I work on urban history, intellectual history, and the history of science. I teach courses on European history since 1750, British history since 1485, and the British Isles since 10,000 BCE.
I’m particularly interested in political cultures and how they change. My first book charted the path from meritocracy to neo-conservatism; my second book followed the shift from social democracy to neo-liberalism.
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of nineteenth-century British historical writing. How did a national frame of reference deal with processes and connections that far exceed the nation?
I’m currently the chair of NYU’s History Department. With Peter Mandler, Deborah Cohen, and Margot Finn, I co-edit Cambridge University Press’s Modern British Histories book series.
