Emily J. Manktelow

Dr. Emily J. Manktelow serves as Senior Lecturer in Imperial & Global History within the Department of History at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her academic work bridges social history's attention to everyday life with cultural history's focus on representations and discourses across the British Empire.

Dr. Manktelow's research specializes in the intimate dimensions of imperial history:

• Colonial missionary movements and family structures
• Gender dynamics and power relations in colonial contexts
• Race, intimacy, and generational relationships
• Contemporary imperial nostalgia and memory politics
• Sexual abuse and scandal in missionary contexts

Her scholarly trajectory has evolved from examining missionary families to investigating sexual violence in colonial contexts, and currently focuses on what she terms the 'recolonial present' - where memories of Empire are mobilized for contemporary political purposes. Dr. Manktelow emphasizes historians' crucial role in ensuring historical accuracy and diversifying colonial narratives beyond simplistic binaries.

Her significant scholarly recognition includes:

• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

As an academic leader, Dr. Manktelow co-founded the Christian Missions in Global History seminar at the Institute of Historical Research. She currently directs the British Academy-funded project 'BIPOC Christians in Imperial Britain' (2024-2026), which examines Black, Indigenous and People of Color experiences within Christian communities during Britain's imperial period. Her research methodology combines deep archival work across South Africa, New Zealand, America, and Australia with theoretical sophistication to examine both elite colonial experiences and the everyday lives of colonial subjects.

Based at Royal Holloway, Dr. Manktelow benefits from the institution's unique position connecting Surrey's landscape with London's global networks, while drawing on Windsor's colonial history and the university's legacy as a former women's institution to inform her gender-focused imperial history research.