About
Jason Peacey is Professor of Early Modern British History in the Department of History at University College London, where he joined as a lecturer in 2006, became a senior lecturer in 2009, and holds his current professorship. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and maintains active scholarly engagement through editorial roles and research supervision.
His academic credentials include PhD studies completed at the University of Cambridge in 1994, following earlier education at the universities of Lancaster and York. His doctoral research preceded a research fellowship at the History of Parliament Trust before his appointment at UCL.
Peacey's research centers on the intersection of print culture and political life in early modern Britain, examining censorship mechanisms, propaganda production, news management in nascent newspapers, and the broader 'information revolution' experienced by diverse social groups. He extends this analysis to transnational dimensions, investigating how political ideas traversed borders and contributed to an emerging European public sphere that required diplomatic manipulation by political elites.
His extensive publication record demonstrates consistent thematic focus on petitioning as a political communication tool, the role of ephemeral print in revolutionary politics, and the interplay between local and national political spheres during the English Revolution and Restoration periods. Recent works increasingly analyze George Thomason's book collection and annotations as windows into contemporary reading practices and information dissemination.
His scholarly recognition includes:
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Peacey serves on editorial boards for History Compass, Media History, and Parliamentary History (as book reviews editor), and co-edits the monograph series 'Politics, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain' for Manchester University Press. His teaching encompasses undergraduate courses including 'Tudor and Stuart Britain, 1500-1700', 'The Political City: London in the Seventeenth Century', and 'The British Civil Wars and Interregnum', alongside MA modules on the public sphere. He supervises graduate research on early modern British political history, parliamentary studies, and print culture.
While no formal laboratory structures are documented, Peacey's collaborative editorial work and co-edited volumes with scholars like Chris Kyle and Peter Lake indicate active participation in international research networks focused on political communication and print culture in early modern Britain.
