Dr James Fisher

Dr James Fisher is a historian of early modern Britain (c.1500-1800), exploring the histories of work, knowledge, books, poverty, agriculture, capitalism and the environment.

James began his current role as Lecturer in Early Modern History in July 2023. He is also a Co-Director of the Centre for Early Modern Studies at Exeter.

James' first book is titled The Enclosure of Knowledge: Books, Power & Agrarian Capitalism in Britain 1660-1800 and was published with Cambridge University Press in July 2022, and released in paperback in 2024. It was shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society Whitfield Prize 2023, awarded for the best first monograph in British and Irish history.

Previously, James was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2020-23) on the project FORMSofLABOUR, led by Prof Jane Whittle and funded by the European Research Council. James researched pauper (or parish) apprenticeships in England (c.1600-1750), focused on its distinctiveness as a form of coerced labour at the intersection of the poor and labour laws. He was previously Lecturer in Early Modern British Economic and Social History here at Exeter. Before joining Exeter, I taught at King's College London, Royal Holloway, and the University of East London.

James completed his PhD in History at King's College London in 2018, supervised by Prof. Arthur Burns and Dr. Alexandra Sapoznik.

I am trained in disciplines across the humanities and sciences. He has an MA in Modern History (King's College London, 2014), an MA in Political Philosophy (University of York, 2008) and a BSc in Physics (2006).