Public Historian & Author
I am a public historian and author who specialises both in transnational experiences of warfare and modern media representations of history; predominantly computer games and the Star Wars franchise.
I received my PhD from the University of Sussex in 2013. My thesis examined relations between British and French soldiers during the First World War. I have taught widely on war, conflict, and European history.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
I am a series editor for the De Gruyter academic book series ‘Video Games and the Humanities‘ and a co-presenter on ‘Oh! What a Lovely Podcast‘ which explores the portrayal of the First World War in popular culture and media.
Academic Author
To date I have written three academic monographs. The First World War in Computer Games was published by Palgrave in 2015. British, French and American Relations on the Western Front, 1914-1918 was published by Palgrave, 2018.
My most recent book, The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy was published by Routledge (and unaffiliated with Disney Lucasfilm) in 2022.
Star Wars Author
I have published multiple licensed works regarding the Star Wars universe. My new book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire will be published by DK in July 2024
Along with Jason Fry, Cole Horton, and Amy Ratcliffe, I am the co-author of the officially licensed book Star Wars Battles that Changed the Galaxy published by DK in 2021.
I also authored the article The Death Star Stratagem for Star Wars Insider 223.
Speaker and Consultant
I was a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the Imperial War Museum’s digital centenary projects and also acted as a consultant to the BBC during the planning stage for their First World War centenary output.
More recently I have served on the Imperial War Museum’s advisory board for their forthcoming War Games exhibition.
I was a member of the Research Network for the First World War co-ordinating centre ‘Gateways to the First World War’ where I acted as a consultant and research skills trainer to numerous local history projects.
I have been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage of key events during the First World War centenary and have also acted as a consultant and contributor for episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One.
Contact Chris
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