Dr Katie Carpenter

Profile

I am a historian of society, culture and politics in modern Britain, with particular interests in public history, material culture and women’s history.

I joined the School of History at the University of Leeds in the summer of 2022 as Lecturer in Public History. Prior to this, I held temporary lectureships at the University of Bristol (2021–22) and the University of Lincoln (2021). 

In addition, I have taught at the University of Highlands and Islands, University College London, King’s College London, Loughborough University and Royal Holloway, University of London. I have previously held an AHRC Creative Economy Engagement Fellowship at Royal Holloway, working in partnership with the Parliamentary Archives. I was awarded my PhD in History from Royal Holloway in 2019.

Responsibilities

• Widening Participation Lead

Research interests

My research interests lie in the social, cultural and political histories of the long nineteenth century in Britain.

My doctoral research project—'The Scientific Housewife: Gender, Material Culture and the Middle-Class Kitchen in England, c. 1870–1914’— examined how scientific knowledge and behaviour was linked to daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and the management of domestic servants.  It explored how this contradicted and challenged gendered norms and traditional ideals of domesticity in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain. I paid particular attention to the material culture of the kitchen and how its depiction was shaped by popular ideas about the kitchen as a scientific space. This project has produced an article in Paedagogica Historica. Further articles and a monograph are planned.

Following a post-doc with the Parliamentary Archives I developed an interest in the life and trial of Caroline of Brunswick. A biographical essay on her life is to be published in an edited volume in 2022.

I am interested in communicating historical research to audiences outside of academia. I have co-curated exhibitions, given public talks, written blog posts and produced digital content based on my research.

Qualifications

• PhD History (RHUL)
• MA Modern History (RHUL)
• BA History (RHUL)

Student education

My teaching practice centres on public history and material culture. I am especially interested in developing practice-based and public-facing assessments on my modules to enhance student education.

I have previously given papers at pedagogy conferences including the Researching, Advancing and Inspiring Student Engagement annual conferences, the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Annual Conference, and most recently, the New to Teaching Events hosted by the Royal Historical Society and History UK. I have published an article in the Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal.