Linda Colley

Dame Linda Colley is Shelby M.C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University. A Fellow of the British Academy and Royal Society of Literature, she specializes in British/imperial history since 1700, examining nation formation, constitutional development, and global interconnections. Her research methodologies employ individual narratives to explore transnational histories.

Colley's scholarship investigates the intersections of warfare, constitutional development, and identity politics across continents. Her recent work analyzes how mass literacy and conflict shaped governance models from 1750 onward, challenging Eurocentric constitutional narratives through case studies from Japan, Tunisia, and Pacific islands.

She has curated British Library exhibitions on constitutional history and delivered BBC Radio 4 lectures on UK fractures preceding Scottish independence. Current projects examine the relationship between military technology and constitutional documentation in modern state formation.

Colley teaches undergraduate courses on British imperial history and graduate seminars on Britain in global context. Former students hold academic positions internationally. She serves on advisory boards including the British Museum Research Committee and New York Public Library Research Council.