Michael Richards

Michael Richards is an Associate Professor of Contemporary European History at the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education (ACE) at the University of the West of England. His work focuses on modern Spain, particularly the social, political, and cultural dimensions of the Spanish Civil War, Franco dictatorship, and post-conflict memory.

• Expertise: Transnational Catholic history, social/political history of epidemics, public history of violent pasts, children in war, Franco regime studies.
• Awards: Recipient of the History Today annual prize for his groundbreaking research.

Richards' research merges historical analysis with interdisciplinary perspectives, including collaborations with the Severnside Institute for Psychotherapy and the Christian Micheelsen Institute (Bergen). His projects examine population movement, trauma, and the use of epidemiological records in social history. He also engages in public history initiatives, such as conferences comparing historical and contemporary refugee experiences.

Current affiliations include the UWE Childhood Studies Group and the History of Science University of La Laguna. Funding sources for his work include the British Academy, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and Rockefeller Foundation.