Biography
Dr James Brennan is a Senior Lecturer in Foundation Year at Birmingham Newman University.
He holds an MA in Contemporary History from the University of Birmingham and recently completed his PhD in History at Liverpool Hope University on provincial political culture and gendered political language in inter-war Birmingham. His research explores the intersections of political culture, gender, and place in twentieth-century Britain.
James leads and coordinates routes within Newman’s Foundation Year and has contributed to teaching on History and Applied Humanities programmes. He is committed to collaborative, inclusive teaching practices, focusing on co-creation methodologies, negotiated assessments, widening participation, and the innovative use of AI-enhanced learning to support student belonging and success.
He has published on provincial press culture Print, Politics and the Provincial Press in Modern Britain, Peter Lang) and on pedagogy, and has presented at conferences including the FY Network and European Access Network. He is currently researching inter-war political culture and piloting an AI framework for first-year students. He is a Fellow of Advance HE and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education.
Profile
Research Interests
James’ research interests lie in twentieth-century British history, with a particular focus on provincial political cultures, the relationship between gender and political language, and the dynamics of modernity.
Teaching
James teaches in the Foundation Year programme at Birmingham Newman University and leads the September start route. He is keenly interested in using co-creation methodologies as well as leveraging new learning technologies, including artificial intelligence, and actively incorporates them into his teaching methods.
Membership of Professional Organisations
- Fellow of Advance HE
Other Activities
Conferences and Other Research Activity
Conference Administrator for “From “Old Corruption” to the New Corruption? Public Life and Public Service in Britain, C.1780-1790”, held at Oxford Brookes University, 2019.
Conference and Seminar Papers
‘Politics and the Press in Inter-war Britain’, seminar led by James Brennan (University of Central Lancashire, History Research Seminar Series, 2020).
‘The representation(s) of women in the politics of the West Midlands, 1918-1929’, Humanities Research Seminar, Newman University, 2019).
“One of the most promising features of the fight is the awakening interest of the women, in municipal politics”: Female Municipal Candidates, the Birmingham Press and Regional Political Culture, 1918-1929”, Women’s Suffrage, Politics and the Public Sphere (Women’s History Network, University of Worcester, 2018).
‘We Must get in front of these Blighters: The Birmingham Labour and Unionist press war 1919-1926’, Midland History Postgraduate Conference, University of Worcester, 2017.
Publications
Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals
Folwell, E. J., & Brennan, J. D. (2025). Assessment by engagement: building confidence and autonomy in the first year. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2483268
Chapters
Brennan, J., Cawood, I. (2019) ‘We Must Get In Front Of These Blighters’: Political Press Culture in the West Midlands, 1918-1925’, in Cawood, I., Peters, L. Print, Politics and the Provincial Press in Modern Britain. Oxford: Peter Lang, 119-155.
Selected Book Reviews
Brennan, J (2020) ‘Review of David J.A. Hallam, Taking on the Men: the First Women Parliamentary Candidates 1918’, Midland History, 45:1, pp.128-129.
Brennan, J (2019) ‘Review of Andrew Reekes, The Birmingham Political Machine: Winning Elections for Joseph Chamberlain’, Journal of Liberal History, Issue 104, pp. 44-45.