Dr. William Hamilton

Biography

William Hamilton is a lecturer at Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford, specializing in Art History and Design History. His research focuses on modern art and visual culture, particularly how they intersect with war, national myths, and memory. He examines the role of cartoons, comics, and the international illustrated press from the 19th to early 20th centuries in shaping public perception and commentary on military figures and nationalist narratives. His work emphasizes the illustrated press's contributions to pictorial journalism, humor, and light-hearted amusements while critically engaging with contentious representations. Hamilton's current research investigates pictorial representations of conflict in illustrated periodicals during the 19th and early 20th centuries. He completed his PhD at the University of Bristol, where he argued that comic art played a crucial role in contesting German national heroes during World War I and challenged prevailing misconceptions that 'traditional' German comics were merely behind their international counterparts. His analysis shows how graphic art engaged in debates about memory and meaning related to WWI, revealing the complex landscape of heroic beliefs in German visual culture.

Research Interests