TEACHING
My teaching and supervision cover a broad range of topics, mainly revolving around the history of Europe from the Enlightenment to the present day, and encompassing social, cultural, political, economic and intellectual history.
I was previously a Seminar Tutor in the History Department at the University of Warwick, teaching the “Making of the Modern World” module in 2011-2. I have also designed a number of courses, including a 2013 course at the Oxford Regis Summer School on the uses of speech and rhetoric in history; a 2014 summer school on “Victorian London: High Culture and Low Life”, focussing on nineteenth century London as the world's first truly globalised metropolis, jointly delivered through King’s College, London and the Victoria and Albert Museum; and a course on British culture which I have taught since 2015, for Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business summer module in Oxford.
TALKS
My various talks, seminar papers and presentations have included the below listings. I am also available for lectures, talks, after-dinner speeches and debates - please use my "Contact" page to enquire about this.
The Making of Modern Britain: Politics, Satire and Culture
A look at the serious and scurrilous features of British politics today, and how it evolved into its current form.
September 1, 2015, Young Muslim Leadership Programme, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford.
Why Clubs Matter
The Inaugural Newspeak Lecture, looking at the abiding cultural legacy of clubs.
June 20, 2015, Newspeak House, London.
London Clubland
The distinctive cultural development of London's 'Clubland' since the eighteenth century.
September 4, 2014, Royal Over-Seas League, London.
The Anatomy of the British State
An overview of the constitutional workings of the British state, querying the underlying rationales for assorted institutions.
September 2, 2014, Young Muslim Leadership Programme, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, University of Oxford.
The Athenaeum and Clubland, 1824-present
A lecture on the club's historical development in relation to the rest of London's 'Clubland'.
July 9, 2014, Athenaeum Club, London.
Sleaze: analysing trends in undeclared outside financial interests of MPs over the last fifty years
An overview of my ongoing research in this area, particularly on sources and new methods of analysis.
November 19, 2013, Gerard Duveen Social Sciences Society, Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.
The political impact of London's clubs, 1780-1918
An overview of the evolution of political culture in London clubs, from the Regency to their decline during the First World War.
November 12, 2012, Goodenough lecture series, Royal Overseas League, London.
Realignment of the left, 1956-2001: Why it never happened
An examination of the concept of "realignment of the left" in Britain's Labour Party and Liberal Democrats, its significance, and its reinterpetation from the mid-1950s to the early 21st century. Delivered as part of a 90-minute panel with Prof. Michael Freeden and Dr. Peter Sloman, both of Oxford University, with the panel's focus on the liberal progressive tradition.
July 3, 2012, Senate House, University of London.
The history of London clubs
An overview of the development of clubs as a social, cultural and political phenomenon.
February 20, 2012, National Liberal Club, London.
"Returning a Protestant Parliament for a Protestant England": The political activities of the National Club, 1845-60
Examining the political activities of this Protestant Conservative grouping at a crucial period after the Maynooth Grant; including electioneering, pamphleteering, fundraising, and building social & political networks across Britain.
October 24, 2011, Cambridge University Modern History Seminar, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.
New sources and methods in history: London clubs and parliamentary history, 1832-68
A presentation illustrating how parliamentary history can move beyond prosopography, through using the records of political clubs to build a picture of the social and cultural history of the period.
October 21, 2011, History of Parliament Trust workshop, Warwick University.
"Returning a Protestant Parliament for a Protestant England": The political activity of the National Club, 1845-60
Examining the political activities of this Protestant Conservative grouping at a crucial period after the Maynooth Grant; including electioneering, pamphleteering, fundraising, and building social & political networks across Britain.
May 19, 2011, Oxford University Modern History Seminar, St. John's College, University of Oxford.
The political impact of London clubs, 1832-68
An overview of my PhD research, delivered to a History of Parliament Trust colloquium on parliamentary politics in the 1832-68 period.
May 6, 2011, History of Parliament Trust colloquium, Westminster Hall, Houses of Parliament.
Winston Churchill's ideological debt to the imperial conception of Joseph Chamberlain
This paper looked at how Churchill's view of the British empire - and the role it played in world affairs - was heavily influenced by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain. Much has been said of Churchill's break with Chamberlain over free trade, but this paper looked at how Churchill still owed much to Chamberlain's imperial legacy.
May 3, 2011, "Winston Churchill and Spain" international conference, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid.
The National Club, 1845-1855: "defending the Protestant principles of the constitution"
(Jointly delivered with Alec Corio, Open University.) The paper looked at the political and religious impact of the National Club, a London gentlemen's club founded by MPs and peers in 1846 to "defend the Protestant principles of the constitution", which published and campaigned extensively on key issues of the day.
March 31, 2011, Institute of Historical Research, Britain 1815-1945 seminar, Senate House, London.
Patriotism and National Identity in London Clubs, c.1870-1918
London clubs are often woefully neglected for their social, cutural, political, and architectural significance. Yet their membership by the end of the nineteenth century was vast, and their grip on the popular imagination was considerable. In London in particular, their strong concentration meant that a substantial portion of the adult male enfranchised population corresponded closely with club membership. This talk looks at both the "gentlemen's clubs" of London's West End, and the growing working men's clubs throughout London, and discerns the many social and cultural trends which can be observed throughout London in how they engaged with patriotism and national identity. In particular, it questions how far the perception of clubs as hotbeds of xenophobia and reactionary opinion hold true.
January 18, 2010, Institute of Historical Research, Sport and Leisure History seminar, Senate House, University of London.
Winston Churchill in defeat: Landslide in Dundee, 1922
The dramatic 1922 general election result in Dundee - when Winston Churchill's 15,500 majority in a seat he'd held for 14 years was overturned into a 12,000-vote deficit - is often misinterpreted. Usually framed in terms of "Churchill's swing to the right", or "the rise of socialism", traditional explanations have failed to account for the full extent of the swing in this dramatic result. Using the first combined analysis of archival material held in Scotland and England, this dramatic reappraisal of 1920s Scottish politics considers the role of previously-undetected factors in Churchill's defeat.
July 1, 2009, Goodenough College, London.