Oxford Historical Monographs (OHM)

Oxford Historical Monographs (OHM) is a series for the publication of Oxford University DPhil theses whose content is historical. It is published by Oxford University Press (OUP).

The Oxford Historical Monographs series exists to publish some of the best Oxford University DPhil theses on historical subjects. Since receiving its current name in 1965, the OHM series has featured more than 250 titles, including the first books of many of today’s leading historians; a list of those still available to buy can be found on the Oxford University Press website. The series is run by an editorial Committee drawn from members of the History Faculty.

The Committee receives the examiners’ reports of all successful DPhil candidates in History; it also considers relevant reports from other faculties when these are drawn to our attention. Most OHM books derive from History theses, but dissertations on historical topics generally are also considered. The catchment area is wide, and books are published on all aspects of late antique, medieval and modern history. Some recent examples can be found below.

Examiners in History are specifically invited to comment in their reports on the suitability of a thesis to be considered for publication in the series, and they often do so. Supervisors are likewise encouraged to draw likely publications to the Committee’s attention. Members of the Committee consult extensively and informally with examiners, supervisors and others.

Once the examiners’ reports are received, authors are asked for copies of theses which the Committee are interested in pursuing. Decisions are reached as soon as possible, but since the process of consideration always includes at least one external reading of the thesis, it can take time. Priority is given to work which, besides incorporating the best new scholarship, is reasonably accessible, readable and marketable, and which is better communicated in the form of a book than as a series of articles.

The amount of revision a given thesis is likely to need is also considered – the rule of thumb is that the process of turning a dissertation into a book should not take more than about a year or eighteen months, though it is recognised that, given their other commitments, some of our authors may need longer than that in practice.

about 10% of the historical theses considered are published – that is, about 6 to 8 books a year – and OHM represents the only route through which recent Oxford University DPhil theses will be considered for publication by OUP.

If you wish to contact Oxford Historical Monographs, please send an email to maya.blackwell@history.ox.ac.uk.

Text and Textuality in Early Medieval Iberia: The Written and The World, 711-1031

Graham Barrett

Forthcoming: 02 February 2023

Text and Textuality in Early Medieval Iberia is a study of the functions and conceptions of writing and reading, documentation and archives, and the role of literate authorities in the Christian kingdoms of the northern Iberian Peninsula between the Muslim conquest of 711 and the fall of the Islamic caliphate at Córdoba in 1031.

Designs on Democracy: Architecture and the Public in Interwar London

Neal Shasore

20 September 2022

Designs on Democracy examines a pivotal period in the formation of the modern profession of architecture in Britain. It shows how architects sought to meet the newly articulated demands of a mass democracy in the wake of the First World War. It does so by providing a vivid picture of architectural culture in interwar London, the Imperial metropolis, drawing on histories of design, practice, professionalism, and representation.

Shadow of a Taxman: Who Funded the Irish Revolution?

R. J. C. Adams

19 April 2022

Shadow of a Taxman investigates how the unrecognised Irish Republic's money was solicited, collected, transmitted, and safeguarded, as well as who the financial backers were and what might have influenced their decision to contribute. The Republic's quest for funds took its emissaries as far afield as New York, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, and Melbourne, as well as virtually every parish in Ireland.

Electric News in Colonial Algeria:

Arthur Asseraf

01 April 2022

How do the things which connect us also serve to divide us? Electric News in Colonial Algeria traces how news circulated in a particularly divided society: Algeria under French rule in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It tells a different history of globalization, one which puts the experience of everyday people at the centre.

Making Refugees in India

Ria Kapoor

03 February 2022

Offering a global history of India's refugee regime, Making Refugees in India explores how one of the first postcolonial states during the mid-twentieth century wave of decolonisation rewrote global practices surrounding refugees - signified by India's refusal to sign the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

Sisters and Sisterhood: The Kenney Family, Class, and Suffrage, 1890-1965

Lyndsey Jenkins

19 November 2021

The Kenney family grew up in Saddleworth, outside Oldham, in the last decades of the nineteenth century. In 1905, three of the sisters met Christabel Pankhurst, a turning point which changed the rest of their lives. Annie Kenney became one of the leaders of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), Jessie was an organiser at the heart of the organisation, and Nell campaigned outside the capital.

Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy: Siena, 1260-1330

Lidia Luisa Zanetti Domingues

27 August 2021

In medieval Italy the practice of revenge as criminal justice was still popular amongst members of all social classes, yet crime also was increasingly perceived as a public matter that needed to be dealt with by the government rather than private citizens. Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy sheds light on this contradiction through an in-depth comparison of lay and religious sources produced in Siena between 1260 and 1330 on criminal justice, conflict, and violence.

Michael Young, Social Science, and the British Left, 1945-1970

Lise Butler

03 September 2020

In post-war Britain, left-wing policy maker and sociologist Michael Young played a major role in shaping British intellectual, political, and cultural life, using his study of the social sciences to inform his political thought. In the mid-twentieth century the social sciences significantly expanded, and played a major role in shaping British intellectual, political and cultural life. Central to this intellectual shift was the left-wing policy maker and sociologist Michael Young.

Classical Learning in Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic, 1690-1750: Beyond the Ancients and the Moderns

Floris Verhaart

11 June 2020

For much of western history, the achievements of classical antiquity were seen as unsurpassable, and works by Latin and Greek authors were viewed as treasure troves of information still useful for contemporary society. By the late seventeenth century, however, the progress of scientific discoveries and the new paradigms of rationalism and empiricism meant the authority of the ancients was called into question.

Educating Palestine: Teaching and Learning History under the Mandate

Yoni Furas

30 April 2020

Educating Palestine, through the story of education and the teaching of history in Mandate Palestine, reframes our understanding of the Palestinian and Zionist national movements. It argues that Palestinian and Hebrew pedagogy could only be truly understood through an analysis of the conscious or unconscious dialogue between them.

The series is run by an editorial Committee drawn from members of the History Faculty, which meets four times a year to consider examiners’ reports and conduct editorial business.

The Committee aims to represent as wide a range of periods and thematic interests as possible.

The current members are listed below, all of us welcome representations from supervisors and examiners, and the Chair of the Committee will additionally be happy to answer any enquiries. Additionally, the Chair is very happy to answer questions about procedures or the series in general.

Please email: maya.blackwell@history.ox.ac.uk.

Oxford Historical Monographs (OHM)

Recent Publications

2023

Text and Textuality in Early Medieval Iberia: The Written and The World, 711-1031

2022

Designs on Democracy: Architecture and the Public in Interwar London

Shadow of a Taxman: Who Funded the Irish Revolution?

Electric News in Colonial Algeria:

Making Refugees in India

2021

Sisters and Sisterhood: The Kenney Family, Class, and Suffrage, 1890-1965

Confession and Criminal Justice in Late Medieval Italy: Siena, 1260-1330

2020

Michael Young, Social Science, and the British Left, 1945-1970

Classical Learning in Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic, 1690-1750: Beyond the Ancients and the Moderns

Educating Palestine: Teaching and Learning History under the Mandate

The Committee

Chair of OHM Committee