News & activities

The Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) invites applications for the Summer Training School ‘Health Inequalities: from Sources to Statistical Models’, held in Barcelona from 8 to 19 June 2026 at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.

This two-week intensive course will equip participants with the skills to collect, harmonize, and analyse historical individual mortality data. 

Read the full application invitation here

October 2025

We are pleased to invite contributions for a one-day virtual workshop and a one-day in-person workshop focusing on citizen science and automatic transcription techniques in the field of historical demography. These events aim to foster dialogue, share methodological innovations, and advance best practices for the transcription of historical demographic data.

Read the full call for papers here

August 2025

We are pleased to announce the upcoming international workshop “Lifting the Burden of Disease: Mortality Decline and the Epidemiological Transition in Historical Perspective,” which will take place on 28 – 29 August 2025 at Radboud University, Nijmegen (The Netherlands)

This event will explore the complex drivers behind the improvements in life expectancy since the 19th century, focusing on the interplay of public health measures, socio-economic change, and epidemiological dynamics across different countries and regions.

Click here to read more and consult the programme

July 2025

We are excited to announce the workshop “Epidemics Past and Present: Historical Lessons, Contemporary Challenges,” which will take place at the Open University of Catalonia – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in Barcelona from 8-9 February, 2024.

Click here to read more and consult the program.

January 2024

We invite papers for the workshop “Epidemics and their Determinants: Past and Present” held at the Open University of Catalonia – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Barcelona).

The workshop aims to create a platform for interdisciplinary debate, bridging the gap between past and present epidemics. The workshop will examine themes such as the socioeconomic and environmental drivers of epidemics, the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, the long-term impact of outbreaks on health and society, and the vulnerabilities of marginalized groups

Read more about the workshop and the call here

September 2023

On Monday June 5 2023 the Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (ICOG) and the Scientific Network for Historical Demography (HiDo) jointly organise the hybrid workshop ‘Epidemics in Medieval and Early Modern Western Europe’.

This workshop will be chaired by Dr Anjana Singh and includes presentations by several Posthumus fellows and alumni.

The workshop will be held both on location and via a live-stream. No prior registration is required, but please contact organiser Dr Richard Paping to obtain the required links.

Click here to read more and consult the program.

May 2023

On January 12 2023 the workshop The Quest for a Partner in the Past and Today. Researching Data from Matchmaking Media and Agencies will take place at Radboud University Nijmegen.

This workshop aims to bring scholars from various fields in the humanities and social sciences together that study patterns and shifts in human mating behavior. 

Click here to read more, consult the program, and register for participation.

December 2022

For a session proposal for the 5th Conference of the European Society of Historical Demography at Radboud University (Nijmegen, Netherlands) we invite papers in the broad area of African Population and Health History. We encourage submissions of papers which describe and engage with the availability and usability of data sources for historical demography and the history of health, healing and medicine in Africa.

Read more about the call here

November 2022

Did you miss out on the Nature and Nurture Workshop we hosted earlier this fall? Check out the video of the complete workshop here

November 2022

Take a look at the final programme of the Nature and Nurture Free Day Workshop we are hosting this fall in the beautiful city center of Leuven and register. 

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August 2022

The aim of this workshop is to bring scholars from various fields in the humanities and social sciences together that study patterns and shifts in human mating behavior using data from matchmaking media and agencies. 

Continue reading

July 2022

Besides different HiDo members presenting, HiDo Working Group Coordinators Paul Puschmann (RU Nijmegen) and Joana Maria Pujadas Mora (CED Barcelona) present with a session at the conference Of The European Society Of Historical Demography (Madrid, 2-5 March 2022)

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March 2022

An Initiative of the Scientific Network for Historical Demography (HiDo)

We invite paper and poster presentations that deal with topics concerning the intersection of historical demography and genetics. We welcome empirical papers, but also theoretical and methodological contributions. The intention is to publish the papers of the workshop in a special issue of an international peer-reviewed journal, that is interdisciplinary in nature, such as PLOS ONE or Biodemography & Social Biology. 

February 2022

Congratulations to our network member Sofie Claerhout (KU Leuven) who has won the 2021 Flemish PhD Cup 2021 and People’s Choice Award for communication about her doctoral work on the Y-chromosome, genealogy and DNA. Well done Sofie! Sofie is actively involved in our research group ‘exploring the links between genetics and historical demography’.

https://www.phdcup.be/nieuws/sofie-claerhout-wint-phd-cup-2021-met-dna-onderzoek-bij-onopgeloste-moordzaken

13 october 2021

In collaboration with the SHiP network, HiDo members participated with two sessions on “Religious Differentials in Causes of Death, 1850-1940” at the biannual conference of The European Association for the History of Medicine and Health in Leuven, 7-10 September 2021. 

september 2021

Within the framework of the HiDo Working Group II (Partner choice, love and marriage), we intend to organize a session at the conference of the European Society for Historical Demography (ESHD) in Madrid, Spain. (March 2-5, 2022)…

10 september 2021

In the framework of the HiDo working group III (Colonial Societies) we aim to organize a first session at the conference of the European Society for Historical Demography (ESHD) in March 2021 in Madrid, Spain.  (March 2-5, 2022).

10 september 2021

Check in regularly for updates on our project

1 september 2021