by The Margins to the Centre 2025 Organising Team
The Margins to Centre Conference 2025 was an undergraduate-organised conference which took place on the 24th of April 2025 at the University of York. This conference was organised with the primary goal being to provide an academic space to aid in amplifying the voices of marginalised communities throughout history. In addition to this, the conference aspired to enrich the field of historical studies by creating an inclusive, reflective, and interdisciplinary space for academics, students and scholars through curating discussions that bridge traditional scholarship with fresh perspectives. In doing so, we aimed to highlight the contributions of marginalised groups and to critique the lasting influence of dominant narratives and cultural memory which dominate countless academic fields.
Attendees pre-event, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
The conference was organised around the focal theme of ‘Belonging’. Our organising committee opted to split the conference into four main segments, each of which engaged with significant issues or topics related to the field of historical studies which we felt connected back to our theme of ‘Belonging’. The segments were as follows: Gender and Identity in Historical Perspectives, Marginalisation and Power: Dynamics of Exclusion and Resistance, Reassessing Marginalised and Underutilised Sources, and Colonialism and the Construction of ‘the Other.’ We also were fortunate enough to welcome Hifsa Haroon-Iqbal (OBE DL MPhil) who delivered a very personal insight into her experience as a British Muslim in contemporary Britain. Discussions to arrive at these topics took place over several weeks to ensure that this conference could accommodate for a wide range of conversations, in line with our driving intention of inclusivity.
Conference Committee presenting, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
Furthermore, the undergraduate-led structure of the conference provides a unique and valuable platform for junior scholars to gain invaluable experience, contributing and shaping the development of academic discourse. With reflection, we believe our undergraduate team offered nothing but strength to the planning and running of the conference as we could really offer a space in which all strata of academics would feel welcomed, from fellow undergraduate students to senior professors and advocates. The team is made up of undergraduate students with a passion for diversifying the formal academic space who seek to gain greater participation within the wider field and hope to bring a wide range of speakers to York, whom our attendees can learn from in an intimate and engaging setting.
However, we wholeheartedly extend our thanks to Prof. Simon Ditchfield and Dr. Lucy Sackville from the department. Their advice was integral in our understanding and experience of organising this event and their support was vital in its resounding success. Ultimately, the Margins to Centre Conference 2025 strove to create a space that not only celebrates diversity in scholarship but also actively reshapes the field to include a broader spectrum of experiences and contributions, past and present.
As this is an undergraduate-led event, we have approached undergraduate and postgraduate speakers to support the event and to present dissertation work, or other individual research they have not had the opportunity to pursue within their modules. We believe that by framing the event in this way it gives greater opportunity for undergraduates who are keen to progress in academia and pursue a PhD are given the opportunity to engage with and learn from leading academics within the field. By bringing together senior researchers with those at the beginning of their academic careers, we hope to nurture valuable connections between these groups and hold a space for productive conversations to take place.
Attendee views conference research poster display, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
A standout speaker within this category was our very own team member Stella Kindred who delivered a talk entitled ‘English Anchorites and their Communities in the High Middle Ages.’ The discussion of female rebellion through the harnessing of religious power in England following the Norman Conquest brought an energy and excitement to the commencement of the conference which only continued throughout the day. Following Stella, Professor Helen Smith delved into the world of Early Modern book printing and explored women’s centrality to the book trade. Rounding out our opening section we welcomed final year student Holly Tilling who delivered an excerpt of her dissertation research, providing a though-provoking and detailed insight into the ‘Textual Interactions between the querelle des femmes and Early Modern Female-Authored Heroidean Complaint.’
During our breaks the buzz of conversation in the air was a huge encouragement to the team that things were going smoothly. We would also like to extend our thanks to the people who contributed tri-folds of their research for people to read and discuss during these breaks. It was amazing for us to offer another way for people to present and share their work, without the additional pressure of presenting. These would not have been possible without the support of Past and Present, whose generous grant allowed us to provide these materials to students free of charge and created a space for fruitful scholarly conversation without an additional financial burden.
Attendee in front of part of the conference research poster display, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
Following this break Dr Emilie Murphy delved into the mobility of Early Modern Catholic Convents abroad and discussed the prevalence of translation and transmission of language and culture following the condemnation of Roman Catholicism in England. We also heard from Professor Indrajit Roy from the Politics department who offered a fresh perspective on the Global Politics of Hope and explored how imaginations of democratic renewal are becoming a focal point for struggles against autocracies and authoritarianism.
