Dr Billy Frank

Billy teaches the first year ‘Understanding History’ module taken by all undergraduates studying BA History, BA History and Politics, History and English Literature, and Education and History. In second year, he teaches the survey module, ‘Colonial impacts in Africa 1652 – 1910’ and follows this in third year with ‘African nationalism and independence 1920 – 1980’. Billy is also the dissertation module leader for the postgraduate MRes programme.

Billy has varied research interests. His PhD examined the development of Britain’s colonial development policy in Africa between 1930 and 1960. He is especially interested in the role of private businesses in the development process, especially the role banks. Recently, Billy has started examining music and memory, especially the role of non-professional archivists.
Billy has supervised Phd students on subjects related to:

• UK advocacy organisations and the struggle for independence in Rhodesia
• The role of the state and civil society in combating corruption in modern day Zimbabwe
• The Growth and Development of Coffee and Cotton Marketing Co-operatives in Tanzania