Meetings & conferences

Twice a year, the Society meets

A winter meeting and a residential summer meeting — papers, discussion and the Society's business, in a collegial and unhurried setting.

Winter meeting: January
Summer meeting: Residential
Guests: Welcome

Forthcoming meetings

7 January 2027

Online

Winter Meeting 2027

A single day of papers, held online.

6–9 September 2027

St Hilda's College, Oxford

Summer Meeting 2027

The residential summer meeting: four days of papers and discussion.

January 2028, date to be confirmed

Online

Winter Meeting 2028

A single day of papers, held online.

24–27 July 2028

St John's College, Cambridge

Summer Meeting 2028

The residential summer meeting: four days of papers and discussion.

About our meetings

What to expect at a meeting, how to propose a paper, and the grants that help members meet the cost of attending.

Elsewhere in this section

Questions about a meeting — booking, access, or an application for a conference grant — go to the Secretary, secretary.sots@gmail.com.

The Society holds two events each year: a smaller Winter event which may take place virtually and an in-person Summer Meeting (usually in the third week of July).

Information about future meetings and details of the papers given at past meetings are available.

If this will be your first meeting at SOTS, take a look at the information for newcomers.

We also welcome proposals for papers, workshops, and other sessions at future meetings.

Conference Grants

The Society is able to award each year a number of ‘conference grants’ (‘bursaries’) to assist those who would otherwise be unable to attend a Meeting. You should bear in mind that grants are:

for members or for persons who are seriously considering membership rather than for occasional guests
intended to meet cases of genuine need (and so are not normally available to those who are in full-time employment)
intended to ‘top up’ resources rather than meet all costs associated with attending a Meeting (and so the normal maximum for a grant is the package price minus the booking fee).

An application form is available here, and applicants should fill this out and send it to the Secretary at secretary.sots@gmail.com, before the cut-off date for discount-price bookings for the relevant Meeting.

First time?

Come as a guest before you join

Prospective members are encouraged to attend a meeting as a guest before applying — usually the summer conference, where there is more time to talk. There is an informal welcome session for newcomers and first-time attenders at every summer meeting.

Papers are given by members at every stage of career, from research students to emeritus professors, and questions after each paper are part of the point.

Information for newcomers Call for papers