Social histories
The Social histories strand is an interdisciplinary group that works on the application of historical perspectives to current public policy problems.
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The Social histories strand is an interdisciplinary group that works on the application of historical perspectives to current public policy problems.
We seek to inform current issues by illuminating historical precedents and the long historical shadows from which current debates and issues emerge.
We aim to inform policymakers through a historical approach to public policy. We focus on issues such as racial and sexual inequalities in this country and internationally, on medical ethics issues such as suicide, assisted dying, and euthanasia, and on social issues such as adoption.
Our members take both a theoretical and practical approach to policy, having served as political leaders, reported to the Supreme Court, and testified to Parliamentary Committees. Our interdisciplinary team, which includes historians, political scientists, social scientists, sociologists, and psychologists, study-specific contemporary problems as they presented themselves historically.
Through our research, we aim to further policymakers’ abilities to make well-grounded policy decisions. Some of our members have established international reputations on many of the above issues.
Members