Bob Harris

Professor Bob Harris is a Professor of British History at Worcester College, University of Oxford. He joined the faculty in 2006 from the University of Dundee, where he held a personal chair in British history. His research focuses on 18th-century British and Scottish political, cultural, and social history, with particular emphasis on urban development, Enlightenment culture, and the cultural history of gambling. His work has been recognized with the Saltire Society’s Scottish Book of the Year Prize (2014) for his study of Scottish towns during the Enlightenment.

Research Interests:

• Political and cultural history of 18th-century Britain/Ireland
• Urban transformation in Scottish towns (1740–1820)
• Social and cultural history of gambling in the British Empire (1660–1850)

Awards:

• Saltire Society’s Scottish Book of the Year Prize (2014)

Teaching and Supervision:

• Current DPhil students: Tier Blundell, Estella Chen, Pat Flood, Eleanor Kerfoot, Philip Smith
• Teaches courses including Prelims FHS, HBI V, and Historiography

Current Projects:

Investigating gambling and risk attitudes in Britain and its empire, and continuing research on Edinburgh’s urban development in the 1780s.