I am primarily a social and cultural historian of youth in post-war Britain, although I have wider interests in drinking studies, urban studies, and local history. My research explores generational changes to the lived experience of young people in post-war Britain, and is particularly focused on youth culture, sexuality, space, and leisure.
I am currently writing my first book, provisionally titled ‘Unspectacular Youth? Evening Leisure Space and Youth Culture in Post-War Britain, c.1950-c.1990’, which explores the development of licensed leisure spaces and youth lifestyles. The monograph will, by discussing youth drinking, alcohol regulation and licensing, lifestyle, the night time economy, behaviour, and sexuality, bring into historical scholarship topics more frequently discussed by sociologists, ethnographers, cultural geographers, and urban studies scholars.
I am also developing my second project, which will focus on the romantic experiences of young people in post-war Britain, charting how this transformed and developed over fifty years of cultural and social change.
I am also involved in the organisation of a range of conferences and seminars. Most recently this includes the co-founding of a research partnership on the theme ‘Rethinking Disruptive Sex’ (https://twitter.com/DisruptiveSex19) with Dr Hannah J Elizabeth at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a special seminar series in the Department of History on new research in histories of gender and sexuality with Dr Zoë Thomas.