Francesca Melhuish

Francesca Melhuish is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, affiliated with the School of Politics and International Relations and the Department of Politics and International Relations. Her research explores nostalgia, the politics of emotions, and gothic representations of race and gender in political contexts.

Research Interests:

• Nostalgia as a political emotion
• Visual politics and national identity
• Gothic imagery in gender/race narratives
• Colonial legacies in contemporary policy

Her recent work examines nostalgic rhetoric in Brexit discourse, EU radicalisation policies, and the intersection of gothic aesthetics with political narratives. She previously held postdoctoral positions at the Universities of Birmingham, Durham, Nottingham, and Warwick, contributing to interdisciplinary projects on Politics, History, and Law.

Supervision:

• Currently supervising PhD student Desiree Atieno Acholla in History