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Department of History

Dr Lydia Plath

  photograph of Dr Lydia Plath

 

 

Room: FAB 3.12
Phone: 02476 523307
Email: L.J.Plath@warwick.ac.uk

Office Hours: Mondays 12-1, Fridays 10-11 (excluding T1 week 1 and reading weeks)
For in-person or Teams appointments at other times please book online

    Phonetic pronounciation: Lih-dee-ah Plath

    I am an Associate Professor of US History, with a specialism in the history of racism and racial violence, considered from an interdisciplinary perspective. In 2022 I was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. I am currently the Deputy Head of Department and Director of Teaching and Learning.

    My PhD considered the role of lynching during the era of slavery, and the intersections of race and manhood in the lives of white men in the American South. My second project investigated the representation of slavery in twentieth and twenty-first century American cinema. My current research has two separate strands: I am writing the history of an incident of sexual violence in a rural community in England and developing research into American Studies pedagogies.

    I am a committed teacher and educator, and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I teach African American history and the history of whiteness, and I am committed to anti-racist pedagogies. In 2020, my module 'America in Black and White?' won the inaugural HOTCUS Inclusive Curricula Prize. I am one of the facilitators of the Tackling Racial Inequality at Warwick Staff Development Programme, which in 2022 was both a Runner Up for the Warwick Social Inclusion Staff Award and Commended in the Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence Collaborative Awards. In 2023 I achieved a Postgraduate Award in Interdisciplinary Pedagogy, with Distinction.

    I am an Alumni Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy. I have served in various administrative roles for the History Department, including Director of Student Experience, Study Abroad Coordinator, Director of Final Year Studies, Chair of the Social Inclusion and Diversity Committee, and Student Voice Lead. I currently serve as Examinations Secretary.

    In 2022 I was elected as Chair of the British Association for American Studies (BAAS), after three years as Vice-Chair of the organisation and Chair of the Development and Education Subcommittee. From 2017-2023 I managed the BAAS/US Embassy Small Grants Programme. In 2019, I was the lead organiser of the first inaugural Teaching American Studies Conference held at Warwick and I now coordinate the BAAS Teaching American Studies Network.

    From 2011 to 2018 I served on the committee for the Association of British American Nineteenth Century Historians (BrANCH), including as Secretary from 2012-2016. I also currently serve on the Memberships Committee for the Southern Historical Association.

    I would be willing to discuss potential PhD supervision with students interested in the history of US slavery, whiteness and white supremacy, the American South, lynching or racial and sexual violence, or slavery on film and television.

    Academic Profile

    • 2019 onwards: Associate Professor, University of Warwick
    • 2017-2019: Senior Teaching Fellow, University of Warwick
    • 2015-2016: Director of International, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University
    • 2013-2016: Senior Lecturer in African American History, Canterbury Christ Church University
    • 2012-2013: Lecturer in African American History, Canterbury Christ Church University
    • 2010-2012: Lecturer in History, University of Glasgow
    • 2009-2010: Teaching Fellow, University of Warwick
    • 2006-2009: PhD in History, University of Warwick
    • 2005-2006: MA by Research, University of Warwick
    • 2002-2005: BA in History, University of Warwick

    Teaching

    Publications

    Research Publications

    Edited Collections and Journal Forums

    Articles and Book Chapters

    Pedagogic Publications
    Other Publications
    Public Engagement