Join the MBSA
MBSA is a membership organisation, and has a pending registration as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Currently governed by a committee of founding Trustees, it will hold elections to confirm postholders after CIO registration is complete.
Membership is open to scholars engaged in the study of modern British society, politics and culture. No university affiliation is required, and we welcome membership inquiries from all kinds of scholars. All members may stand as trustees, and can put forward their names at the Annual Meeting, usually held at the annual conference. If you'd like to join, please drop us a line on membership@modbritstud.org.uk
Membership of the Association enables attendance at the Modern British Studies annual conference 2026 and the application for MBSA prizes. Reduced membership is also available for those not attending the annual conference.
MBSA exists only through membership income and is a not-for-profit body that allocates all its funds to sustaining its scholarly activities.
Benefits of Membership
- The opportunity to attend and participate in the Modern British Studies conference, a regular and sustainable gathering of scholars in your field.
- Consideration for MBSA prizes (best graduate student paper; further prizes are planned).
- A regular member’s bulletin containing news on prizes, calls for papers and events.
Who Can Join
Membership is open to scholars engaged in the study of modern British history, society, politics and culture, usually indicated by:
- being registered for or in possession of a higher research degree (Masters or doctorate)
- significant engagement in research activities activity (within or outside of the academy) relating to British history, society, politics and culture
- possessing a track record of relevant scholarly publications.
No affiliation to a university is required, and we welcome membership inquiries from all kinds of scholars.
All members may stand as trustees and can put forward their names at the Annual Meeting, usually held at the annual conference.
Membership Categories
Choose from the following categories of membership (Please note that membership was already included for those registered for MBS26):
| Waged work | £30 |
| Graduate student | £10 |
| Unwaged | £10 |
| Supporter | £200 |
If you want to support the development and viability of the association, particularly at this early stage in our existence, please do select the ‘supporter’ category. We are very grateful for the generous support of those who are able to give an additional sum.
Membership will cover the period until our next stand-alone conference, which will be in 2028. Members will be offered the opportunity to renew their membership and register for the conference when the MBS28 call for papers is published, in late 2027.
Join the MBSA Steering Committee
We're seeking some additional members of our team.
About the Voluntary Roles:
Early Career Representative: This role is intended for an early career scholar (a doctoral student or anyone in temporary employment within 6 years of award of doctorate) and involves representing early career scholar interests and concerns to the MBSA. The representative will attend approximately four annual meetings and participate in the annual conference. We would be happy to support other initiatives the ECR representative might wish to develop within the remit of MBSA. We expect this role to rotate every three years.
Independent Scholar Representative: This role is intended for an independent scholar, defined as someone with no paid permanent academic affiliation or employment, and involves representing Independent scholar interests and concerns to the MBSA. The representative will attend approximately four annual meetings and participate in the annual conference. We would be happy to support other initiatives the Independent Scholar representative might wish to develop within the remit of MBSA. We expect this role to rotate every three years.
Blog editor(s)/author(s): We are seeking 2-3 volunteers to oversee/edit the MBSA blog, as well as author and commission pieces. We envision these roles would go to Early Career and Independent scholars. There is no set expectations for how many blog posts need to be produced, and the blog editors/authors would have scope to creatively develop the blog within the remit of MBSA. We expect these roles to rotate every three years.
To Apply:
Please send 300 words on why you would like the role to admin@modbritstud.org.uk by 7 September, 2026.
