Study in UK: Oxford University Chooses its First LGBTQ+ History Professor Matt Cook. But Why Prof. Cook? 

University of Oxford announced the appointment of Matt Cook for the professorship in History of Sexualities on 05th June 2023. He will join the university in October 2023 as the first Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexuality.

This professorship is a great honour as it will lead the studies of LGBTQ+ History for the first time. On top of that, the honour is in the name of Jonathan Cooper who was a great advocate of Human and LGBTQ+ Rights. But why is Matt Cook the best fit for this role?

Matt Cook is a cultural historian and has great experience in the history of sexuality and gender in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His expertise in queer histories and cultures, the history of London and the histories of family and home make him an ideal candidate to take up the professorship. 

Moreover, his research is primarily around topics like difference, race and inequality; public history; mind and body; and global and rural environment which adds to the role. Also, Matt Cook was a history professor at the Birkbeck University of London for 18 years before this professorship. Given his specialisations, the historian is now invited to take up a new position at Mansfield College, University of Oxford.  

Before Birkbeck, Mr Cook was also a Modern History Lecturer at Keele University. Subsequently, being an editor at History Workshop Journal and the director of the Raphael Samuel History Centre from 2009 to 2018, Mr Cook has an edge over his professional knowledge and field experience. 

Apart from that, Matt Cook has authored various articles and research papers, his latest one being Local Matters: queer scenes in 1960s Manchester, Plymouth and Brighton. Journal of British Studies released in 2020. Therefore, with his dedicated work and research in the field, Mr Cook is a perfect match for the professorship. 

Mansfield College is thrilled to announce, in association with @OxfordHistory, the appointment of Professor Matt Cook as the Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexualities, the UK’s first Professorship in LGBTQ+ History at the @UniofOxford. 🎉🏳️‍🌈

A thread… 🧵 pic.twitter.com/MdAkCi9t8O

— Mansfield College, University of Oxford (@MansfieldOxford) June 5, 2023

Oxford University’s Jonathan Cooper Professor of the History of Sexualities

As the Jonathan Cooper Chair, Matt Cook will lead the studies around LGBTQ history at the University of Oxford. The Department of the History of Sexualities has been established in association with Mansfield College under the History Faculty.

This professorship is the first of its type of specialist post in the UK. Hence, with the help of this department, the history and struggles of the LGBTQ community will culminate in Academia. Furthermore, this is a big initiative by a premier HEI that can inspire global universities to take up such initiatives. 

This program led by Matt Cook will look up to dilute the gap between the sectors of LGBTQ studies. For the same, Matt Cook is planning to organise a Queer History Week in his first academic year at Oxford. This event will initiate a discussion between academic experts to discuss how the next generation of queers can be strengthened. 

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