- Visiting Fellow, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University
Dr Meghan Kobza is a historian of leisure culture, costume, and commercialization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her forthcoming book, The Masquerade: A History of Extravagance and Intrigue (May 2026), brings this vibrant cultural phenomenon to life through the varied and colourful experiences of people, places, and material objects that were crucial in establishing this historic entertainment within the elite Georgian social calendar and public imaginations of the past and present.
Meg has just completed a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at Newcastle University where she did her PhD in 2020. This postdoctoral project explored the interconnections between display, performance, and consumer culture and how making, selling, and/or wearing leisure costume impacted cultural perceptions of race and gender within the British Empire.
As an extension of this work, Meg has collaborated with the National Trust to bring an accessible and experiential history of Georgian fancy dress to the Bath Assembly Rooms.
Experience
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2026–presentVisiting fellow, Newcastle University
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2022–2025Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Newcastle University
Education
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2020Newcastle University, PhD
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2013University College London, MA
Publications
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2026The Masquerade: A History of Extravagance and Intrigue, Yale University Press London
Grants and Contracts
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2023SHAPE Invovle and Engage
- Role:
- Project Investigator
- Funding Source:
- British Academy
Professional Memberships
- Royal Historical Society
Contact Meg for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
