Our research

Conflict is a theme that engages with questions of violence, exploitation and subjugation, but it also addresses issues of identity, resistance and belonging. We examine diverse histories of conflict and their cultural representation in literature and cinema. Researchers are engaged in the following key areas of research:

  • Legacies of historical and political violence. Representations of the Holocaust in German literature.
  • Political and religious conflicts in Modern Europe and Latin America. The political, cultural and religious aspects of Modernity in comparative perspective.
  • Social and political conflict in early twentieth-century Spain, focusing in particular on the rise of anarcho-syndicalism in early twentieth century Spain and on the reasons behind the fall of Spain's Restoration Monarchy in 1923. Nationalisms and national identities in modern Spain, with particular reference to Catalonia.
  • Protest movements and conflict in contemporary France in relation to themes of globalisation, neoliberalism and cultural identity.
  • Terrorism and Italian cinema

Impact and engagement

  • Education and outreach with the South African Holocaust and Genocide Foundation and the Yorkshire Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association
  • A travelling exhibition on 'Germany's Confrontation with the Holocaust in a Global Context', displayed in the South African Holocaust and Genocide centres, the UK National Holocaust Centre, and many other locations in the UK, South Africa, the USA, and Ireland
  • Collaboration with trade unions as part of a campaign to change workplace health and safety legislation in the UK. Submission to the UK parliament Health Committee and meeting with the Shadow Secretary of Work and Pensions. Feature article in award-winning trade union publication: Hazards

Research projects

  • AHRC Care for the Future Research project ‘Performing the Jewish Archive
  • Wellcome Trust Seed Award investigating international workplace suicides and bringing together a network of researchers in public health and the humanities.
  • AHRC Leaders Fellowship. ‘Suicide Voices’. This project examines workplace suicides in three French companies during the period 2005 to 2015 and draws on a corpus of 82 suicide letters.
  • Italian Cinemas / Italian Histories

Academic team

Gregorio Alonso
Helen Finch
Angel Smith
Sarah Waters
Andrew Deltolla
James House
Rebecca Jarman
Abdul-Bashid Shaik
Mustapha Sheik
Nina Wardleworth
Janet Watson
Tajul Islam