معرفی
Thomas Lewis is Professor at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University, teaching Public Law and Human Rights on the LLB while leading the LLM 'Expression Rights' module. He serves as Director of the Centre for Rights & Justice and coordinates the institution's Research Excellence Framework (REF) submissions, having led the 2021 assessment and preparing for the next cycle.
His academic foundation includes Jurisprudence and History studies at Jesus College, University of Oxford, followed by legal practice as a solicitor specializing in civil litigation at a major law firm before transitioning to academia.
Professor Lewis's research centers on human rights and constitutional law with distinctive expertise in freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence. His current work innovatively examines intersections between human rights, historical memory, and heritage controversies—particularly disputes over public memorials and statues. This scholarship bridges legal doctrine with historical and social analysis, revealing how collective memory shapes contemporary rights debates.
His publication trajectory shows consistent evolution from foundational work on religious dress and political advertising toward interdisciplinary explorations of historical memory in human rights contexts. Recent outputs demonstrate growing engagement with decolonization debates, public space regulation, and the procedural dimensions of judicial review within European human rights frameworks.
Professor Lewis actively supervises doctoral candidates and dissertations across all Law School programs. His research collaborations include Professor Peter Cumper (University of Leicester) and Professor Javier Garcia Oliva (University of Manchester). Funding sources for his projects comprise:
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
- US State Department
- Aspect Foundation
Through the Centre for Rights & Justice, he develops impactful public engagement initiatives including the 'Brave New World' role-playing board game—designed to teach human rights principles through experiential learning. His outreach extends to schools, museums, legal practitioners, prison populations, and NGOs, demonstrating commitment to translating academic work into practical societal understanding.
