The Israeli Historical Society, in collaboration with the Zvi Yavetz School of Historical Studies and the Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology, is pleased to announce the call for applications for its research Group on the History of Emotions.

The group invites graduate students and early career scholars from the humanities, social sciences, political science, and related fields to apply for participation in an ongoing interdisciplinary forum dedicated to methodological reflection on the history of emotions.

The group will bring together scholars seeking to incorporate the history of emotions as an analytical framework in their research. Although participants will work on diverse periods, regions, and topics, they will engage with a shared question: How can emotions be identified, analyzed, and interpreted as historical phenomena embedded within social and cultural contexts?

At the core of the group’s activities will be a systematic discussion of major theoretical and methodological texts in the field. Prior to each meeting, participants will read recent scholarship, and discussions will focus on key concepts, central debates, and the critiques that have been directed at the field. The aim is to cultivate methodological sensitivity and reflexive thinking, enabling participants to refine the ways in which emotional analysis can be integrated into their own research.

Alongside these theoretical discussions, the group will include a practical component intended to support participants’ academic work. This component will address the preparation of conference presentations, the integration of methodological discussions into articles and dissertation chapters, and strategies for presenting interdisciplinary research to different audiences. By combining conceptual reflection with concrete research practice, the group seeks to become not only a space for intellectual exchange but also a practical scholarly resource.

A central element of the group’s activities will be the presentation of works in progress. Participants will be invited to present draft chapters and articles and to receive feedback from their peers. Particular attention will be devoted to the question of how analyses of emotions can be integrated into broader social and cultural arguments, and how emotion can become a compelling and meaningful analytical tool. In this sense, the group will serve as a shared laboratory in which methodological tools are tested, refined, and developed through ongoing discussion.

Additional Information

• • ●Meetings will take place once every six weeks at Tel Aviv University in a hybrid format that allows for online participation.
  • ●Participation is open to graduate students and early career scholars (Master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral researchers).
  • ●Participation requires a commitment to the assigned readings and active engagement in discussions.

Applications may be submitted via the attached link until 20 October 2026.