International Committee of Historical Sciences

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Internal Commission for Computational Technologies and History (ICCTH), which was deliberated on 25 October 2024 by the General Assembly of the Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) / International Committee of Historical Sciences (ICHS) in collaboration with the international research initiative Engineering Historical Memory (EHM).

ICCTH founding steering committee

The ICCTH is dedicated to exploring, unfolding, and sharing how established and emerging computational technologies can empower the methodologies and transform epistemologies in historical sciences.

The call for membership is open to enhance the ICCTH founding steering committee’s impact to inspire, promote, and facilitate effective and responsible use of computational technologies in historical sciences.

Please register here for more updates.

The Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) invites panel proposals for its Centennial Conference “The Past, the Present, and the future of History: Celebrating 100 Years of International Committee of Historical Sciences” to be held in 

Leipzig, Germany
27–30 August 2026

The centennial conference celebrates 100 years of international cooperation in the historical sciences since the foundation of the CISH in Geneva on May 14, 1926. The conference will explore the developments, dynamics, and diversification the historical sciences have undergone over the past decades while also fostering inspiration for future research and innovation.

The conference will serve as an opportunity for  

• a balanced reflection on the current state of historiography, taking into consideration a wide range of historiographical traditions and schools of thought;
• a mobilization of historians as broad as possible in terms of geography, gender, and age as well as the inclusion of various approaches and political orientations to contribute to such a balance; and 
• a comparison of historiographical fields and their current standings, together with discussions of cross-fertilization, with the aim of deepening a broader understanding of common goals and hazards.

Recognizing that the historical sciences are embedded in diverse sociopolitical developments while upholding the freedom of thought and expression in research and addressing the misuse of history, the centennial conference invites panels that critically (self-)reflect on past and future developments in historical research. Panel proposals should address majors trends in the diverse historiographical fields represented by the member organizations of the CISH. To encourage discussions, panels should 

• consider possible (counter)tendencies to transnational openings and to nationalizing closures in different fields, leading to integration and cooperation, on the one hand, as well as pillarization and fragmentation, on the other hand; 
• acknowledge that history (as part of the humanities and social sciences) is often influenced by current sociopolitical trends prioritizing “useful knowledge” and infotainment over critical reflection, which requires the development of strategies for continued critical research that questions mainstream narratives and addresses the inherent complexities and multi-perspectivity of historical developments; and
• recognize that international historiography itself is characterized by many inequalities that result in different chances to be heard and, therefore, sees the conference as an opportunity to present and consider more marginal trends in the historical sciences.

Accordingly, we encourage applicants to view the CISH as the worldwide forum of historians and a shared platform for necessary discussions on possible future orientations of the historical sciences.

The conference is planned around 3 plenary sessions and the CISH General Assembly (including the elections for a new board and a president of the CISH), with approximatively 80 panels. This format ideally allows each member organization (national and thematic) the possibility to be responsible for at least 1 panel with 4–5 contributors each. At the same time, we encourage cooperation between the member organizations and wherever possible joint submissions.

Criteria for panel selections are

• a topic complementing the overall theme of the centennial conference,
• an inclusive approach in terms of geography, gender, academic age, and perspectives covered, and
• the taking into account of the number of panels organized by the submitting member organization.

Panels can be organized in hybrid mode to allow those who have not the means to travel or who would like to reduce their ecological footprint to participate. However, the success of the conference also depends on direct intellectual exchange and face-to-face contact. To balance these considerations, we suggest that at least the chair and the majority of speakers be physically present, which is a prerequisite for panel acceptance. Accordingly, up to 2 out of 5 contributors may participate remotely. 

The schedule is as follows:

• Call for panels: December 2024–March 2025; deadline for submissions: 31 March 2025
• Decision by the CISH board on submitted panel proposals: May 2025; decisions communicated to convener: end of June 2025
• Deadline for early-bird rate registration: February 2026; all panelists have to be registered by that date in order to appear in the program

Please use the form here to submit your panel proposal until 31 March 2025.

The Comité International des Sciences Historiques (CISH) has been founded in 1926. Today, the organization encompasses a total of 58 members.

The CISH includes two sorts of members. Firstly, there are the National Committees formed in each country from their individual centres for historical research. Secondly, International Organizations specializing in particular fields of history have formed over the years. The Board is responsible for the functioning and co-ordination of the CISH’s activities. 

For the term 2026–2031 eight positions
in the Board are open

Tasks: To enable each member to efficiently carry out their duties within the Board, missions have been defined for the mandate. Accountable to the President and the Secretary General, the newly appointed members of the Board have been assigned a specific task in order develop the activities of the CISH:

• Members’ relations: to ensure the relationship with the members of the CISH and to encourage relations with countries that are not, or are no longer, members.
• International partnerships: to develop links with major international institutions and to carry out major scientific events.

Application and procedures: Each candidate to these posts must have a corresponding profile and ensure that they have the necessary material possibilities for the realisation of these tasks.

The candidates must hold a doctoral degree or have the title of a professor or research director. Fluency in at least two of the official languages of the CISH (English, French, Spanish) is appreciated. Candidates older than 70 years in 2026 are not eligible. The nomination committee values diversity in gender and cultural background as well as different epochal specialisation in research.

The application must include the following:

• A letter of motivation and a CV (2 pages maximum)
• A list of the most important publications
• One letter of support from at least one member organisation of the CISH
• A summary of an original and innovative project for the CISH or a project of a mission

The application must be sent as one PDF to office@cish.org before 31 May 2025. 

The selected applicants will be subject to a vote by the General Assembly in 2026. The details of the selection procedures are stated in the CISH constitution.

The nomination committee appointed at the General Assembly of 2024 in Tokyo is composed by: Catherine Horel (CISH President); Edoardo Tortarolo (General Secretary); Katalin Szende (Member of the Board); Radhika Seshan (India); Olunfunke Adeboye (Nigeria), Véronica Zarate (Mexico), Tomasz Schramm (Poland).