Dr Charlotte Lydia Riley
Lecturer in Twentieth-Century British History
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I am a feminist historian of twentieth century Britain, with particular focus on decolonization and how this has shaped British society and culture. I also write on the Labour Party, and overseas aid and development programmes, with particular interest in the intersections between politics, “ordinary people” and transnational organisations.
I am a new imperial historian in approach – I believe that Britain can only be understood as a metropole, and that British history needs to be understood as an imperial history. I am currently writing a book, Imperial Island, which tells an alternative history of Britain's relationship with its empire from the Second World War to present day. The book traces the ways that empire and decolonisation have left their mark on British history, society, politics and culture, and tells the story of how ordinary people's lives have been shaped by the messy, complex, brutal, and surprising history of British imperialism. I am writing this book for Bodley Head and it will be published in 2022.
I am also committed to communicating history beyond the academy, and regularly write for popular outlets such as the Guardian, Tribune, the Washington Post, New Humanist, Popula, New Statesman, Dazed and BBC History magazine. I have appeared on podcasts (No Country for Young Women, Chatham House Undercurrents), and on television and radio (Sky News, Radio New Zealand, BBC Radio 4 Analysis, BBC Radio 4 Sweet Reason, BBC Rethink) as a historical expert.
Qualifications
- BA, History, UCL, 2006
- MSc, History of International Relations, LSE, 2008
- PhD, UCL, 2013
Appointments held
- I am one of the convenors of the Britain at Home and Abroad since 1800 seminar at the IHR, and I am one of the reviews editors for Journal of Contemporary History.