Our People

Dr Janet Dickinson

Ordinary Fellow

Departmental Lecturer

Oxford Lifelong Learning

BA, PhD Southampton, MA Bristol

Janet Dickinson MA DPhil is Departmental Lecturer in History at Oxford Lifelong Learning. Her main research interests focus on the Tudor nobility and the Tudor court as well as the global history of the court in the early modern period, on which she has published widely, including a monograph, Court Politics and the Earl of Essex (2011). She was also involved in researching the extraordinary objects retrieved from a 17th century shipwreck off the Dutch island of Texel, known as the ‘Palmwood Wreck’. Forthcoming publications include two co-edited volumes, The Embodied Court (Brepols) and Burghley at 500: Quincentennial Essays on William Cecil (Boydell & Brewer).

Alongside her research activities, Janet teaches across a range of programmes for Oxford Lifelong Learning, including the MSt in Literature and Arts, the MSt in Historical Studies, the Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies and the Undergraduate Certificate in History, as well as supervising DPhil candidates. She enjoys teaching summer schools for the department and has written three online courses: ‘Investigating the Elizabethans’; ‘Elizabeth I’; and ‘Henry VIII’. All of this has allowed her to support students in achieving the most from their studies, who in turn provide essential inspiration and encouragement in their engagement with history. Janet has several times been recognised for her teaching by her students in Oxford, receiving several awards from the Oxford University Students’ Union, named three times as ‘Most Acclaimed Lecturer’ and also as ‘Outstanding Tutor’.

Janet is a co-convenor of the Tudor and Stuart Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research in London and a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for Court Studies. She recently served on the steering committee of the Lord Burghley 500 Foundation, celebrating the 500th anniversary of William Cecil, Lord Burghley’s birth and continues to be involved in establishing an educational legacy programme and encouraging awareness of and interest in the broad subject of Mildred and William Cecil and their world. She can be found @janetdickinson.bsky.social