Sara Caputo

Dr. Sara Caputo is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge. She serves as Director of Studies in History, History and Politics, and History and Modern Languages at Magdalene College. Her research spans transnational maritime history, the history of medicine, cartography, and imperial history.

• Education: PhD in History from the University of Cambridge (Robinson College), MSc in History from the University of Edinburgh, BA (Hons) in History from Cardiff University.
• Career Highlights: Lumley Junior Research Fellow (2019–2022), Senior Research Fellow (2022–present) at Magdalene College, Scouloudi Fellow (2018–2019), Lewis-AHRC Scholarship (2015–2018), Honorary Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar (2015–2018).

Research Focus: Dr. Caputo explores maritime mobilities, knowledge exchange, and the instability of national boundaries in the British and European navies. Her work integrates transnational perspectives into the study of a quintessentially national institution, challenging notions of Britishness and foreignness. She combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies to analyze legal, social, and cultural contexts of naval service and cartographic practices.

Notable Articles: Recent publications include studies on British naval medicine, the evolution of ship tracks into surveillance tools, and the transnational dimensions of naval exploration. Her articles span journals like Past & Present, English Historical Review, and Social History of Medicine, with chapters in edited volumes on transport history and postwar naval recruitment.

Scientific Awards:

• Royal Historical Society Whitfield Prize (2024)
• British Commission for Maritime History Boydell & Brewer Prize (2020)
• Fachverband Medizingeschichte wissenschaftlichen Förderpreis (2022)
• International Committee for History of Technology Maurice Daumas Prize (2021)
• Scottish History Society Rosebery Prize (2020)

Teaching and Outreach: Dr. Caputo teaches courses on the Global Eighteenth Century, Union and Disunion in Britain, and Mediterranean history. She actively participates in outreach programs with the Cambridge University Admissions Office and The Brilliant Club, focusing on widening participation in history education.