Professor Elaine Chalus, who is Professor of British History at Bath Spa University, has been elected to the Royal Historical Society. She will begin her four year term in January 2015.
The Royal Historical Society (RHS) was founded in 1868 and remains the foremost society in Great Britain promoting and defending the scholarly study of the past. The RHS is governed by a Council comprising the President and seven Officers, six Vice Presidents and twelve elected Councillors.
Sessions of Council take place five times a year in the Council Chamber at its headquarters in University College London. New Vice-Presidents and Councillors are elected annually to replace retiring members. The President, Officers and Councillors of the Society generally serve four-year terms of office, with Vice-Presidents serving three years.
Commenting on her appointment, Professor Chalus said: “I am honoured to have been elected to the RHS Council and look forward to playing a more active role in the development of the discipline. I think it is vital that the post-92 universities are represented at this level.”
Professor Chalus is a specialist in eighteenth-century gender and politics. She is currently a member of the editorial boards of the journal Parliamentary History and of the History of Parliament Trust. She has also featured on television programmes, such as Time Team and Fit to Rule. She teaches on the undergraduate History programme at Bath Spa and is currently developing a new MA on Jane Austen’s England.
