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The University of Leeds has a long-established reputation for research into the identification of stamps used by potters on terra sigillata (`samian ware'), a key dating indicator for archaeological excavations on sites in the western Roman empire.
Publication of the illustrated index of these names in nine volumes, complemented by the ongoing release of the data to an online database, has made this research more accessible.
The index has given archaeologists — primarily community and commercial archaeologists beyond academia — a powerful resource for identifying samian pottery and dating the strata where it is found. It has also provided a valuable tool for museums' educational work.
The creative writing produced at Leeds Trinity has led to, through numerous public engagement activities, a very considerable impact on the professional development of aspiring authors (both adults and young people). The English subject area has actively developed community links to foster creative writing locally, nationally and internationally. The research on which this is founded relates to two members of the UOA who have published fiction and poetry, respectively, and have engaged aspiring authors with their work through public readings, internet and broadcast media, workshops and readings in schools, Writers' Festivals, and residencies, as well as using their expertise in judging competitions. In doing so they have nurtured the joy and meaning of reading and creative writing amongst young people and adults, in the context of a contemporary culture that values technology/media and computer games.
Research produced within the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies (LCVS) has led to, through numerous public engagement activities, an impact on public understanding and appreciation of the Victorian era. The research on which this is founded relates to two members of the UOA, who particularly focus on Victorian identities, history and historical cultures in Britain and the British Empire. They have each engaged the public through public lectures at local museums and history groups, publishing their work in an accessible format and media appearances. Links have also been established with local museums that particularly focus on this period of history, enabling museum staff to promote their collections.
Focusing on the lives and works of Dickens and Tennyson, this case study demonstrates how a team of literary researchers at the University of Portsmouth has promoted public re-engagement with Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight's literary heritage. Their research on questions of celebrity and social marginality has been adapted and exploited to interpret and disseminate the region's cultural capital through public events, websites, and publications. Encouraging a fresh look at Dickens, Tennyson, and Victorian life, the impact of this research has increased public understanding of Victorian issues, and prompted local stakeholders to re-evaluate existing knowledge, policy and commercial practice.
This case study reclaims neglected writers and texts, enabling user engagement with British literary heritage through the commemoration, interpretation and presentation of authors' lives and forgotten or rare fiction. It expands cultural capital and enhances the imaginations and understanding of individuals and groups by raising awareness of the lives and literature of non-canonical Victorian and Edwardian writers. Using previously unexamined archival and privately-held source material it challenges previous assumptions about, for instance, disability and invalidism in relation to Victorian women writers. Through cultivating interest in, and enabling public knowledge of, such authors and their work it creates cultural and educational enrichment.
Leeds research on religions in contexts of migration and diaspora has effected improvements in representation and public understanding of religion in Britain. Key areas are: (a) high-profile public debates, where we have shifted assumptions about religious communities in Britain; (b) national museums, where we have enabled new ways of representing religions in diaspora, and advanced engagement with minority communities; (c) schools, where we have developed educational resources on the complex trajectories of communities in diaspora. The impact occurred between 2009 and 2012, drawing on research from 1993 onwards (Knott, McLoughlin, Tomalin), and a 35-year record of research with religious communities.
From 2008, University of Leeds research on Christianity and sexuality has changed both the form and the content of church discussions of sexuality, mainly but not only within the global Anglican Communion. The relevant Leeds-based research is Ward's work on sexuality and global Anglicanism (2002-); an international study of Anglican/Episcopal churches (2008-2010); and Muers' work on theology, sexuality and gender (2007-). Specifically, Leeds research shaped the design and evaluation of the Anglican Communion's "Continuing Indaba" (2008-) process. Leeds research has also informed the content of that debate, and in promoting understanding of under- recognised perspectives in wider debates on sexuality.
Northumbria University's research on the eighteenth-century novelist Laurence Sterne and on the literary significance of the Delaval family has had benefits for two arts and cultural organisations in the North East and Yorkshire. The research has secured new audiences and increased business activity and footfall for the Laurence Sterne Trust (LST), changed the emphasis of heritage interpretation at Seaton Delaval Hall (SDH) and expanded the range of activities offered by both organisations. We have developed long-term and sustainable relationships with both of our partners and are now co-designing collaborative projects with them.
Bangor University's publications on medieval Arthurian literature c. 1350-1550, in particular on French and English medieval romances, have impacted on the local, national and international cultural life and heritage, economic prosperity of local tourist attractions, the enhancement of the theatrical audience experience (the Royal Shakespeare Company) and creative practice (King Arthur's Labyrinth). Dr Radulescu's work was vital to international TV and radio programmes on the Arthurian legend, and in 2011-13 to the development and enhancement of reading materials for the educated general public and developments in creative writing.
This case study demonstrates how a concern with the significance of place in the history of science, technology and medicine, as addressed in research carried out by Graeme Gooday, Jonathan Topham and Gregory Radick since 1998, forms the basis of three initiatives over the period 1/1/2008 to 31/7/2013: first, a reappraisal of scientific, medical and technological collections held in Leeds-area museums, in collaboration with curators; secondly, the use of the University's own collections to promote understanding of science and its history among local citizens and schoolchildren, and thirdly the application and transmission of this approach at the national level and beyond.