Nicholson Center for British Studies – University of Chicago

Welcome

Welcome to the Nicholson Center for British Studies, the University of Chicago’s hub for the interdisciplinary study of Britain–past, present, and future. Established in 2003, the Nicholson Center fosters the University’s remarkable strengths in this area of study.

Ranging across the history and culture of Britain from premodern times, we consider Britain in both local and global contexts. This includes Britain’s difficult history of colonialism, and its legacies throughout the world.

Histories of empire and of climate change, studies of the literature and culture of Britain from Medieval times to the present, print cultures of South Asia, the many impacts of Brexit on Britain and its neighbors: these are just some of the topics on which our Faculty Affiliates and our students work, producing some of the most influential and challenging work in the field today.

Spotlight

Anand Venkatkrishnan in Conversation with Kirsten Macfarlane – 2/17, 12pm

February 17, 2025 12:00pm - 1:20pm CST Hyde Park Campus Swift Hall, Common Room The Dean’s Forum puts Divinity School faculty members from across disciplines into conversation with each other to discuss their colleagues’ new works. The Divinity School warmly welcomes...

Julia Alexander – The Museum as Cenotaph or Time-Machine? 3/4, 4pm

The Museum as Cenotaph or Time-Machine? Thoughts on Art, History, and Institutions in Our Nearsighted Moment Co-Presented by the Nicholson Center for British Studies and the Smart Museum of Art, UChicago Public Lecture on Tuesday, March 4th at 4pm, with reception to...

Chicago British Studies Symposium, 1/24-1/25

The Nicholson Center for British Studies presents CHICAGO BRITISH STUDIES SYMPOSIUM Friday, January 24 - Saturday, January 25, 2025 Social Science Research Building, Tea Room (201) The goal of our first inaugural symposium is to stimulate cross-departmental and...

PARTNER WITH US

If you are interested in co-sponsorship for an event or research project in British Studies, (including British empire and legacies of empire), please contact nicholsoncenter@uchicago.edu.

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