Professor Andrea Major

Profile

Having received a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh in 2004, I joined the School of History at the University of Leeds in September 2009. My work focuses on the relationship between Britain and India in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, with a particular interest in colonial philanthropy, social and gender issues such as sati (widow-burning) and slavery, and the impact of empire ‘at home’. 

Research interests

Recent research projects have focused on the relationship between the British anti-slavery movement and imperial expansion and exploitation in India, exploring how the campaign against slavery in the west helped shape ideas about empire in the east. I’m interested both in various abolitionists’ personal, financial and political connections to the subcontinent, as well as how their perceptions of Indian conditions were informed by, and functioned within, wider debates about slavery, poverty, and ‘free’ labour. I am currently working on a series of publications relating to these themes, including a monograph on the anti-slavery activist George Thompson's involvement in East Indian reform, and articles exploring British debates about indentured labour and the impact of colonialism in India.

I have given a radio interview on the subject of sati, appeared on 'The Big Questions' discussing empire, and carried out consultancy work for the National Library of Scotland on sources on early colonial India. I have also appeared on the BBC documentaries, 'Birth of Empire' and 'History's Biggest Fibs' discussing the East India Company, and the Channel News Asia documentary on Sir Stamford Raffles.  I welcome the opportunity to discuss my research interests and am happy to answer questions on any area of my research and teaching.

Qualifications

• PhD in History
• MSc by Research in History
• MA (hons) in History

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the HEA
• Fellow of the RHS
• Executive Council Member of BASAS

Student education

I run various modules at Undergraduate and MA level relating to the relationship between Britain and India in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, gender and social issues in India, and debates about empire in Britain.

I regularly supervise PhD students on topics relating to all relevant aspects of British colonial and South Asian history, and welcome enquiries relating to my research interests.  

Research groups and institutes

• Empires and Aftermath
• Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Current postgraduate researchers

• Rawan Mohamed
• Yashashwani Srinivas