Staff profile
Stephen Twort
Human Sovereignty and the Animals that 'Defy Us': Territorialisation and Violence in the British Isles, 1858-2025 (Theory and Practice)
| Affiliation |
|---|
| Human Sovereignty and the Animals that 'Defy Us': Territorialisation and Violence in the British Isles, 1858-2025 (Theory and Practice) in the Department of History |
Biography
Personal
Before moving to Durham, I was educated at the University of York where I was awarded my BA in History, my MA by Research in History, and my MA in Political Theory for which I achieved the highest mark in the department.
Research
My research focuses on the theory and practice of incorporating other conscious species of animals into our historical narratives as historical actors. Rather than studying other species as passive objects of human cultures, I explore how historians can utilise interdisciplinary approaches to examine the past as co-constituted interspecies realities.
The current project that I am working on aims to historicise the entangled interspecies relations of ‘invasive species’. This study of species who are currently categorised as invasive to the British Isles has been overwhelmingly undertaken by the sciences, with a particular emphasis placed on understanding how to effectively control their presence. In contrast, my emphasis is on exploring where, when and how these animal-human relationships developed, as well as why they have frequently become violent to the point of human exterminatory behaviours.
In this context of historicising these relations, my PhD focuses on the violent resource competitions between humans and ‘invasive American grey squirrels’. My aim is to not only understand this violence but to show how a small species of rodent has been consequential for the formation of multiple intersecting British landscapes (conceptual, cultural, ecological, economic, social, and political). Indeed, this thesis highlights how the successes of these grey squirrels during the twentieth century undermined notions of human sovereignty.
Teaching
I have taught level 1 history undergraduates on two different modules:
2024-2025: Connected Histories: Early Modern Europe, c.1450 – c.1750
2020-2021: Wars and Welfare: English Society, c.1900 – c.1951
In addition, I have also tutored level 2 history undergraduates as part of the university’s widening participation programme:
2024-2025: Conversations with History