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https://webcdn.mmu.ac.uk/profiles/img/profile-images/avatars_0000s_0054_Sam-Edwards-resize-100x100-528f3ab64c9f2.jpg
Originally from the Waveney Valley in Suffolk, I've now lived in the North-West of England for well-over a decade. I'm told this makes me an honourary Northerner, an identity I try to live up to by using - probably wrongly - such terms as 'aye', 'lass', and 'mill' as frequently as possible (ie. 'Aye lass', that's a very nice 'mill' over there....). When not reading World War II histories, Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, or anything by Roger Deakin (poet of water, and the woods), I can often be found hiking the Lakeland fells with my ridiculously excitable Labradoodle, Molly, running the occasional marathon, or cycling through the Forest of Bowland (please note: not with Molly. I tried, but she can't peddle to save her life). For reasons that I still don't fully understand, these interests and idiosyncracies are lovingly indulged by my partner Nicola and our daughter, Megan, the latter of whom, not yet three, has already resigned herself to the fact that weekends are for bike rides, even in snow. On Fridays, I repay their indulgence by cooking enormous quantities of bolognese whilst drinking red wine and dancing to classic 80s power-ballads.The latter, I'm told, is very bad, and borders on the distressing. I persist regardless.
History is a dynamic discipline produced out of the interaction between past and present. As such, the questions we ask of the past are, in part, questions about ourselves.
My interest in History, then, ultimately has origins in my own life and past, and especially in my teenage cycling expeditions to the old East Anglian airfields of the United States Eighth Air Force. This interest remains even now, ensuring that I am firmly of the opinion that the Memphis Belle (1990) is easily the best film ever made. Twelve O' Clock High (1949) comes a close second.
For me, therefore, History is more than just work, and more than just academic study. It is a deeply personal project about which I feel very passionate.
My advice to you: Read. Read. Read. Read. And read.
My teaching style is: Interactive, Energetic and Enthusiastic.
Teaching and learning are interactive endeavours that achieve their best results when everyone feels involved and, just as importantly, when everyone wants to be involved. As a teacher, therefore, I consider it my job to establish an environment in which everyone feels willing and able to contribute. In turn, this demands that I design engaging courses, communicate clearly, share my enthusiasm, and, when necessary, tell bad jokes (I know of no other kind).
PhD, History (2008): Lancaster University. Thesis: 'War and Collective Memory: American War Commemoration in Britain and France, 1945 to the present'
External Examiner: Prof. Mark Connelly
MA, Historical Research (2003): Lancaster University
BA, History (2002): Lancaster University
Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (2008): Lancaster University.
2010: Fulbright Distinguished Scholar, University of Pittsburgh.
2009: Associate Lecturer, University of Cumbria
2008-09: Associate Lecturer, The Open University
2003-09: Teaching Assistant in American Studies and History
History Programme Leader
French (good reading knowledge)
Unit Leader: Prohibition to the Swinging Sixties: American Society and Culture, 1918-1969 (Yr 3)
Unit Leader: From Manchuria to Hiroshima: The Second World War in Asia and the Pacific (Yr 2)
I also contribute to several other units, including Historic Environment Studies (Yr 1), American Ordeal (Yr 2), Empires in World History (Yr 2) and Columbus to the Civil War (Yr 1)
Unit Leader: A Good War? America's World War II at Home and Abroad, c.1937-1947 (MA)
Unit Leader: Case Studies in Controvery: History and Historians in Public (MA)
Supervision (MA and PhD):
I am able to offer postgraduate supervision (MA or PhD) in the following subject areas:
20th century American cultural history
Cultural history of modern war
Transatlantic cultural relations
Memory, Memorials and Commemoration
PhD: Sarah Bridges, “Rationale, Identity and Legacy: The Collection of Maurice, Fourth and Last Baron Egerton of Tatton Park (1874-1958)”
Broadly speaking, I'm interested in exploring the cultural underpinnings to transatlantic relations in the twentieth century, with a particular focus on the ways in which various commemorative and cultural forms have provided forums in which certain ideas (such as the 'special relationship') have been actively constructed (rather than just repeated or rehearsed). To date, this has led me to examine post-1945 American war memorials in Europe (East Anglia and Normandy), whilst future projects (see below) will explore the 'use' made of particular historical figures appropriated as indicative of a uniquely close Anglo-American alliance (Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Paine, both of whom have Norfolk connections), as well as the ways in which this alliance has been gendered in post-1945 cinema. To my continued delight, I find that these research interests increasingly take me back to my East Anglian beginnings.
