About
I am a Senior Lecturer in Global and South Asian History at the University of Derby. My research explores the histories of empire, decolonisation, migration, and political activism, with a particular focus on modern South Asia and its global connections. Current projects examine the history and heritage of the British South Asian diaspora, especially its involvement in anti-colonial, left-wing, and revolutionary movements since the 1960s. Previous research focused on citizenship, democracy, caste, borders, and state power in India during the transition from colonial rule to independence.
My work has been published in leading international journals, including Journal of Global History, The Historical Journal, and Modern Asian Studies, as well as in a monograph published by Routledge. Research projects have been supported by major funders including the AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy and Paul Mellon Centre. I am currently Principal Investigator on an AHRC-funded project on the history and heritage of South Asian political activism in Britain. Earlier research has also underpinned public engagement initiatives, including projects associated with the Being Human Festival.
Alongside my research, I teach across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in global, imperial, and South Asian history. I also contribute to research leadership within the University as Co-Deputy Chair of the College of Health and Humanities Research Degrees Committee and lead for PhD admissions across the College.
Before joining Derby in 2019, I held academic positions at the Universities of Sheffield, Exeter, Kent, and Loughborough, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of York.
Research interests
My research explores the histories of empire, decolonisation, migration, and political activism, with a particular focus on South Asian communities in Britain and their connections to global movements. Much of my current work examines the history of the Indian Workers' Association (Great Britain), one of the most significant organisations representing the South Asian diaspora in the UK.
I am particularly interested in how ideas, political movements, and activist networks have travelled across national borders. My recent research has explored the impact of the Cold War on South Asian political activism in Britain, including campaigns linked to anti-colonialism, international solidarity, and opposition to the Vietnam War. This work has been published in the Journal of Global History and is forming the basis of a proposed book project.
A second strand of my research examines heritage, memory, and public history. Supported by an AHRC Curiosity Award, I am leading a collaborative project on the IWA's previous campaign to secure the release of government files relating to the anti-colonial revolutionary Udham Singh. Working with university, museum, and community partners, the project explores how shared and contested histories of empire continue to shape communities today.
My earlier research focused on citizenship, democracy, and social change in India during the transition from colonial rule to independence, resulting in the monograph Citizenship, Community and Democracy in India (Routledge, 2018).
Recent publications
Monographs
- Godsmark, Citizenship, Community and Democracy in India: From Bombay to Maharashtra, c. 1930–1960 (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018), x + 203 pp.
Journal Articles
- Godsmark, 'Global Maoist optics among diaspora: The Indian Workers' Association during India's food "crisis", 1965-69', Journal of Global History, 21:2 (2026), 379-399 [Open Access]
- Godsmark, 'Fragmented Sovereignty, Ḍakaitī (Banditry), and "Criminal Tribe" in a "Minor" State of Late Colonial India', The Historical Journal, 66:2 (2023), 435–458, [Open Access]
- Godsmark, '"Civis Indianus Sum"? Ambedkar on Democracy and Territory during Linguistic Reorganisation (and Partition)', Modern Asian Studies, 54:2 (2020), 384–431
- Godsmark, 'Searching for Synergies, Making Majorities: The Demands for Pakistan and Maharashtra', South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 42.1 (2019), 115–133
- Godsmark, 'Citizenship, Reservations and the Regional Alternative in the All-India Services, c. 1928–1950', South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 38:2 (2015), 156–170
Book Chapters
- Godsmark and W. Gould, 'Clientelism, Community and Collaboration: Loyalism in Nineteenth-Century India', in Loyalism and the Formation of the British World, 1775–1914, ed. by Allan Blackstock and Frank O'Gorman (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2014)
Online Resources
- Godsmark and K. McIlvenna, 'Exhibiting History', in A Practical Guide to Studying History: Skills and Approaches – Online Resources, ed. by Tracey Loughran (London: Bloomsbury, 2026, 2nd edition)
Membership of professional bodies
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
- Member of the British Association of South Asian Studies
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) History - University of Leeds
- MA Modern History - University of Leeds
- PhD – 'Citizenship, Community and the State in Western India, 1930s-1950s' - University of Leeds
- PgCert in Academic Practice – University of Exeter
Recent conferences
My recent speaking engagements have explored the histories of empire, migration, diaspora, and Britain's connections with South Asia, often through collaborations with museums, heritage organisations, and community partners. As an invited speaker, I have delivered talks for the National Trust at Kedleston Hall and Osterley House, examining topics including Lord Curzon and Sikh communities, and the links between Osterley House and the East India Company. I have also contributed to public programmes at Derby Museums on the Partition of India, migration to Britain, and marginalised voices in eighteenth-century history. This work forms part of a wider commitment to public engagement, including as a co-investigator on the national Being Human Festival programme.
Alongside presenting my research within universities, I regularly organise events that bring together scholars, heritage professionals, and the public. Recent examples include leading Curzon, Contacts and Contexts: Engaging with Imperial Histories at Kedleston Hall (2025), a workshop jointly organised with the National Trust and funded by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. I have also spoken at events hosted by the V&A Museum and various universities on the legacies of empire, race, class, migration, decolonisation, and public history, fostering dialogue between academic, cultural, and community audiences.
My research has been featured across national and regional media, podcasts, public history projects, and heritage initiatives, helping to bring histories of empire, migration, decolonisation, and the South Asian diaspora to wider audiences.
Recent coverage has included a feature in Eastern Eye, the UK's largest English-language newspaper serving South Asian communities. I have also contributed to BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking and BBC Radio Sheffield programmes on topics including imperial history, Indian independence and partition, and community heritage.
Alongside traditional media, I regularly contribute to public engagement initiatives linked to museums and cultural organisations. These have included events and podcasts developed for the national Being Human Festival, including projects at Kedleston Hall that explored Sikh heritage, imperial collections, and the contemporary significance of South Asian histories. My work has also featured in public-facing articles, podcasts, and university research showcases designed to connect academic research with community, heritage, and public audiences.
Teaching responsibilities
I teach across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in modern history, global history, imperial and colonial history, migration, and South Asian history. My teaching covers both subject-specific topics and the practical skills of historical research, including the analysis of primary sources, historical methods, and independent project work.
Current and recent undergraduate teaching includes Empires, Migrants and Global Mobility, The Cold War: Global Conflict, Culture and Diplomacy, India, Empire, Diaspora, Historical Methods and Sources, and dissertation supervision. At postgraduate level, I contribute to the MA History and Heritage programme, including modules on research approaches, professional practice, and independent project development.
I have extensive experience supervising undergraduate, master's and doctoral research projects. I currently supervise four MPhil/PhD researchers and welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate students interested in South Asian history, empire and decolonisation, migration and diaspora, global history, and public history.
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