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Matthew Worley

Staff profile placeholder

History REF and Impact Lead

Areas of interest

My main areas of interest lay in twentieth-century British culture and politics. My early research was concentrated on the interwar years, with a particular interest in the British labour movement. I have also written on communism in Britain and in Europe, while my research into Sir Oswald Mosley's New Party led me to work on the far right of the British political spectrum.

Postgraduate supervision

I have successfully supervised a number of PhD students and am always keen to do so. I would welcome students interested in questions of youth and music culture, British twentieth-century politics, communism, socialism and fascism. My own focus tends to be British, but PhDs related to European, US and wider world manifestations of these subjects would be of great interest.

Teaching

My teaching responsibilities include:

  • An MA option, 'Building a New Jerusalem: The Labour Party, 1900-45
  • A 'special' third-year module, 'Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture, 1976-84'
  • A third-year module, 'Political Extremism in Britain between the Wars'
  • A second-year module, 'From War to the New Millennium: Making Modern Britain'
  • A first-year option, 'Noise Annoys, A Soundtrack to British History, 1945-90'

Research centres and groups

Research projects

My current research is directed towards the link between politics and youth culture in post-45 Britain. This has led to the publication of No Future: Politics, Punk and Society, 1976-84 (CUP, 2017), alongside various articles, chapters and edited collections. I am a co-founder of the Subcultures Network (for further information please click here)

Publications