I joined the Department as Senior Lecturer in Politics in August 2007 after previously lecturing at the University of Salford and the University of Manchester. I was promoted to Reader in August 2011 and was appointed as a Fellow of the Higher Education Authority in December 2011. I am co-founder of the Academy for British and Irish Studies based at the University of Huddersfield. I am also co-convenor of the Politics Studies Association Britishness Specialist Group. I am a regular commentator on local and national media and also regularly contribute to Open Democracy.

My approach to the development of teaching and learning is proactive and research-orientated. I teach on a range of modules including Ethnicity and Nationalism, From Dictatorship to Democracy, The Politics of the European Union, Introduction to Politics, and Film and Cinema. I am also responsible for running the highly-regarded Professional Work Placement programme for Politics students.

My PhD, awarded by the University of Salford, focused on citizenship and identity in post-empire states, with particular focus on the impact on government programmes of citizenship and history education in the UK and Russian Federation. This has been developed into a monograph to be published by Palgrave MacMillan in early 2014. Other research has explored the ‘politics of Britishness’ and I have published widely about the legacy of British Empire and the impact of devolution, immigration and multiculturalism. I am also interested in contemporary politics across the Commonwealth.

Recent work has focused on the development of active citizenship and democratic participation of young people in the UK. I served on the Ministry of Justice Youth Citizenship Commission in 2008-9. The Commission reported to government in June 2009 (research and final reports). I have published widely on issues of youth citizenship and government youth initiatives such as National Citizen Service.