James Baker

Professor James Baker is the Director of Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton. A historian by training, he focuses on the intersection of history, cultural heritage, and digital technologies. His current research examines knowledge organization and production in 20th-21st century Britain. He leads major projects including the Coastal and Inland Waters Heritage Science Facility and initiatives on research evaluation and data-driven research skills.

Education and career highlights include a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Paul Mellon Centre, roles as Senior Lecturer and Director of the Sussex Humanities Lab at the University of Sussex, and experience as Digital Curator at the British Library.

Research interests span cultural heritage digitization, infrastructure studies, data environmentalism, and decolonial futures for museum collections. He actively supervises PhD students in History, English, and Geography.

Awards include Fellowships from the Royal Historical Society and Software Sustainability Institute, plus roles on national committees such as Hidden REF and the Digital Humanities Climate Coalition.