Natalie M. Smith

@nataliesmith.bsky.social

1252 Followers 985 Following

Associate lecturer at @mhafhs.bsky.social; Rettig Fellow. History PhD on the Swedish Empire & identity from St Andrews. Swedish & Sami History, history of empire, science and knowledge. Also expect baking, crocheting and cats 🐈

A dark blue sweater with a nordic style moose
A tiny snowman
Grey sweater on a hook
CfP: Marginal Militaries: Navigating Historical Boundaries, Differences and Experiences at the Military Periphery From enslaved soldiers in republican-era Rome to foreign mercenaries in the Thirty-Years War and commonwealth soldiers in the World Wars, militaries have never been monolithic organisations. they have served as key sites in the formation of state power and different kinds of collective belongings. Yet the boundaries that determine who may serve, under what conditions and on whose behalf have never been fixed as these boundaries have shifted in response to changing configurations of citizenship, empire, class, gender, race/ethnicity, religion, physical capacities and national identity. Militaries have functioned both as mechanism for producing social hierarchies, and as arenas in which such hierarchies are negotiated, contested and reconfigured. This conference explores how lines of inclusion and exclusion have been drawn, negotiated and experienced within military organisations across diverse historical periods and geographical contexts. The aim is to foster a nuanced conversation that broadens our understanding of military institutions by focusing on the experiences and narratives of those often marginalised within them. We welcome contributions which examine how distinctions such as the following have been historically constructed, negotiated and embodied/experienced within and/or in relation to military institutions, organisations and structures: Race, ethnicity and minority status: Gender, gender-identity/non-conformity and sexuality Nationality, migration and statelessness: Religion: Disability status: While the emphasis is on historical perspectives, proposals are invited from scholars working in adjacent fields (political science, cultural studies). It will be held 22-23 October, 2026 the Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden. We are applying for funding to hold it fully in person, but depending on the outcome, it could be a hybrid event.
A cat in a cat carrier
A fluffy cat looking out of the window of a boat
A fluffy cat sitting in a box.
A cat sitting in a packing box
Boule of bread on a piece of baking paper
A fluffy white cat sitting in a cat carrier
Two fluffy cats in a box each next to a heater