2026 Conference

Understanding the USA

Exploring modern America through the themes of history, politics and race

Saturday 7th March 2026

10am-1pm Selwyn College, Cambridge

Followed by lunch at the Iris Café, Newnham College

Programme

10.00 Arrivals and coffee
10.15 Welcome and introduction by Dr David Smith, President (Selwyn)

10.20am Dr Tom Smith (Selwyn College, University of Cambridge) Religion and US Politics

‘The relationship between religion and US politics and foreign relations since 1898’

11.05am Prof Rohan McWilliam (Anglia Ruskin University) 1930s America

‘The New Deal’

11.50am Prof Stephen Tuck (London Interdisciplinary School) Religion and race in the USA

‘Religious fundamentalism and international race solidarities during the Great Depression’ 

12.35pm Forum Discussion with all three speakers

The conference ends at 1pm, and then everyone is invited to join the speakers for lunch at the Iris Café, Newnham College (see below).

Conference and Booking Information

TIMINGS:

SELWYN COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE CB3 9DQ

Please arrive between 10am and 10.15am. It takes around five minutes to walk from the Porters’ Lodge on Grange Road to Ann’s Court auditorium in the College- please follow the signs. Coffee and biscuits will be served, or feel free to bring your own drink.

10.15am- Dr David Smith of Selwyn College, the Forum President, will welcome us all to Selwyn and introduce the theme of the conference.

There will be three speakers (timings as above), who will each give a 30 minute talk followed by around 10 minutes for questions from the audience. We really encourage questions from students.

A short five minute break will take place between each talk- so please do feel free to come and go in these breaks if you can’t stay for the whole morning.

At 12.35pm there will be a ’round table discussion’, where all three speakers will sit together and questions are invited from the audience on the wider topic of ‘Understanding the USA’. This discussion always gives the chance to draw out interesting comparisons and contrasts.

PHOTOS We will be taking photos of the event for the website. Please let David Smith or one of the Committee know if you do not want to appear in photos.

LUNCH: The Conference will finish at 1pm and all are invited to walk round the corner to Newnham College’s Iris Café for 1.15pm. This Café, open to the public, serves drinks, sandwiches, snacks and light lunches. More information can be found here. For accessibility information see here. All payments are taken by card here, though the Forum will assist students to pay with cash for those sixth formers who do not have the ability to pay by card. Dr David Smith, History tutor at Selwyn College, will be on hand to answer any questions over lunch about studying history at university in general or Cambridge in particular. Please do ask!

PRICES:

All lectures, with coffee/drinks £12 (payable on the door by cash- no card payment facilities).

If you can’t make all the lectures, it is fine to come to some of them. There is a flat rate £12 charge for however many you attend. Please enter or leave at the end of a talk so that the speaker is not interrupted.

If you have booked tickets in advance, please give your name to the committee member on the door to register when you arrive.

BOOKING INFORMATION:

If you would like to book a ticket in advance, or make a group booking for your school or sixth form college, please contact Mr Stuart Jack, Treasurer, stuartjack69@hotmail.com, no later than 1st March 2026. If you are a school student or sixth form student you are welcome to make an individual booking, so please do contact us. Otherwise all are welcome to pay on the door.

If you have any specific dietary requirements, please check details of the drinks and biscuits being served with the Selwyn College catering team on the day, and with the staff of the Newnham College Iris Café for lunch.

Please also let Stuart Jack know if you have any questions about accessibility or accessibility requirements. The lecture theatre and toilets are in Ann’s Court auditorium. Further accessibility information is available here.

If you cannot attend, having booked a ticket in advance, the last day that you can cancel and receive a refund on your ticket is 1st March 2026. If you need to cancel after this date, unfortunately a refund will not be possible.

The Cambridge History Forum reserve the right to cancel the Forum at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances.