Research output per year
Research output per year
I spent my first eighteen years in London, before studying for an undergraduate degree in Modern History at the Queen's College, Oxford. After working as a research assistant for nine months in the House of Commons, I decided to pursue an academic career, and spent three years in the PhD programme of the University of California at Berkeley, before returning to England to work on my doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge. I joined Manchester in January 2003, having previously been a Fellow and Director of Studies in History at Christ's College, Cambridge. In both my research and teaching, I attempt to combine the traditional training I received at Oxford and Cambridge, with the innovative interdisciplinary approaches I encountered at Berkeley.
My research and teaching focus on modern history since 1750, with particular interest in:
Although my primary expertise is in British history, I am interested in analysing the networks - European, Imperial, Transatlantic, Global - in which Britons were entangled.
In a number of publications, I have analysed how heroic reputations are constructed and disseminated in order to offer insights into a range of research questions regarding empire, gender, sexuality, the media and the state. My article on the networks which constructed the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen as an explorer-hero after his Fram expedition, 1893-96, was published by the Journal of Modern History in March 2021
I am currently working on four related research projects:
1. A new book for Oxford University Press on the changing forms and functions of British heroes over the last three centuries;
2. The relationship between form and content, and how materiality, media format and genre interact in specific historical contexts, with particular reference to George William Joy's painting The Death of General Gordon a.k.a General Gordon's Last Stand (1894).
3. The 'debunking' of heroes in different national contexts and on aspects of the heroic, in collaboration with the Heroes Centre at the University of Freiburg. This project arose from a SALC-funded workshop;
4. The use of historical approaches to extend research on psychological responses to extreme environments, in collaboration with Prof. Emma Barrett.
I also retain an interest in the history of regional geographical societies and changing cultures of exploration.
Please email me if you're interested in postgraduate study, or have an idea or a proposal you'd like to discuss.
Postgraduate Research Students - In Progress:
PhD Students – Completed:
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Jones, M. (Recipient), 2008
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Jones, M. (Invited speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Jones, M. (Keynote speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Jones, M. (Invited speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Jones, M. (Invited speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Jones, M. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Jones, M. (Participant)
Impact: Cultural impacts, Economic impacts, Societal impacts
30/04/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
18/10/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
2/08/17
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment