Chris Grocott

Research

My research uses the concepts of ideology, class, and imperialism, to understand capitalism both in the contemporary world and historically.

Ideology

My current research focuses around my forthcoming monograph 'Capitalist Ideologies in Europe and Beyond', which is under contract as part of Palgrave’s new ‘Europe in a Global Context’ series. The work is co-authored with Dr. Jo Grady, Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the University of Leicester Management School. Largely based around Europe, but, as implied in the series title, also containing a view of the global, the monograph will tackle themes of ideology in historical and contemporary perspective, the utility of concepts such as imperialism for understanding the spread of western ideology, the reinvigoration of ideology as a concept, and the present dominance of neoliberal ideology in the contemporary western world.

Class

My interest in class arises from my doctoral thesis, which used the concept of class to understand economic and political power of elites in Gibraltar between 1880-1939. In doing so the thesis demonstrated that tools within Marx’s conceptual framework for examining western industrial capitalist societies could also be applied to a colonial society. By examining Gibraltar as a case study in the way in which British imperialism exported to, and constructed therein, capitalist structures in the empire, the thesis was a contribution to a growing body of work (both in the humanities and the social sciences) that seeks to link imperialism and the dominance of western global political economy in the modern and contemporary world.

Gibraltar

My doctoral work also encouraged me to become a keen scholar of British Gibraltar. My work includes a journal article, ‘A Fine Soldier but a Maligned Governor: General Sir Archibald Hunter, Governor of Gibraltar 1910-1913’ in the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, and a book chapter entitled ‘British Identity and Constitutional Reform in Gibraltar’ in an edited collection 'Islands and Britishness: A Global Perspective' (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2012). A co-authored monograph 'Gibraltar: A Modern History' (with Dr. Gareth Stockey of the University of Nottingham) is forthcoming from the University of Wales Press.

Imperialism

I am also interested in the way in which studies of imperialism can be used to understand the development of capitalism. In particular, I research the way in which Marxist understandings of imperialism can move beyond the work of Lenin in order to apply a critique of capitalism that embraces not only British formal and informal empire, but also the informal neoliberal imperialism of post-1945 USA.

Teaching

I currently teach history both in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Leicester (teaching a second year historiography option on class in modern Britain and on the first year 'Making of the Modern World' module), and in the Department of History at De Montfort University (teaching on the first year survey course 'The Making of the Modern World'). I am also an Associate Tutor in the School of Management for the Distance Learning Course 'The Management Environment' which is a module on the Professional Diploma in Management. Further to this, I am developing a new DL module for the MBA/MSc programme at Leicester, on the subject of 'The Creation of Modern Capitalism'.

In the past I have taught modern British history at the University of Birmingham (covering British foreign policy and the history of the British empire). Prior to Birmingham, I taught both in the Department of History and in the Department of European Languages and Cultures at the University of Lancaster. Courses taught included: British Imperialism and the American West; The Making of Modern Europe; An Introduction to European Studies; and The Idea of Europe. In addition, I have taught a course on Nations and Nationalisms at Manchester Metropolitan University.