S. Edwards (2015). Allies in Memory. Cambridge University Press.
M. Dolski, S. Edwards, J. Buckley (2014). D-Day in History and Memory The Normandy Landings in International Remembrance and Commemoration. University of North Texas Press.
S. Edwards (2014). The beginning of the end: D-day in British memory. In: D-Day in History and Memory: The Normandy Landings in International Remembrance and Commemoration. pp.85-130.
S. Edwards, M. Dolski, F. Sayer (2018). Histories on Screen: The Past and Present in Anglo-American Cinema and Television. SR. Edwards. Bloomsbury Academic.
S. Edwards, MB. Morris (2018). The Legacy of Thomas Paine in the Transatlantic World. MB. Morris. Routledge.
S. Edwards (2015). Allies in Memory. Cambridge University Press.
M. Dolski, S. Edwards, J. Buckley (2014). D-Day in History and Memory The Normandy Landings in International Remembrance and Commemoration. University of North Texas Press.
S. Edwards (2022). World War II Memory Weaponized. Journal of Applied History. 4(1-2), pp.46-57.
S. Edwards (2022). Brutalised, Broken and Betrayed: The Falklands Veteran in 1980s British Film. International Journal of Military History and Historiography. 43(1), pp.81-107.
SR. Edwards (2018). An Empire of Memory: Overseas British War Cemeteries, 1917-1983. International Journal of Military History and Historiography. 38(2), pp.255-286.
S. Edwards (2017). Book Review: The Battle of Britain, 1945-1965: The Air Ministry and the Few, Garry Campion. War in History. 24(4), pp.553-555.
S. Edwards (2017). God and Uncle Sam: Religion and America’s Armed Forces in World War II, by Michael Snape. The English Historical Review. 132(557), pp.1023-1026.
S. Edwards (2016). Book Review: D-Day Documents by Paul Winter. War in History. 23(1), pp.140-142.
M. Morris, S. Edwards (2014). Citizen of the World: The Use and Abuse of Thomas Paine, People's History Museum, Manchester, 29-30 November 2013. History Workshop Journal. 77(1), pp.342-345.
S. Edwards (2013). ‘From here Lincoln came’: Anglo-Saxonism, the special relationship, and the anglicisation of Abraham Lincoln, c. 1860–1970. Journal of Transatlantic Studies. 11(1), pp.22-46.
S. Edwards (2020). ‘A great Englishman’. In: Culture matters. Manchester University Press,
SR. Edwards, A. Walling (2018). Introduction. In: Histories on Screen The Past and Present in Anglo-American Cinema and Television. Bloomsbury Publishing,
SR. Edwards (2018). 'We will remember then': Television and British Memory of the First World War, 1964-2014. In: Histories on Screen The Past and Present in Anglo-American Cinema and Television. Bloomsbury Publishing,
SR. Edwards (2018). The moving image as memory: Past and present on screen. In: Histories on Screen The Past and Present in Anglo-American Cinema and Television. Bloomsbury Publishing,
SR. Edwards (2017). He came from America didn't he? The Thetford statue controversy and the problem of Paine in transatlantic memory, c. 1909-1970. In: The Legacy of Thomas Paine in the Transatlantic World.
SR. Edwards, M. Morris (2017). Introduction: The use and abuse of Thomas Paine in the Transatlantic World. In: The Legacy of Thomas Paine in the Transatlantic World.
SR. Edwards (2017). Monument Missions: Remembrance, Reconstruction and Transatlantic Memory in Post-War Europe, 1945-1962. S. Bélanger, R. Dickason. In: War Memories: Commemoration, Recollections and Writings on War. McGill-Queen's University Press,
S. Edwards (2017). Churchill and the Anglo-American Special Relationship. AP. Dobson, S. Marsh. In: Churchill and the Anglo-American Special Relationship. Routledge, pp.202-222.
