The History and Politics of Star Wars

The BCMCR Events team invite you to join us for this online-only event in conjunction with the History, Heritage and Archives research cluster. 

In this talk, Dr Chris Kempshall will explore the many ways in which the Star Wars franchise has drawn upon and utilised real-world events and history. Starting with George Lucas’ desire to tell a ‘Vietnam War in space’, Star Wars has always been focused on repurposing contemporary events into a science fiction setting. This talk will not just explore the films, but also cover material like books and computer games to show their responses to real world moments. It will also touch upon Kempshall’s own work producing ‘historical’ material for the Star Wars universe.

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Speaker Biography

Chris Kempshall – C.Kempshall@exeter.ac.uk 

Dr Chris Kempshall is a public historian and author. He has published widely on the First World War and the portrayal of history in computer games. He is also the author of several books either about or for the Star Wars franchise. His book The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy (Routledge, 2022) gave a deep academic historical analysis of the Star Wars franchise. He also co-authored the officially licensed book Star Wars Battles that Changed the Galaxy (2021) published by DK. His latest book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire will be published by DK Books in July 2024

He is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.