Dr. Francesca Melhuish

Biography

Francesca Melhuish is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton with research interests in nostalgia politics, emotions, gothic representations, race, and gender. Her work challenges conventional interpretations of nostalgia as a simple desire to return to the past. Instead, she explores the plurality of nostalgias, particularly focusing on how emotions are utilized to envision political frameworks for a bright and hopeful future. She also examines how nostalgia shapes gendered and racialized representations of nations and their colonial roots. Her recent projects delve into how nostalgia animates gothic representations of gender, race, and nation. Francesca received her PhD from the University of Warwick in 2021, where her doctoral research investigated how nostalgia influenced key Eurosceptic political discourses during the 2016 Brexit referendum. Her collaborative research has been published in various journals, including the Journal of Common Market Studies and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations. She is also a member of research groups focusing on public opinion and gender inequalities.

Research Interests

Experience