Dr Laura King

Profile

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, and awarded in 2011.

Following this, I took up a position 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 September 2015, I took up the position of University Academic Fellow in the History of Health, Family and the Everyday, and in May 2017 became Associate Professor in Modern British 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.

Research interests

My research focuses on the social and cultural history of everyday family life, emotional relationships, health and gender in modern Britain.

Publications

Research projects

Living with Dying: Everyday Cultures of Dying within Family Life in Britain, 1900–50s

This project explores cultures of death in family life in modern Britain, and in particular examines how families remembered their dead after they were gone, from the objects that were kept to the stories told through multiple generations of a family.

The project is funded by an AHRC Leadership Fellowship, and involves partnerships with Leeds City Council Public Health team through the Dying Matters Partnership , Leeds Museums & Galleries , Thackray Medical Museum , Leeds Bereavement Forum , and the artist Ellie Harrison through her Grief Series project.

Men, Masculinity and Maternity in Britain, from the 1950s to the Present

This project investigated men's reaction to and relationship with their partner's pregnancy, the birth of their baby, and the early infant care, and charted the shift to men being expected to be part of this process.

Emerging from this, we ran the Thackray Birth Stories project in colalboration with Thackray Medical Museum and Bahar AFG to explore experiences of childbirth with women from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Agents of Future Promise: the ideological use of children in culture and politics (Britain and France, c.1880–c.1950)

This project examined how children have been instrumentalised to represent certain political futures. It explored the use of children as 'agents' of particular notions of the future, and the effects of it on their welfare.

The project involved Dr Vicky Crewe and Dr Lindsey Dodd as Co-Investigators, and partnerships with History & Policy , Save the Children and War Child.

The Family Archive: Exploring Family Identities, Memories and Stories Through Curated Personal Possessions

Many families possess a 'family archive'; documents, photographs, heirlooms, scrapbooks, recipes and a whole range of other items that reveal insights into past generations and preserve family stories for future ones. Through historical case studies and contemporary focus groups, this project explored the concept of the family archive through time, considering what, how and why families have archived personal items for private purposes.

The other investigators were Vicky Crewe, Liz Gloyn and Anna Woodham , and partnered with the National Archives , Barnsley Museum, Your Back Yard, and Sampad South Asian Arts.

Fatherhood in Britain, c.1914–60

This project emerged from my thesis, and explored the roles, relationships, authority and identity associated with fatherhood in twentieth-century Britain.

The research demonstrated that fathers were much more involved in family life in the past than we usually recognised; whilst men were unlikely to change nappies or spend as much time doing childcare or with their children as mothers, fathers' relationships with both sons and daughters were understood as significant. 

The principal output from this project is a book entitled Family Men: Fatherhood and Masculinity in Britain, c.1914–60 , published in 2015 with Oxford University Press. 

Collaboration and Engagement

Throughout my academic career, I have sought to work in collaboration with partners and publics outside higher education. Through my current project, Living with Dying, I am working with a number of different partners to consider how the history of death, dying and the dead might be used today. This has involved working on an artistic project with the Grief Series and co-curating an exhibition on Remembrance with Abbey House Museum.

I have been involved with and run a number of other projects, including:

• collaboration with the Thackray Medical Museum to co-produce with local parents an online exhibition about the history of childbirth;
• co-founder and co-director of the History & Policy Forum on Parenting;
• We are what we keep series of public activities exploring family archives, as part of the 2015 Being Human festival;
• collaboration with West Yorkshire Probation Services to examine the impact of becoming a father on male service users, and produce resources;
• collaboration with heritage organisations to analyse how the digital influences the value of users' engagement with history and heritage;
• working with the Tetley and a number of volunteers to explore the history of the Brewery in the First World War;
• a partnership with Babakas, a theatre company, in production of their theatre piece, Our Fathers;
• collaborating with Nine Arches Press and a number of fathers to publish a collection of poetry

I am always looking for new ways to collaborate with different partners and members of the public, please do get in touch if you think we could work together.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

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

• Health, Medicine and Society
• Medical Humanities Research Group

Current postgraduate researchers

• Judy

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>