SR. Edwards, M. Dolski, J. Buckley (2014). Introduction. In: D-Day in History and Memory The Normandy Landings in International Remembrance and Commemoration. University of North Texas Press,
S. Edwards (2014). The beginning of the end: D-day in British memory. In: D-Day in History and Memory: The Normandy Landings in International Remembrance and Commemoration. pp.85-130.
SR. Edwards (2013). Constructing the special relationship: Anglo-American Heritage as a Teaching Tool. In: Historical Insights: Teaching North American History Using Images and Material Culture. York: Higher Education Academy, pp.9-15.
SR. Edwards (2010). Ruins, Relics and Restoration: The Afterlife of World War Two American Airfields in England, 1945-2005. In: Militarized Landscapes: From Gettysburg to Salisbury Plan. London: Continum, pp.210-228.
SR. Edwards (2009). War Memory and Popular Culture. M. Keren, HH. Herwig. In: War Memory and Popular Culture. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub,
B. Hobson (2007). Introduction. Oxford University Press (OUP), pp.1-3.
SR. Edwards (2006). Commemorating Air War: The Airfields of the US Eighth Air Force. In: Perspectives on Conflict. Salford: European Studies Research Institute, pp.117-141.
Invited Seminars, Lectures, and Symposium Papers:
2018: 'American Memory Diplomacy', The Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford. Invited seminar paper.
2018: 'Commemorating War: Memorials and Society', Tate Britain, London. Invited public talk.
2014: 'D-Day Plus 70: The Normandy Landings in British Memory'. Invited public lecture, 2nd Air Division Memorial Library, Norwich.
2014: 'D-Day Plus 70: The Normandy Landings in British Memory'. Invited conference paper, In the Shadow of the First World War Conference, University of Manchester.
2014: 'D-Day Plus 70: Challenge, Opportunity and the Anniversary of the Great Crusade'. Invited conference paper, HEA 'Conflict and Commemoration' workshop, University of Birmingham.
2013: 'A Movie Set Vision of Events': East Anglian Airfields and the Memorial Landscapes of the Allied Bombing Campaign'. Invited symposium paper, University of Brighton.
2013: 'The Beginning of the End: D-Day in British Memory'. Invited research seminar paper, University of Wolverhampton.
2013: 'Opening the Space: The Digital Age, Living Memorials, and the Necessity for Complicated Commemoration'. Live public talk for 'Four Thought', BBC Radio 4 (aired on 6th Novemeber 2013).
2013: 'From Here Lincoln Came': Abraham Lincoln in East Anglia, c. 1809-2009. Invited public lecture, Second Air Division Memorial Library, Norwich.
2012: 'Over Here': The Legacy of the Mighty Eighth in East Anglia. Invited public lecture, Second Air Division Memorial Library, Norwich.
2012: 'From Here Lincoln Came': Anglo-Saxonism, the Special Relationship, and the Anglicization of Abraham Lincoln, c.1870-1970'. Invited seminar paper, Andrew Hook Centre for American Studies, University of Glasgow.
2010: ‘The Good War and the Cold War: American War Memory in Europe, c. 1945-2005'. Invited seminar papers, Dynamics of Memory Research Centre, Lancaster University.
Selected Conference Papers:
2010: ‘Fields of Honor’: Commemorating D-Day in Normandy’, D-Day Conference, Liberty University, Virginia.
2009: ‘War, Film and Memory: Twelve O’Clock High and American Veterans’ Pilgrimages to England, c. 1945-2005’, Social History Society Conference, University of Warwick.
2009: ‘Constructing a Perfect Past: D-Day and American Identity’, War and US Identity Conference, University College, Dublin, Ireland.
2008: ‘From Haunted Landscapes to Heritage Landscapes: American Airfields and Battlefields in Britain and France, 1970 to the present’, Militarized Landscapes Conference, University of Bristol.
2006: ‘Commemoration or Consumption: American War Tourism in Europe, 1980-2004’, Popularization of War Memory Workshop, University of Calgary, Canada.
