Dr Chris A Williams

chris.williams@open.ac.uk

(I'm not to be confused with the 'A'-less Professor Chris Williams at Swansea University). I'm a Lecturer in History affiliated to the International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing, and Justice, itself part of the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research. I have an MA in Urban History from the University of Leicester, and a PhD from the University of Sheffield, with the thesis topic 'Police and Crime in Sheffield, 1818-1873'.

I am a member of the Social History Society, and sit on the committee of the Crime and Punishment museums and archives network.

Teaching interests:

I am currently chair of the following course teams:
Y160 Making Sense of the Arts
A new 20th-century European History course due for presentation in 2013

Course team member for the following courses:
Y180 Making Sense of the Arts
A825 History MA

Advisor for the BBC Radio 4 series 'The Things We Forgot To Remember'

Research interests:

• All aspects of the history of crime and policing since about 1750, especially concerning British and British colonial police.
• The preservation of the records of British police forces.
• The public history of criminal justice in the UK and beyond.
• The relationship between history and memory.
• The globalisation of policing practice (see COPP network).
• The history of the control room (lecture here).

Research students

I am an experienced supervisor of research projects at Masters and Doctoral level, and qualified to be a senior member of a supervisory team.

I am currently supervising doctoral students working on the following topics:

• The public history of the UK's criminal justice system (AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Scheme with the Galleries of Justice, Nottingham).
• County Chief constables in England and Wales, 1857-1914.

Publications:

A list of my recent and forthcoming publications is available online. Follow this link for podcasts and research papers in progress.

Contact:

Dr. Chris A. Williams
Department of History
Faculty of Arts
The Open University
Walton Hall
MILTON KEYNES MK7 6AA
UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: + 44 (0)1908 653266
Fax: + 44 (0)1908 653750
E-mail: chris.williams@open.ac.uk