Professor Daniel McNeil

• Ph.D. in History – University of Toronto (2007)
• M.A. in History and Ethnic and Immigration Studies – University of Toronto (2002)
• B.A. (Honours) in Modern History – Oxford University (2001)

Daniel McNeil is a distinguished historian, cultural critic, and public intellectual whose groundbreaking work bridges the fields of Black Atlantic Studies, Diaspora Studies, Cultural Studies, and anti-racist education. Currently the inaugural Stuart Hall Interdisciplinary Chair at the University of Birmingham, McNeil has spent over two decades shaping scholarly and public conversations about anti-racism, migration, multiculturalism, and cultural politics.

Born in Merseyside, England, McNeil holds a B.A. (Honours) in Modern History from Oxford University and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto. His academic journey has taken him across the UK, Canada, and the United States, with faculty appointments as a research chair in Black Studies, a strategic hire in Migration and Diaspora Studies, and a lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies.

McNeil’s teaching and mentorship have inspired students across disciplines to engage the connections between the arts, social justice, and decolonial thought. His courses on Black Atlantic history, migration, and cultural criticism have produced award-winning student projects and fostered inclusive intellectual communities. In recognition of his ability to seek out the strengths of others and facilitate their flourishing, he has received multiple mentorship awards, including the Stuart Hall Outstanding Mentorship and Public Engagement Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association.

McNeil is the author of several influential books, including Thinking While Black: Translating the Politics and Popular Culture of a Rebel Generation and Sex and Race in the Black Atlantic. He is also the co-editor of Migration and Stereotypes in Performance and Culture and a prolific author of academic articles, chapters and essays. His interdisciplinary research has been recognised with numerous accolades, visiting professorships and fellowships, including the Editor’s Award from the Canadian Journal of Communication, the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Visiting Professorship of African and Black Diaspora Studies at DePaul University, and the inaugural Visiting Public Humanities Faculty Fellowship at the University of Toronto.

Beyond academia, McNeil is deeply committed to public scholarship. From 2022 to 2025, he produced and hosted The Black Studies Podcast, a platform that assembled artists, activists, curators, and scholars to explore creative and collaborative knowledge-making. He has also co-designed museum exhibitions, curated gallery events, and developed award-winning online educational resources.

Whether in the classroom, on the page, or behind the microphone, Daniel McNeil continues to challenge conventional narratives and expand the boundaries of interdisciplinary scholarship. His work exemplifies the power of the humanities and social sciences to illuminate histories, confront inequalities, and imagine more just futures.

Professor Daniel McNeil is available to supervise graduate students and postdoctoral researchers working in interdisciplinary areas that intersect with Black Studies, Cultural Studies, and Public Humanities. He welcomes students from diverse academic backgrounds who are interested in exploring the cultural, political, and historical dimensions of race, migration, and identity. Professor McNeil is particularly interested in supervising projects related to:

- Black Atlantic History and Diaspora Studies
- Migration and Multiculturalism
- Cultural Studies and Public Humanities
- Black Popular Culture and Media Criticism
- Anti-racist Education and Decolonial Thought
- Mixed-Race Identity and Representation
- Global Intellectual History
- Performance, Visual Culture, and Sound Studies
- Digital Humanities and Community-Based Research

Professor Daniel McNeil’s research explores the intersections of Black Atlantic history, migration, multiculturalism, and cultural criticism. His work spans scholarly writing, public humanities, and collaborative media projects, with a focus on how race, identity, and belonging are represented and contested across time and space. 

Research interests

• Black Atlantic History & Diaspora Studies
• Migration, Multiculturalism & Citizenship
• Cultural Studies & Media Criticism
• Public Humanities & Anti-Racist Education
• Black Popular Culture (Music, Film, Literature)

Current projects

• An Immigrant’s Guide to Canada

Considers how migrants and ‘familiar strangers’ help us to navigate the cultural codes, unspoken expectations, and national myths that shape life in Canada. 

• Black History in Motion

A project that reimagines public transit as a site of cultural pedagogy and civic dialogue.

Recent research

• Thinking While Black (Rutgers University Press, 2023)
  A uniquely interdisciplinary study of Black cultural expression and political thought across the Atlantic.
• The Black Studies Podcast (2022–2025)
  A platform for collaborative knowledge-making in Black Studies.
• Multiculturalism & Media (2021-2025)
  Articles on multiculturalism, race, and media discourse in Canada, such as “Even Canadians Find It a Bit Boring: A Report on the Banality of Multiculturalism.” 

• Migration and Stereotypes in Performance and Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)
  Co-edited volume on migration, identity, and performance.

Foundational work

Sex and Race in the Black Atlantic (Routledge, 2010)
A landmark study on mixed-race identities and cultural representation.