The Jackson Institute hosted a talk by Eleanor Davey, British Academy postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in history at the University of Manchester’s Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute on Wednesday, April 13, at 3:30 pm in the Seminar Room, Horchow Hall. She discussed “Approaching the History of Humanitarian Ideas: France, the Third World, and the Far Left.”

Davey is the author of “Idealism Beyond Borders: The French Revolutionary Left and the Rise of Humanitarianism, 1954-1988,” which was published in December 2015. It is a study of the changing paradigms of French engagement in the ‘third world’, from far left activism to modern humanitarianism, including notably the case of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. She recently completed a special issue of Disasters journal (October 2015) on the history of humanitarian action, co-edited with Kim Scriven of the Humanitarian Innovation Fund.

Before joining HCRI, Davey was a researcher in the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute, where she led a multi-year project titled ‘A Global History of Modern Humanitarian Action’, promoting engagement with historical analysis in practice and policy-making. Her current research investigates the relationship between humanitarianism and the ideas and organizations of national liberation.

This event is part of the Humanitarian Speaker Series.