Call for Abstracts (Ninth Issue 2027): Narrating Nursing: Methods and Sources in Nursing History and Ethics

Diaries, letters, and other personal artifacts open up new perspectives on the history and ethics of nursing. As ego documents, these sources illuminate the everyday realities of care and the lived experiences of nurses that often remain invisible in institutional or po­licy documents. In parrallel, qualitative methods, such as interviews and reflective diaries, play an important role in nursing ethics research, enabling scientific examination of ethi­cal practice and nurses‘ moral perspectives.

This planned issue invites contributions that explore the micro-level of nursing practice from both historical and ethical perspectives. It seeks to foreground the historical value of individual experiences, whilst critically reflecting on how these perspectives relate to wider social, cultural and professional developments or people‘s health.

At the same time, the issue welcomes contributions that engage with the role of individual theorists, leaders or reformers in nursing history and ethics. We encourage analyses that go beyond the „great pioneer“ narratives and situate individual actors within their social, cultural and professional contexts.

Methodological reflections on working with ego documents or qualitative material in nursing history and/or nursing ethics are particularly encouraged.

 

Possible historical questions and topics to consider: 

• biographical approaches to nursing history
• diaries and correspondence as sources of nursing history
• visual and material sources in nursing history
• biography and influence of individual actors in nursing reform and theory
• tensions between individual agency and collective professional identities

Possible ethical questions and topics to consider:

• Diaries and/or qualitative interviews as a methodological approach to explore and capture nursing ethical practice
• Biography and influence of individual actors in nursing reform and ethical theory
• the moral agency of nurses
• shifts in the understanding of patient rights
• the use of film or theatre in grappling with ethical questions in nursing education

 

Deadline for abstracts: June 30, 2026

Deadline for manuscripts: November 30, 2026

 

Please note the following remarks on the concept of the European Journal for Nursing History and Ethics:

The journal creates a dialogue between the history and the ethics of nursing, while provi­ding new impulses for advancing the subfields of the history as well as the ethics of nursing. Historians are asked to include the ethical dimension of the topic into their sub­mitted manuscript; likewise, researchers interested in ethics are requested to reflect on the historical dimensions of their manuscripts. This does not mean that articles on ethics should be preceded by a historical overview in the style of a manual. Rather the latest developments and socio-political debates that have led to the current issues in the ethics of nursing should be put in their historical context and be used in the analysis. Likewise, papers on the history of nursing should address ethical questions within the historical context or refer to current issues in the ethics of nursing. The linking of historical and ethical dimensions is desired in each article, but not a prerequisite for publication. The journal publishes original research both on European history and the history of the re­ciprocal relationships and connections of European and non-European societies.

The journal only publishes original contributions. When submitting their manuscript, au­thors are required to declare that their text has not already been submitted or published elsewhere. Publishing in this Open Access journal is free of charge.

Please submit your abstract (max 500 words) in English and separately a short CV by June 30, 2026 to Prof. Dr. Karen Nolte: karen.nolte@histmed.uni-heidelberg.de, Hugo Schalk­wijk: h.schalkwijk@venvn.nl and Prof. Dr. Geertje Boschma Geertje.Boschma@ubc.ca