The 14th International History of Public Relations Conference (IHPRC 2026) will be held on 22–23 June 2026 at Bournemouth University, UK, hosted by the Faculty of Media & Communication.

Since its launch in 2010, IHPRC has established itself as the leading international event dedicated to exploring the history of public relations and related disciplines. The conference has brought together scholars from around the world and has played a key role in advancing academic publishing in PR history through journals and research books.

Conference themes

Academics, practitioners, and research students are invited to submit competitive abstracts (maximum two pages) for presentation. IHPRC 2026 welcomes contributions addressing historical and theoretical dimensions of public relations, including but not limited to:

• The history of public relations and its developing or diverging relationships with other disciplines such as marketing, HR, legal and corporate governance
• The historiography of public relations and the application of historical theories and interpretations to the history of PR; alternative and unheard histories and herstories; archaeological methodologies and theoretical analyses
• History of the PR/Communication departments of organisations
• Alternative approaches to the history of public relations, e.g. on the basis of culture or via definitions of public relations
• The public relations of dissent and activism; historical analysis of public relations in activist and non-profit campaigns
• The evolution of public relations theory(ies) over time; the history of schools of thinking in public relations
• The formation of industry and professional bodies and their impact on public relations practice and education; professionalisation of public relations
• The ethics of public relations and its discussion over time

Submission deadline: 16 February 2026

More information: https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/historyofpr/