58³Ô¹Ï

Prof Rory Cox

Professor

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 3316

Email

rwscc@st-andrews.ac.uk

Location

Mediaeval History, 71 South Street

Office hours

Thursday 3-4pm, or by appointment

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Biography

I arrived in 58³Ô¹Ï in 2011, when I was appointed Lecturer in Medieval History. Since arriving I have held two international research fellowships: a Wallenberg Research Fellowship at the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace (University of Stockholm) in 2016; and a Humanities Collaboration Research Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Huntington Library, Los Angeles, in 2017-18.

I received a B.A. Hons First Class in Ancient History from University College London (2004), receiving a number of academic awards and an undergraduate research bursary from the British Academy. I returned to UCL in 2005 with full funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to complete a Masters in Medieval Studies, gaining a Distinction. Winning further AHRC funding, I pursued my doctoral studies at the University of Oxford, receiving several academic prizes and completing a D.Phil in History in 2010. I was also appointed a Scouloudi Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Historical Research, London, from 2009 to 2010. Between 2010 and 2011, I spent a year in Wales as Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Aberystwyth. I am currently a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, co-editor of the journal Global Intellectual History, and Associate Director of the 58³Ô¹Ï Institute for Intellectual History.

I was promoted to Professor of History in 2025.

Research areas

I have published widely on the ethics of war, history of violence, and intellectual history.

My interests cover a broad chronological and interdisciplinary range, including ancient Egyptian just war doctrine, medieval military history, debates on the use of torture, and the history of terrorism. In my research I look to engage different approaches pioneered in the disciplines of History, International Relations, Sociology and Anthropology.

Most recently I've turned my attention to 'big history'. My latest book, Solar: A History of Humanity and the Sun, will be published by Ebury (Penguin) in May 2027 and is aimed at a general audience.

PhD supervision

• GwenffrewiÌýMorgan

Selected publications

• Cox, R., 4 Dec 2025, The laws of yesterday's wars: from Mesopotamia to Somalia. White, S. C. D. (ed.). Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, Vol. 4. p. 29-64 (International humanitarian law series; vol. 75).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Brown, W. C. (Editor), Cox, R. (Editor) & Jahner, J. (Editor), 2025, In: Global Intellectual History. 10, 3

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Special issue › peer-review

• Brown, W. C. & Cox, R., 3 Apr 2025, In: Global Intellectual History. 10, 3, p. 165-180 16 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Cox, R., 2 Jan 2024, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 506 p.

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• Cox, R., 2023, In: Global Intellectual History. 8, 5, p. 636-638 3 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

• Cox, R. (Editor), Donnelly, F. (Editor) & Lang Jr., A. F. (Editor), 27 Oct 2022, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 292 p. (Contemporary security studies)

  Research output: Book/Report › Book

• Cox, R., Donnelly, F. & Lang Jr., A. F., 27 Oct 2022, Contesting torture: interdisciplinary perspectives. Cox, R., Donnelly, F. & Lang Jr. , A. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 1-15 15 p. (Contemporary security studies).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Cox, R., 27 Oct 2022, Contesting torture: interdisciplinary perspectives. Cox, R., Donnelly, F. & Lang, Jr., A. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 38-58 21 p. (Contemporary security studies).

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

• Open access
  Cox, R., 2021, In: Global Intellectual History. 6, 5, p. 592-613 22 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

• Cox, R. W. S. C., 1 May 2021, Cambridge history of terrorism. English, R. (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 571-593 23 p.

  Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

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