Lawrence with Dr. Joshua MacFadyen of the University of Prince Edward Island.

Charlotte Stobart (Roy Porter Prize Winner 2024-25) is a PhD student at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. Her research interests include disability history, medical anthropology, and (post-)colonial medical history. Her current research focuses on experiences of polio related disability in Britain and Kenya.

EAMH Keynote: Professor Stephanie Gägner

Professor Gägner will present the EAMH Keynote on Thursday 2 July.

Stefanie Gänger is Professor of Modern History at the University of Heidelberg; co-director, with Jürgen Osterhammel, of the Balzan Research Group Rethinking Global History; and, since 2023, Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator Grant FEVER. She holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge, after studying history at the Universities of Augsburg, Seville and Cambridge. She has held visiting fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, the University of Pennsylvania, at EHESS and Sciences Po Paris. In 2019 she was awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Prize, Germany’s most important award for early career academics. Stefanie has published widely on the histories of science, collecting, and medicine between the late 1700s and early 1900s, from creole antiquarianism in nineteenth-century Andean South America to the language and theory of global history.

Registration

Please register online via the SSHM website.

The early bird rate applies to bookings made before 15 April 2026. After this date the standard delegate rate applies. Registrations made after 1 June 2026 will incur a £40 late registration fee. Registration closes on 15 June 2026.

Full conference fees include all sessions and keynotes (30 June- 3 July 2026), the opening drinks reception on 30 June 2026, and all refreshments and lunches (30 June- 3 July 2026).

There will be a conference dinner on the evening of 1 July 2026. You can add this option to your conference package on the registration portal.

The conference is in person but there is an online attendance option at a reduced rate. Online delegates will have access to the keynotes and a small number of panel sessions, but unfortunately, we are unable to offer online access to the entire conference.

Bursaries

The Society of Social History of Medicine awards financial assistance for eligible SSHM members (postgraduate student, early career, precariously employed or unwaged) towards the cost of attending the Society’s biennial conference. A limited number of bursaries will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible applicants submitting completed bursary applications. The application form will be available to download on Monday 23 March 2026 from 14:00 UK time. For further details on how to apply and the opportunity to win a free one-year SSHM membership, please visit the SSHM website.

Accommodation

The conference has reserved a limited number of overnight rooms in on-campus accommodation which can be added to your conference package either at the time of booking or by modifying your booking at a later date. This accommodation is conveniently located close to the main conference and dinner venue. If you would like to secure this accommodation, we recommend you make your booking via the conference registration portal before 15 April (early bird). After this date there may still be rooms available, but this cannot be guaranteed.

There are many alternative accommodation options in Leeds if you would prefer to stay off campus. The following hotels offer beneficial rates for University of Leeds conference delegates:

Organisers

Conference contact address

sshm2026leeds[@]leeds.ac.uk