We next welcomed Professor Sara de Jong who presented her powerful work ‘We Are Here, Because You Were There: Afghan Interpreters in the UK.’ Organiser Kasey stated ‘Candidly, I was not too familiar with Sara’s work prior to the conference, but now having listened to her speak I am proud that we had such an integral woman of investigating marginalised perspectives included in the event.’ Predominantly, her talk included a video of Afghan Interpreters talking of their own experiences, which I felt was ingenious to discuss this topic. Having been able to hear from first hand experiences, Sara achieved exactly what we sought for the conference to achieve. The video shared experiences of Afghan interpreters who were employed by the British Army in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2021, and who then resettled to the UK in 2021. This invited vital discussions from the audience, asking Sara of her experiences in researching for this collaborative project, and even questioning her on current world events. Her work remains relevant to understanding how communities communicate and co-exist today, which only came from engaging with these marginalised perspectives. One of the only quarms of our organisation of the event is that we could not allow more time to discuss this thought-provoking project.
Profs. Sara de Jong and Indrajit Roy participating in a panel discussion, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
Following Sara de Jong we welcomed our keynote speaker Hifsa Haroon Iqbal (OBE DL MPhil) to the stage. Hifsa’s talk ‘Belonging in Modern Britain’ offered crucial insight into what it means to embrace your national identity and heritage. These insights and discussions are ever relevant to contemporary British society, and we feel privileged to have been able to listen to Hifsa at this event. Hifsa allowed us to listen to her story and shared her perspectives which are too often not openly discussed. Without the funding of Past & Present, we would not have been able to accept her contribution, and as such the conference would have been limited in achieving our goal of exploring marginalised histories. Amongst the academics included in the conference, predominantly our theme of ‘Belonging’ was discussed with relation to historical events. Whilst we as historians value how the past can inform the present and future, we felt it was equally important to highlight that these themes are equally felt in societies and communities today. Therefore, it was through the inclusion of Hifsa that we were able to achieve this goal and recognise the cruciality of identity and inclusion in the formations of communities in the present.
Hifsa Haroon Iqbal (OBE DL MPhil) delivering conference Keynote, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
Following Hifsa’s insightful personal account welcomed Dr Pragya Vohra to discuss the Coppergate Women, a figure especially pertinent to York’s history. Here she set osteological studies alongside the historical context of the period and theories of migration, in an attempt to try to understand how this individual lived and what that life might tell us about the society of which she was a part. Dr Shazia Jagot introduced the medieval scientific astrolabe into an entirely new context as she explored how this object, which fascinated the fourteenth-century English writer Geoffrey Chaucer, can connect contemporary and medieval Britain with al-Andalus, Cairo, and Baghdad.
To round off the conference, Dr Purba Hossain brought attention to the Untold Story of Bibee Zuhoorun. Zuhoorun was a female labourer who migrated from eastern India to Mauritius in the 1830s. As the earliest voice of female indentured labourers, Zuhoorun’s presence in the colonial archive offers a rare insight into early indenture migration, painting a story of deception, ill-treatment and injustice. Dr Hossain’s use of Zuhoorun’s testimony provided valuable understanding of the themes of difference and belonging on the colonial plantation. Closing the conference we welcomed third-year students Eloise Gibson and Libby Foxwell to present a piece they had written for our internal historical magazine, The Young Historian, entitled ‘A Western Phenomenon?: A Study of Witchcraft in Colonial Africa.’ This presentation aimed to recentre African witchcraft and its place in colonial history, due to its understudied position in western history.
Group photograph of the Conference Organising Committee, photograph by Bardia Bahrami, all rights reserved 2025
Overall, we were hugely proud of how the conference ran and the extensive discussions and conversations which took place throughout the day; however, time management certainly became the trickiest point to manage. We endeavoured to include as many perspectives as we possibly could. It was hugely significant for us as a committee that we offered a breadth of historical perspectives, time and events in order to discuss as many marginalised histories as we could. However, with this meant we had to be especially strict on timings, which became increasingly difficult when we were then able to listen to the talks and become engulfed in the interesting topics at hand. The panel formation of the talks hugely benefited the event, and arguably produced some of the best, and most engaging moments. Of course, with our intention of this conference, we wanted to ensure that the audience could leave feeling as if they had truly gained perspectives on topics and experiences, they would have been otherwise unfamiliar with. We are incredibly pleased with the outcomes of this conference and the space we created for such free-flowing and inclusive discussion. The future of interdisciplinary research and re-centring of marginalised histories is bright, and we are immensely proud to have contributed in some small way to this vitally important and growing field.