Andy Byford

Andy Byford is Professor and Director of Research in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and science in Russia, particularly the biological, human, and social sciences from the 19th century onwards. Current projects examine the history of Russian 'zoopsychology' and primate research, as well as the development of child science in late Imperial and early Soviet Russia. He holds a PhD from NUI Galway and completed postdoctoral work at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Byford's research explores the intelligentsia, professions, academia, and education in Russian history, with special attention to human-animal relations and the construction of scientific knowledge about children. His work examines how scientific movements like pedology and reflexology developed within Russia's modernization processes.

His publications analyze the history of child science in Russia, examining how concepts of normality, pathology, and development were constructed through interdisciplinary movements that brought together medicine, psychology, and education. Recent work also investigates transnational dimensions of Russian studies and the impact of the Ukraine war on the field.

Byford supervises doctoral research on topics related to Russian intelligentsia, professions, sciences, and education, with particular interest in human-animal relations. He has organized international conferences on the Gaelic Finn tradition and Irish courtly love poetry.