Jodi Burkett

As a cultural and social historian of late twentieth century Britain I am primarily interested in the many and varied ways in which the end of the British Empire has impacted on British identity. I joined the University of Portsmouth in 2010 and have previously taught at a number of institutions in the north of England and Canada.

My research focuses on the cultural and social impacts of the end of the British Empire. In particular, I am interested in the ways in which British national identity has been re-imagined by some people as multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-ethnic in the postwar period while others have resisted this transformation. In particular this has led me to think about racism and anti-racism in British society and culture. My doctoral work focussed on social movements and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the 1960s including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), the National Union of Students (NUS) and groups within the Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement, exploring how they were reconceptualising Britishness at the end of empire.

My current research focus is on student anti-racist activism in the 1970s and 1980s. I am particularly interested in exploring the links between student activists and community action around issues of race and racism in these two pivotal decades.

I am co-ordinating a research network for people interested in, and working on, the history of students across the twentieth century in Europe. More information on this network and its activities can be found here: Students in 20th Century Europe.

Research clusters

• Social and Cultural History

British Political and Cultural History

History