Organiser: Royal Air Force Museum
Place and Date: Royal Air Force Museum London, Thursday 5 – Friday 6 September 2023.
Application deadline: 28th April 2024.
Submission Type: Abstract, plus a biography and talk title.
Form of Submission: Maximum 300 words in English. Biographies should be no more than
200 words.
Applications to be sent to: megan.kelleher@rafmuseum.org
Hosted at the Royal Air Force Museum’s London site, this two-day conference will explore
the complex ways in which air forces have evolved and transformed since the late twentieth
century, and what the future of air power may look like. The conference will be
interdisciplinary and will host scholars working on topics that relate to air forces, their
personnel and technologies, the economies and societies with which they interact, the
conflicts in which they have engaged, and the global and international context with which
they are connected. Moreover, the conference will explore the legacies of the time period
through the lens of the media produced to tell its story, both contemporary to the time
period and as part of commemorative works.
The conference will be available to attend in-person, with recordings of the talks and panels
being live-streamed and recorded online via Crowdcast.
The research presented will provide new evidence and insights on the development of air
forces, speaking to the changes and continuity experienced since 1980. The research
presented will help inform the Museum’s new exhibition on the recent development of
British air power.
We would welcome papers on a variety of topics which examine topics that include, but are
not limited to, the following questions:
- What were the causes of the changes experienced by the Royal Air Force since
1980? - How has the field of air power evolved as a consequence of these developments?
- What challenges have been faced by air forces facing reductions in expenditure?
- What lessons from earlier periods help to inform the changes that the RAF
experienced during this period? - How do changes in society create pressures for air forces, particularly in
recruitment, retention and operations? - What does the future of air power and the Royal Air Force look like?
If you are interested in delivering a paper, or proposing a discussion panel, please send a
lecture title, abstract and biography to the Museum’s Historian and Academic Access
Manager, Dr Megan Kelleher megan.kelleher@rafmuseum.org by Sunday 28th April 2024.
We would particularly welcome papers from Masters and Doctoral Researchers, in addition
to Early Career Researchers. There are a limited number of bursaries for those requiring
financial support to present at the conference; please speak to Dr Megan Kelleher for more
details.