History

'History is the study of the past as recorded in writings, material culture and memory. As historians we attempt to discover how and why past societies changed and developed in the ways that they did and to understand the impact of those changes on the people who lived through them. Often this is a process which renders unfamiliar what we thought we understood, causing us to think afresh about the institutions, ideas, habits of mind, and relationships of our own societies. Joining in this collective process of scrutiny of the past can be destabilizing and difficult, but expanding one’s understanding of human affairs in the past and the present can also generate some life-changing insights.'

Exeter has a rich tradition in history and currently has a lively and very active community of historians. There are three members of academic staff engaged in research and teaching in the subject and we also have a dynamic group of graduate historians who play an important role in the community.

Historians at Exeter are also very much involved in research and teaching of the Faculty of History in the University, one of the world’s oldest and largest centres for the study of History.

Teaching and Research Staff

Dr Faramerz Dabhoiwala - Fellow, Tutor and University Lecturer in Modern History
Dr Christina de Bellaigue - Fellow, Tutor and University Lecturer in Modern History
Dr Lucy Sackville - Boskey Research Fellow and Tutor in History
Professor Sarah Knott - Visiting Research Fellow

Research and Teaching strengths

The core areas of research expertise among tutors at Exeter are in intellectual, cultural and social history. Dr Dabhoiwala works on the social, cultural and intellectual history of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. Dr de Bellaigue works on gender, childhood, education and social mobility in nineteenth-century Europe. Dr Sackville works on heresy and inquisition in thirteenth-century Europe. We especially encourage students who are interested in these areas to apply to Exeter. However, all three tutors are well qualified to teach the broader political and social history of their period and see their teaching and research as mutually reinforcing.

Recent and Representative Publications

  • Faramerz Dabhoiwala, ‘Lust and Liberty’, Past and Present, Vol. 207, 1 (2010) pp. 89-179.
  • Faramerz Dabhoiwala, ‘Sex and societies for moral reform, 1688-1800’Journal of British Studies,Vol. 46, 2 (2007), pp 290-31.
  • Christina de Bellaigue, ‘Faith and religion’, in Colin Heywood (ed.), A cultural history of childhood and family in the age of Empire, (2010).
  • Christina de Bellaigue, ‘Educating women: schooling and identity in England and France, 1800-1867', (Oxford, 2007).
  • Christina de Bellaigue, ‘Faith and religion’, in Colin Heywood (ed.), A cultural history of childhood and family in the age of Empire, (2010).
  • Lucy Sackville, 'Heresy and Heretics in the Thirteenth Century', (Woodbridge, forthcoming).

Other Historians in the Exeter Community

Many distinguished historianss have been associated with Exeter over the years, and some remain part of our wider community, as Emeritus and Honorary Fellows.

  • Dr John Maddicott, Emeritus Fellow in History
  • Professor Paul Slack, Emeritus Fellow in History