Profile

Dr John Lidwell-Durnin
Lecturer
I specialise in the history of science (roughly from 1780-1850). My current research focuses on food production, population, race, and heredity in the British Empire in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century. I am particularly interested in how eighteenth-century efforts to develop statistical approaches land management, food production, and to understand the natural wealth of countries informed present-day ideas about food security, environment, and global food markets. My forthcoming book explores the global and imperial reach of Britain's first Board of Agriculture (founded in 1793). I am also interested in contemporary debates over food security, crop genetic diversity, and conservation.
Research interests
- History of Science
- Environmental History
- Global and Imperial History
- History of food security
- History of racial science
- History of heredity & genetics
Research collaborations
In 2020, I collaborated with economists at Frontier Economics to produce research on the relationship between genetic crop diversity and efforts to combat crop diseases. I am currently working with colleagues at the Botanic Gardens at the University of Oxford to develop a project on the history of the Green Revolution.
Research supervision
I would be very happy to hear from students interested in researching topics related to:
- Science and the public, c.1700-1950
- Environmental history
- History of food security
- The history of racial science & eugenics
- Citizenship and science, c.1780-1950
Please send a CV and an outline (no more than 500 words) of your proposed topic.
Modules taught
- HIH1420 - Understanding the Modern World
- HIH1615 - Imperial Science, Race, and Exploration in the Long 19th Century
- HIH2002 - Uses of the Past