Dr Tim Ellis-Dale joined Teesside University in October 2016, as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He studied for a PhD at Teesside between November 2016 and May 2020. His doctoral thesis ‘Visual Culture and Visuality in the politics of the Irish Free State, 1921-1939’ examined the deeply significant role that visual culture and visuality played in the political culture of the Irish Free State. Tim also holds a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Oxford (2014) and an MA in History from Queen’s University Belfast (2016).

After completing his PhD he held the post of Lecturer in History from July 2020 to May 2023, before being promoted to his current post of Senior Lecturer in History.

Tim’s research interests include the history of the Irish state in the twentieth century; the relationship between politics, visual culture and visuality in history; the history of gender and masculinities; and the politics of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

In the spring of 2022, Tim was awarded £9,950 through the British Academy’s Small Grants Scheme to undertake a two-year research project entitled ‘Neuterality? Masculinity, Politics and Neutrality in Emergency Ireland.’ In January 2024 he was awarded £1,489 from the university's AHRC-funded Impact Acceleration Account for a project entitled 'Dev's gains and the diaspora.'

As a PhD student, Tim co-ordinated the ‘NEE-HIP’ network for Postgraduate students working on Irish History research in the North East of England. In February 2019, Tim worked with fellow PhD student Sean Donnelly to organise a two-day conference for Early Career Researchers in Irish History entitled ‘New Directions in Irish History,’ which welcomed attendees and presenters from across Britain, Ireland, Continental Europe and North America, and was funded by the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, and the British Association of Irish Studies. He has also presented his research at a range of conferences in Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and the USA. He is currently a member of the British Association of Irish Studies, the Women’s History Association of Ireland, the Irish Association of Professional Historians, the Royal Historical society and the Social History Society.

Outside of academia, Tim has presented his research to public audiences at events organised by the Tyneside Irish Centre and Teesside Irish Society. He has also commented on contemporary issues around British and Irish history and politics, and the politics of gender and masculinity for the Conversation, LBC News, the BBC, Times Radio, and the Czech media outlet Seznam Zprávy.

Tim attained a Fellowship of Advance HE in 2021, having already attained an Associate Fellowship in 2017. His teaching interests are in modern world history from the end of the eighteenth century and the sociology of the media. He currently teaches and leads a range of modules on the BA History, MA History and BA Politics degrees including ‘Empire: From the Ancient World to the Americas,’ ‘Britain: From Boer War to Brexit,’ ‘Interpreting Revolution,’ ‘Her Story: Explorations in Women’s History,’ and also supervises Final Year BA History and MA History dissertations. He maintains a keen interest in the role of Peer-Assisted Learning and Teaching, and currently helps to co-ordinate the university’s PASS Scheme for History and Politics.

He also leads the ‘Media Representations’ first year module on the BSc Sociology and BSc Criminology and Sociology degrees. In addition, Tim is the BA Politics Course Leader, the Foundation Year Tutor for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, and leads two modules on the school’s Foundation Year programme.