Thursday 4th December 2025, The National Archives, Kew, UK.

‘Talking Records’ is a new collections-based symposium held at The National Archives every year. The theme for 2025 is pollution. Histories of pollution, contamination, and environmental damage can be found in a diverse range of records in the collections at The National Archives.  

Across different times and places, from the very local to the global, the concept of pollution is intertwined with histories of land use and management, agricultural practices, urban space, natural disasters, health and safety, and public health and welfare. From the soil to water sources and the air, all aspects of the environment might be vulnerable to the effects of harmful substances, including pesticides, industrial waste, and radioactive material. Light and noise may also pollute, and both human and non-human creatures can be vulnerable when environments, habitats, and ecosystems are contaminated.  

In records at The National Archives, pollution histories intersect with industrial histories (e.g. coal mining, industrial accidents, military activity) and urgent contemporary questions about energy sources and climate change. Pollution is an ever-evolving concept, and pre-modern records too can speak to us about changing scientific, social, and cultural understandings of contamination across the centuries – in histories of disease, for example.  

Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive invites researchers, scholars and practitioners working with archival records to present 15-minute papers exploring how these speak to our wider concerns around pollution and its history. We would particularly welcome contributions from early career researchers, and would also welcome alternative formats to present, including creative and visual responses or pre-recorded contributions. 

Possible topics include, but are not limited to: 

• Environmental histories of pollution relating to: air, water, soil, plastic, textiles, radioactivity, health, agriculture, industry 

• Legal histories of pollution and Rights of Nature  

• Colonial pollution and environmental justice 

• The material impact of pollution in the conservation of records 

• Visual records of pollution in the archive  

• Histories of pollution and climate change 

• The environmental impact of digital research infrastructure  

• Creative responses to pollution in the archive 

Talking Records is a free event, and organisers are committed to making the day as accessible and inclusive as possible. There are a limited number of bursaries, of up to £150, available to support attendance (e.g. travel and childcare).  

Please send an abstract of no more than 300 words along with a title and your affiliation to heather.craddock@nationalarchives.gov.uk, stating if you wish to be considered for a bursary. Submission deadline: Friday 19th September. 

You can also access the Call for Papers here: https://orlo.uk/Z8StS