2005: ‘ “A bit of England watered with our tears”: Marking the Past of the Mighty Eighth’, The Legacy of World War II Conference, Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, USA.
2005: ‘The Silence of Memory: Remembering and Forgetting the Bombing of Germany’, Discursive Spaces: Identity, Memory and Meaning Conference, Humanities Institute of Ireland, University College, Dublin, Ireland.
2018: 'Over Here: US Presidents in Britain', Manchester Metropolitan University, December 2018.
2018: 'Moving Monuments: History, Memory and the Politics of Public Sculpture, International Anthony Burgess Centre, Manchester, April 2018.
2013: 'Citizen of the World: The Use and Abuse of Thomas Paine'. International conference hosted at the People's History Museum, Manchester, 29-30 November 2013.
History and Memory
Journal of American History
Publishing History
War in History
History: Review of New Books
International History Review
English Historical Review
Mcfarland Publishing
Ashgate
2020: Franklin Research Grant, American Philosophical Society ($2,000)
2020: Research Grant, Society of Antuqiaries of Scotland (£650)
2020: BAAS Founders Research Grant (£1000)
2019: Research Grant, Cumberland and Westmoreland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society (£400).
2018: Research Grant, Institute of Thomas Paine Studies, Iona College, New York ($1,500)
2018: General and Mrs Matthew B. Ridgeway Military History Research Grant, United States Army Military History Institute ($3,000)
2017: ‘Sacrifice: the impact and aftermath of conflict on lives and minds’, The Atkinson Museum (with Dr Ben Edwards) (£5,000)
2016: BAAS/US Embassy Small Grants Programme (£4270), with Dr Marcus Morris.
2015: Morecambe Bay Partnership, Military Heritage of Morecambe Bay (£4470), with Dr Ben Edwards (Project Lead) and Amy Walling.
2010: Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Pittsburgh, US-UK Fulbright Commission ($45,000).
2009: Conference Travel Grant, Associate Lecturer Development Fund, The Open University.
2009: British Association of American Studies (BAAS) Founders’ Travel Award.
2008: Conference Travel Grant ‘Militarized Landscapes Conference’, University of Bristol.
2006: Conference Travel Grant, ‘Popularization of War Memory’ workshop, University of Calgary.
2005: General and Mrs Matthew B. Ridgway Military History Research Grant, United States Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
2004: PhD Studentship, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), United Kingdom.
2003: American Studies Graduate Bursary, Institute for Cultural Research, Lancaster University.
Morecambe Bay Military Heritage: Consultancy and Surveying (December 2015-September 2016)
BBC Online Magazine: 'Viewpoint: How Should We Remember a War?', 5th November 2013: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24610481
Four Thought, BBC Radio 4: How to Remember Wars?, 6th November 2013: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03gg7nk/Four_Thought_Series_4_How_to_Remember/
East Anglian Daily Times: Interview with Features Writer Steve Russell, 5th December 2013.
BBC Breakfast TV: commentary and contributions connected to 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, 6th June 2014.
BBC Radio Manchester, Allan Beswick Show: D-Day discussion, 6th June 2014.
Gravesend Messenger/Kent Online: expert contribution to story about African-American troops in World War I England, 5th April 2015. Available here: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/forgotten-story-of-towns-black-34506/
Eastern Daily Press: Weekend features interview with Steve Snelling about the memory of the 8th Air Force in East Anglia connected to publication of my book, Allies in Memory. 27th June 2015.
2003: Queen’s Studentship: Best qualified entrant into PhD study, History Department, Lancaster University.
2002: Andrew Pearson Prize: Best undergraduate History dissertation, History Department, Lancaster University.
2010: Fulbright Distinguished Scholar, University of Pittsburgh, US-UK Fulbright Commission
2015: Elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
2015: Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2016: Allies in Memory shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society's Gladstone Prize
2019: Elected Visiting Research Fellow, Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford
Expert reviewer for History and Memory; Publishing History; War in History; History: Review of New Books; McFarland Publishing; Ashgate.
Transatlantic Studies Association (member)
British Association of American Studies (member)
Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire (Council Member)