ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

I started my career as a specialist in the intellectual and cultural history of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain.  I am interested in how British people in this period understood their own identity, and in particular whether they regarded themselves as Europeans.  But I am increasingly interested in a wide range of other topics including travel and travel writing, the history of cartography, and the so-called ‘spatial turn’ in the humanities.  My course on cartography - Maps, History and Power:  The Spaces and Cultures of the Past - is available on our Master's degree programmes.

My general field is intellectual and cultural history, or the study of the thoughts, beliefs and cultural practices of past societies.  This can be immensely challenging work.  It is difficult enough working out what someone else in the same room is really thinking about an issue, and that challenge only increases when the objects of study have been dead for hundreds of years.  But I enjoy the patient detective work of establishing how people in the past thought; and most of all I like working out the extent to which their assumptions, motives and behavioural codes are distinct to them or to their period. 

There are very few historical phenomena that have not been shaped by global shifts of one kind or another, whether that be developments in the international economy, the emergence of new technologies or trends in political practice. Studying history from an international perspective allows us to see the connections between historical events in different parts of the world. It also enables us to think about history comparatively, increasing our awareness of the similarities and differences between processes of historical change in different parts of the world.

The department of International History offers students the possibility to study a huge range of periods and geographical areas, from the Mughal Empire to the contemporary Caribbean. Our research is world leading and our teaching is research-led, meaning that teachers will be sharing with you some of the most cutting-edge developments in their fields of research. The student body is extremely diverse, giving you the opportunity to make friends with people from all over the world. The quality of our teaching and our attention to students’ development mean that you will leave ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ with valuable skills in critical thinking, analysis, and written communication. Our students go on to exciting careers in a variety of fields including international diplomacy, public relations and the media, NGO work, public policy, and academic research.

General reading

• Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century (2009)

Subject specific recommendations

• Tanya Harmer and Alberto Martín Alvarez (eds.), Toward a Global History of Latin America’s Revolutionary Left (2021)
• Paul Stock, Europe and the British Geographical Imagination, 1760-1830 (2019)
• Imaobong Umoren, Race Women Internationalists: Activists-Intellectuals and Global Freedom Struggles (2018)
• Joanna Lewis, Women of the Somali Diaspora: Refugees, Resilience and Rebuilding after Conflict (2021)
• Vladislav Zubok, Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union (2021)

Empires

• Marc David Baer, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs (2021)
• Dina Gusejnova, European Elites and Ideas of Empire, 1917-1957 (2016)

MSc Theory and History of International Relations

• Nigel Ashton, False Prophets: British Leaders’ Fateful Fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria (2022)
• Benjamin de Carvalho, Julia Costa Lopez & Halvard Leira (eds), Routledge Handbook of Historical International Relations (2021)
• Matthew Jones, Anthony Eden, Anglo-American Relations and the 1954 Indochina Crisis (2019)
• Taylor Sherman et al, From Subjects to Citizens: Society and the Everyday State in India and Pakistan, 1947-1970 (2014)

MSc International and Asian History

• Ronald Po, The Blue Frontier. Maritime Vision and Power in the Qing Empire (2019)