My teaching and research focuses on Ireland and Britain during the long nineteenth century, and also encompasses trans-national themes such as travel, tourism, and the history of the modern hospitality sector. My current research programmes include a broad exploration of the role of the hotel visitors’ book in nineteenth-century travel culture, and this project examining the diverse experiences of hotels in wartime Britain. These projects have been generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
My previous and ongoing research has also been funded by a E. Peter Mauk, Jr. / Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. Fellowship at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California; a Travel-to-Collections Grant, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida; a Harry Ransom Center Research Fellowship in the Humanities, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research Fellowship Endowment, University of Texas at Austin; a St Andrews University Special Collections Visiting Scholarship; a Strathmartine Trust research award; a Moore Institute Visiting Fellowship from the National University of Ireland — Galway; Collaborative funding with the University of Ulster’s Institute of Ulster-Scots Studies; and the Ireland-Canada University Fund.
I have a deep interest in communicating research to the broadest audiences, and participate regularly in community lectures and workshops, as well as scholarly events. I also am extensively engaged in activity through a broad range of media, and partnerships with civil society. Please feel free to contact me at kjames@uoguelph.ca
