I have written 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 especially interested in political cultures and how they change. How do pervasive values and priorities become replaced by contrary commitments? How do people navigate this shift from one worldview to another? My first book followed the journey from meritocracy to neo-conservatism; my second book examined how social democrats responded to the rise of 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.
