Research Interests

A scholar of feminist and postcolonial history, Katie Pickles has published four monographs, six co-edited collections and over 150 journal articles, chapters in books, high impact popular press articles and book reviews on aspects of gender, empire, heroines, national identity and decolonisation. The award of a James Cook Research Fellowship (2017) recognised Katie’s national and international standing in her research area.

A new book, Heroines in History: A Thousand Faces is recently published by Routledge and thanks to a Tessa Malcolm Bequest Katie is currently writing a new biography of Kate Sheppard.

Katie is an expert on female imperialism (Female Imperialism and National Identity) and the life, death and commemoration of Edith Cavell (Transnational Outrage). Her research on landscape, power and culture in Christchurch advanced original ideas about decolonisation (Christchurch Ruptures).

Katie has given many prestigious keynote and memorial lectures. Service includes Associate Dean of Postgraduate Research, Associate Dean of Arts Research, and President of the New Zealand Historical Association. She has served as Australasian section editor for the journal History Compass, Associate editor for Kotuitui: NZ Journal of Social Sciences Online and on the editorial boards of New Zealand Journal of History, Women's Studies Journal, and the Canadian Geographer. Katie has supervised over 40 postgraduate students.