The Intellectual Historian is developing into a collaborative platform for accessible scholarship in intellectual history, political thought, philosophy and the history of ideas.
The project began as Samuel Woodall’s personal research and public-writing site. Its next stage brings together a small network of early-career scholars whose work crosses periods, disciplines and intellectual traditions. Contributors write independently and occasionally, allowing each essay to emerge from serious research rather than a fixed publication schedule.
What we publish
- Research-led essays for a general intellectual audience
- Interpretations of major thinkers, texts and traditions
- Reflections on historical method and the practice of intellectual history
- Reviews of lectures, books, exhibitions and scholarly events
- Writing connected to Beyond the Text conversations
- Occasional contributions from established academic guests
Founding contributors
The founding group is intentionally small. It creates a recognisable editorial identity while leaving room for new voices to join as the platform develops.
Samuel Woodall
Founder and Editor
Samuel is a PhD candidate in Intellectual History at the University of Buckingham’s Humanities Research Institute, where he also teaches eighteenth-century British history, science and religion in the Enlightenment, and nineteenth-century political thought. His research examines faction, party and political order in eighteenth-century Britain, with particular attention to Paul de Rapin de Thoyras, John Brown and Josiah Tucker.
Areas: eighteenth-century political thought, faction and party, religion and authority, Huguenot intellectual history, and historiography.
Jack Thomson
Contributing Writer and Beyond the Text Co-host
Jack completed an MA by Research in Philosophy at the University of Buckingham. His work specialises in modern philosophy after Kant, with a particular interest in phenomenology. Alongside Samuel, he co-hosts Beyond the Text and brings a philosophical perspective to its discussions of major thinkers, texts and intellectual traditions.
Areas: modern European philosophy, Kant, phenomenology, philosophical anthropology, ethics, religion and education.
Derek van Voorst
Contributing Writer
Derek is a doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews working in intellectual history and the history of political thought. His contribution extends the platform beyond its Buckingham roots and strengthens its connection with a wider network of early-career scholars.
Areas: intellectual history, political thought and the history of conservatism.
A growing network
The Intellectual Historian will add contributors gradually, beginning with invited essays from PhD researchers, early-career academics and colleagues encountered through seminars, conferences and public-history projects. Established scholars may also contribute occasional guest pieces.
There is not yet an open submissions programme. Once the first body of collaborative work is established, a separate Write for Us page will set out the site’s themes, editorial approach and submission guidance.
Collaboration and enquiries
If you are interested in a future contribution, research collaboration or proposing a guest essay, please contact Samuel. Invitations and proposals are considered in relation to the site’s developing editorial programme.