Jack Bowman

Dr Jack Bowman is a historian of anti-colonial print and visual media whose research engages with the political thought, cultural impact, and social links, involved in organising against empire. Their work takes anti-colonial action seriously, positing that activism is politics in action. Noting the key centrality of marginalised voices, perspectives, and materials, Jack's work is often a dialogue with the archive; flexible, ever-changing, and explicitly aware of the importance of engaging with ‘other’ narratives.

Their first book focuses on Pan-Africanism within 1930s and 1940s Britain, centring around several key figures such as George Padmore, C. L. R. James, and Jomo Kenyatta, and how their political formation in interwar Britain shaped their politics before decolonisation. They have also published articles in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society and The Historical Journal, centred around Guyanese Pan-Africanist Ras T. Makonnen and the editorial career of Indian independence activist V. K. Krishna Menon respectively.

They have collaborated with the Imperial War Museums and co-curated the exhibition 'Cold War and Other Narratives', which opened at Dilston Grove in February 2026. They also acted as an advisor on the IWM North Big Picture Show 'The Roads We Walked: The Fifth Pan-African Congress'.

Jack’s pronouns are he/they.