Professor Laura King

Profile

I am a historian of the everyday, of stories, of the way history shapes the intimate lives of families and individuals. I trace how the family is a space in which we learn about the past, and analyse how families change over time. I research and teach about all sorts of aspects of families, from fatherhood to how we remember the dead. My latest book, Living with the Dead, charts the relationship we have with our dead ancestors.

Having completed a BA in Modern History and Politics and MA in Twentieth-Century History at the University of Sheffield, I continued to study for a PhD there, supported by an AHRC Doctoral Award.

My first job post-PhD, in 2011, was as Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for the History of Medicine, University of Warwick, where I ran a public engagement project, Hiding in the Pub to Cutting the Cord? Fatherhood and Childbirth in Britain from the 1950s to the Present.

I moved to Leeds in 2012, to take up a position as Arts Engaged Fellow (2012–2015), reflecting my growing interest in collaboration with partners and audiences beyond the campus. In 2015, I was appointed University Academic Fellow in the History of Health, Family and the Everyday, and in 2017 became Associate Professor in Modern British History, and in 2024, Professor of Collaborative History.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a member of the Social History Society, Women's History Network and Oral History Society. I am also Deputy Director of History & Policy, and sit on the editorial board of the journal Genealogy.

Responsibilities

• Deputy Head of School

Research interests

My research focuses on the social and cultural history of everyday family life and emotional relationships in modern Britain. I have written about fatherhood, childbirth, family archives, the remembrance of the dead, and methodologies for collaborative public history. My current work focuses on the relationship with our ancestors and family history, and is based on collaborative research with a group of family historians. A book, entitled Living with the Dead, is now out and free to download with Oxford University Press.

One of the most exciting parts of working as an academic historian, for me, is collaboration with others. My work on the relationship between the living and dead has involved projects with the Grief Series, Leeds Museums and Galleries and Leeds Dying Matters partnership, amongst others. In the past I’ve worked with a wide range of museums, arts organisations, charities, local government and community groups. I’m always happy to hear from anyone outside academia who is keen to collaborate.

• Agents of Future Promise: The ideological use of children in culture and politics (Britain and France, c. 1880-c. 1950)
• Digital Tools in the Service of Difficult Heritage: How Recent Research Can Benefit Museums and their Audiences
• Fatherhood in Britain, c.1914-60
• Living with Dying: Everyday Cultures of Dying within Family Life in Britain, c.1900-50
• Men, Masculinity and Maternity in Britain, from the 1950s to the Present
• The Family Archive: Exploring Family Identities, Memories and Stories Through Curated Personal Possessions
• Using digital tools in heritage

Student education

I teach on various aspects of modern British history, and on modules which encourage students to work with external partners and engage with public audiences.

I am able to supervise MA and PhD students focusing on the social and cultural history of twentieth-century Britain, particularly those with interests in gender, family, health and the life course. I welcome all enquiries - please do get in touch.

Research groups and institutes

• Medical Humanities Research Group
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality
• Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums
• Health Histories
• Centre for Global Health Histories

Current postgraduate researchers

• Kate Wvendth
• Sophia Lambert