Event Details

Jonathan Fennell is Professor of Modern History and Director of Research at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London.

Professor Jonathan Fennell (King's College London): ‘In Search of a New History of the Second World War’

This paper will explore the approaches, methodologies and sources being used in the writing of a new three-volume history of the Second World War. The paper will focus in particular on the challenges of writing a global history that integrates the experiential with the wider military, social, gender and cultural history of the period.

After completing a Doctorate in Modern History at the University of Oxford, Jonathan worked in management consultancy in the City before joining King’s in 2009. Prior to this, he was awarded a joint honours History and Politics Degree at University College Dublin. He also studied History as an Erasmus Scholar at Université Lumière Lyon II.

Jonathan’s research focuses on the military and social history of Britain, the Commonwealth, and the Second World War. He has published two books and is co-editor of a further one. He has published many articles in research journals and other media as well as contributing chapters to edited collections. His most recent monograph, Fighting the People’s War: The British and Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War (Cambridge University Press, 2019), won the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020, and also the Society for Army Historical Research Templer Medal for the History of the British Army 2020. It was awarded the silver medal in the Military History Matters Book of the Year 2020 (a prize decided by public vote) and was third place in the British Army Military Book of the Year, 2020.

Jonathan is Co-Director of the Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War and Co-Founder and President of the international scholarly society, the Second World War Research Group.

Accessibility

This seminar is located on Floor B of Bowland Main. This is the first floor, where the Department of History is housed. Full information on accessibility for Bowland Main can be found on the AccessAble website.