Academic Staff

BA Philosophy and History (Essex)

MA Culture and Communication (UEA)

PhD US Cultural History (Essex)

 Current research focuses on representations of race connected with Marvel's superhero, Black Panther, in the 1960s and '70s, the problematic representations of female power in comic-books and the role of DC's /Johnny Everyman/ in raising socio-political awareness between 1943 and 1947.  Future research will focus on representations of protest in transatlantic popular culture, taking into account both creation and reception.

 My work focuses on questions of trauma, masculinity and heroism.  I have so far concentrated largely on superhero narratives but I have also published on the topic of heroism in the films of Bruce Campbell.  Future work is planned in both areas with plans to build on the latter, investigating representations of masculine heroism in US popular cinema.  Interests in superhero narratives will be developed through work on more specific topics such as those detailed in 'Current Research'.  I am also interested in the work of Joss Whedon and am co-editing a forthcoming volume on /Firefly/.

HR101 - History Workshop: Researching and Writing History at Degree Level

HR141 - Introduction to Latin American History

HR162 - 'The Great Experiment': United States history from seventeenth century settlement to the 1970s.  

HR211 - Approaches to History

HR267 - The Special Relationship?

Forthcoming:

Co-editor of a book on Joss Whedon's /Firefly/ to be published by Scarecrow Press.

'"Superman believes that a wife's place is in the home': Lois Lane and Gender Politics' in /Women in Comics/ (2014)

''You Complete Me': The Joker as Symptom' in /The Joker: Critical Essays on the Clown Prince of Crime/ (2014)

'"Oh c'mon, those stories can't count in continuity!': Squirrel Girl and the problem of female power', /Studies in Comics/ 4.2 (2013)

'The Body (Politic) in Pieces: Post 9/11 Marvel Superhero Narratives and Fragmentation' in /Comic Book Geographies/ (2013)

'Friend of the people of many lands': Johnny Everyman, 'critical internationalism' and liberal postwar US heroism' /Social History/ 38.2 (2013)

Published:

"His greatest enemy - intolerance!" The Superman radio show in 1946', /Scan/ 5.2 (September 2008).
http://scan.net.au/scan/journal/display.php?journal_id=118

'Hail to the King, baby': Bruce Campbell and the representation of US masculine heroism, /US Studies Online: The BAAS Postgraduate Journal/ iss. 16 (Spring 2010) http://www.baas.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=258%3Aissue-16-spring-2010-article-4&catid=15&Itemid=12

'We have experienced a tragedy which words cannot properly describe': Representations of trauma in post-9/11 superhero comic-books, /Literature Compass/ 8.8 (2011) (co-authored with Philip Smith, Loughborough University)

Conference Papers and Lectures

• Histfest, University of Lancaster – ‘War and US Mythology – Superheroes and Reterritorialisation’, May 2007.
• British Association of American Studies Postgraduate Conference, University of Manchester – ‘US Masculinity in Post 9/11 Superhero Narratives’, November 2007.
• Histfest, University of Lancaster - "I know our relationship has always been difficult to define..." Lois, Clark & Superman: Reflections on Gendered Nationalisms , May 2008
• Chattel and Wage Slavery from 1500 Conference, University of Essex, 'To free Africa's deserts and jungles from their own ruthless savagery': Representations of slavery and African peoples in US jungles comic-books of the 1940s, October 2008
• Guest lecture, University of Lancaster 'Truth, Justice and the American Way' Superheroes and US Nationalism, Hist159 'Us and Them: Constructing National Identities'.
• 'My Hero': Constructing and defining non-military heroism, King's College London - "Friend of the people of many lands" Johnny Everyman and the representation of post-war US heroism, June 2009
• British Association of American Studies Postgraduate Conference, Northumbria University - " Hail to the King, baby" Bruce Campbell and the representation of masculine US heroism, November 2009
• Graphic Novels and Comics: An International Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, "Friend of the people of many lands" Johnny Everyman and the representation of post-war US heroism, April 2010
• Masculinity and Popular Culture, University of Southampton - "Since when was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn't do?": Burn Notice and the representation of masculinity, March 2011.
• Comics and Conflict, Imperial War Museum - Post 9-11 Marvel comic-books and the representation of trauma, August 2011.
• Transitions 2, Birkbeck, University of London, 'Oh c'mon, those stories can't actually count in continuity!' Squirrel Girl and the problem of female power', November 2011. 

Conferences/workshops [co]organised

• 'Chattel and Wage Slavery from 1500' University of Essex, 11 October 2008
• Co-organiser of Graduate History Forum, University of Essex 2007-08
• Organiser of Graduate History Forum, University of Essex 2008-09
• 'My Hero: Defining and Constructing Non-Military Heroism' King's College London, 23-25 June 2009