We are delighted to welcome two new members of staff to the School of History: Dr Patricia O’Brien and Dr Ben Mercer.

Dr Patricia (Patty) O’Brien was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship in 2013  and took up residence in the School in July 2014. Prior to this appointment Patty was a Visiting Professor in the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies and the Department of History at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Patty specializes in the colonial and gendered histories of Australia and the Pacific, and in race relations and indigenous histories within a broad arc of British imperialism.

Dr Ben Mercer came to the School of History after five years’ teaching at the College of Staten Island in the City University of New York. As a Lecturer in European History, Ben will teach a variety of courses on modern European History.  His research focuses on the political, social and cultural transformations of the 1960s in Western Europe, the revolts of 1968, and the politics of remembrance in contemporary Europe.

You can find more on Patty and Ben’s research under the staff listings on this site.