Research
Research interests
- British empire and decolonisation
- The Labour Party and the British left
- British feminist movements
- British humanitarianism and overseas aid
- The British 'culture wars', free speech and the politics of history teaching, writing and commemoration
Publications
Supervision
Current PhD Students
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
I am a feminist historian of modern British history. 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. My book, Imperial Island: a history of empire in modern Britain, 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 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.