Dr. Bob Harris

Biography

Professor Bob Harris specializes in British history with a particular focus on the political, cultural, and social history of Britain and Ireland during the long eighteenth century. He has a rich research background, having spent 13 years at the University of Dundee where he held a personal chair in British history. His early work centered on the rise of the newspaper press and its relationship with print culture and politics, broadening his focus to the political culture of the British Isles in the central decades of the eighteenth century. His published works include 'Politics and the Rise of the Press: Britain and France, 1600-1800' (1996) and 'Politics and the Nation: Britain in the Mid-Eighteenth Century' (2002). Harris has developed significant expertise in Scottish history, particularly the impact of the French Revolution on Scottish politics and society, evident in his work 'The Scottish People and the French Revolution' (2008). His recent book, 'The Scottish Town in the Age of Enlightenment, 1740-1820', published in 2014, won the Saltire Society’s Scottish Book of the Year prize. Harris is currently engaged in a research project on gambling attitudes within the context of the British Empire from 1660 to 1850, exploring the historical and societal implications of this theme.

Research Interests

Experience