Dr Hannah Elias
Specialising in histories of race, faith and culture in Modern Britain.
Staff details
Dr Hannah Elias is the Director of Research for the Department of History, and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students at Goldsmiths. She teaches and researches on a range of subjects including: histories of race, migration and culture in Modern Britain, Black British History, global radical history, postcolonial theory, legacies and memories of empire, and approaches to decolonising history.
Academic qualifications
- PhD in History, McMaster University 2016
- MA in History, McMaster University 2007
- BA(Hons) in History, University of Calgary 2006
Teaching and supervision
Dr Elias welcomes applications from research students in a number of areas, including: Modern British history, histories of race, migration and racialisation in Britain, Black British history, cultural history, media history, radical history, modern histories of religion and faith communities, 'postcolonial' Britain, and public history.
- BA History
- MA History
- MA Black British History
- Postcolonial London: Race, Migration and Culture (MA Module and Year 3 Special Subject)
- Radicalism & Revolution from the late medieval to modern world (Year 2 Undergraduate Module)
- Media Histories of Black Britain (MA Module)
- Global Connections: Decolonising Enlightenment Political Thought (Year 1 Undergraduate Module Block)
- Black British Activism & Citizenship in the Twentieth Century (Year 2 Undergraduate Module)
Research interests
Dr Elias is an expert in histories of race, faith and culture in Modern Britain. She is currently developing projects across four key areas:
- A multi-faith, transnational study of place of religion in anti-racist organising in Britain in the 20th century
- Legacies of empire, cultural guilt and the politics of apology and repair in contemporary Britain
- The place of religion in British imperial and domestic propaganda during the Second World War
- Pathways and practices for teaching British histories of race, migration and empire in schools and universities
Grants and awards
2024: Fellow, Institute of Historical Research
2022: Associate Fellow, Royal Historical Society
2021: AHRC Research Networking Grant - Connected Curriculum Network
2020: Shortlist, AHRC New Generation Thinker
2020: Finalist, AHRC Engaging with Government Scheme
Publications and research outputs
Article
- Citizenship, Immigration and Race Relations in Lambeth Palace Library Archives Elias, Hannah. 2024. Citizenship, Immigration and Race Relations in Lambeth Palace Library Archives. Journal of Religious History, 48(3), pp. 287-303. ISSN 0022-4227
- Teaching Britain's 'civil rights' history: activism and citizenship in context Elias, Hannah and Spafford, Martin. 2021. Teaching Britain's 'civil rights' history: activism and citizenship in context. Teaching History(185), pp. 10-21. ISSN 0040-06109
- Time and race in history education Elias, Hannah. 2020. Time and race in history education. Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy, 28(4), pp. 47-58. ISSN 0968-252X
Book Section
- Radio Religion: The British Broadcasting Corporation and Faith Propaganda at ‘Home’ and ‘Overseas’ in the Second World War Elias, Hannah. 2023. Radio Religion: The British Broadcasting Corporation and Faith Propaganda at ‘Home’ and ‘Overseas’ in the Second World War. In: Michael Snape and Stuart Bell, eds. British Christianity and the Second World War. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, pp. 46-65. ISBN 9781837650194
- John Collins, Martin Luther King, Jr., and transnational networks of protest and resistance in the Church of England during the 1960s Elias, Hannah. 2020. John Collins, Martin Luther King, Jr., and transnational networks of protest and resistance in the Church of England during the 1960s. In: Tom Rodger; Philip Williamson and Matthew Grimley, eds. The Church of England and British Politics since 1900. Martlesham: Boydell & Brewer, pp. 279-297. ISBN 9781787448209
Digital
- Teaching British Histories of Race, Migration and Empire: a resource for teachers and learners Elias, Hannah and Lidher, Sundeep. 2020. Teaching British Histories of Race, Migration and Empire: a resource for teachers and learners.
- 7 Actions to Change the History Curriculum Lidher, Sundeep and Elias, Hannah. 2020. 7 Actions to Change the History Curriculum.
- Race, faith and radicalism: Martin Luther King at St Paul’s Cathedral Elias, Hannah. 2020. Race, faith and radicalism: Martin Luther King at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Professional projects
Dr Elias has worked closely with a number of organisations on initiatives to decolonise history curricula and widen participation in higher education and the history profession. In the summer of 2020, she worked with Dr Sundeep Lidher (KCL) and the Runnymede Trust to launch the #TeachRaceMigrationEmpire campaign, which outlined seven simple actions to change the history curriculum in schools, and created a new digital resource for teachers.
Other roles:
- Chair, Institute of Historical Research Equality Working Group
- Member of the Historical Association's Higher Education Committee
- Co-Convenor of the IHR Modern Religious History Seminar
- Co-Convenor of the IHR Black British History Seminar
- Member of the Advisory Group for History Workshop Online
- Raphael Samuel History Centre Team Member
- Editor, History Workshop Online (from 2015-2018)
Dr Elias has taught a range of subjects in British, global and postcolonial history to undergraduate and postgraduate students at Goldsmiths, the Institute of Historical Research, and McMaster University. She has also helped develop a MOOC for the University of London Worldwide on ‘Applied Public History’ with Professor Catherine Clarke, now available through the Coursera platform.
Dr Elias has made media appearances on BBC Radio 3, Sky News, and CBC Radio.