Tom Lawson

Tom Lawson is Deputy Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University, overseeing academic strategy and budgeting. Previously, he held roles including Professor of History (since 2013), Faculty Pro Vice Chancellor for Arts, Design and Social Sciences (2016), and Associate Dean Academic (2014). Prior to Northumbria, he was Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Winchester and Head of Research in their Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He holds a PhD in History (1998) and is a Fellow of the British Academy and Royal Historical Society. His research focuses on Holocaust studies and colonial genocides, particularly Tasmania’s British colonial history.

Lawson’s academic work examines intersections between religious history, memory studies, and imperial legacies. Notable publications include The Last Man: A British Genocide in Tasmania (2014) and The Church of England and the Holocaust (2006). He co-edits Holocaust Studies: a Journal of Culture and History. Current projects include Empire of Genocide: The Extermination of Peoples in the British World.

Awards include British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship and Royal Historical Society Fellowship. His administrative leadership includes directing Northumbria’s Research Excellence Framework submission and advancing Race Equality Charter recognition. Academic interests span Holocaust historiography, colonial violence, and the ethics of comparative genocide studies.