Dr Laura Balderstone

Personal Statement

As an urban historian with a particular interest in post-war Britain, I first joined the department in 2010 as a Research Associate on the ‘Mapping Memory’ project. This collaborative venture between the University of Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool, and ReDock explored the changing nature of Liverpool’s waterfront after 1950, using oral history, museum objects and visual sources to create an interactive website and documentary film. I became a permanent lecturer in the department in 2013 on the `Teaching and Scholarship’ pathway, where my teaching and research interests focus on twentieth century British history. I am particularly interested in urban development and social and cultural change since 1945, as well as how we use and teach oral history. In 2022, I became part of the 'Melting Metropolis' team, an exciting Wellcome Trust funded project that aims to explore the histories of urban heat in London, Paris, and New York. As part of this innovative project, I'll be focusing on oral history methods, including an intergenerational oral history project based in London.