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Erin Bell's research has had significant impact on the way in which independent television producers have viewed the production of historical programming in the UK and has assisted the European Parliament to consider how the history of Europe is portrayed through the media. Her research, which examines the way in which television versions of history become embedded in public consciousness and looks at why television history is presented as it is, has succeeded in engaging media CEOs and public figures in debating how history is depicted in the media, and has impacted upon independent companies' productions for the future.
This case study concerns the public understanding of history as a practical discipline. Through a series of high-profile research publications, popular articles, and textbooks, Professor John Tosh's research has had an impact in two distinct ways. Firstly, these publications have been incorporated into teaching and lecturing practice internationally, influencing students' understanding of the discipline. Secondly, they have had an impact on wider public understanding of history as a practical discipline. The reach and significance of this impact is demonstrated by publication sales and readership figures, high-profile critical reception, political debate and wider public discourse.
This case study describes how the research of Justin Champion (Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas) into political and religious freedom in the seventeenth century and the public responsibilities of Enlightenment intellectuals has had a ground-breaking impact on the ethics of public engagement in today's historical profession. The process of making his research findings comprehensible to a broader public has led directly to the development of ideas, theories and activities centred on `Public History', and has included important interventions in matters of public historical import which have affected practitioner understanding. The case study presents the structural and individual activities which have shaped this impact.
The Better History Forum (BHF), based at Anglia Ruskin University, has had significant influence on the formation of government policy on the teaching of history in schools, and was instrumental in shaping the current revision to the National Curriculum for history during 2011-13. Research undertaken by the BHF has changed the parameters of debate about the place of history in the classroom. Expert advice has been provided to the government through consultation with ministers and senior civil servants.
University of Reading-led research projects on the histories of British post-1955 television drama have had a major impact on television producers, directors, performers and cultural institutions responsible for policy, production and the preservation of television heritage, not only through dissemination of research findings, but also through actively involving them in project interviews, seminars, conferences and contributions to published outputs. Through this collaborative approach, the researchers have influenced the professional development and practice of leading television drama producers, and policy and programmes for the public dissemination of audio-visual heritage, as well as providing specialist advice relating to television copyright and commercial marketing.
This AHRC-funded research project examining the production and consumption of women's television in Britain between 1947 and 1989 has documented, for the first time, the development of programmes made explicitly for a female audience, their production culture and the responses of female audiences. Through dissemination to the profession, public engagement events, and media appearances the results of the research have had a demonstrable impact on cultural life and professional practice in the television industry. The project has highlighted the potential of feminist historical research and archiving practice to enhance women's understanding of their own histories.
The research has mapped an unwritten history of women's television making and viewing in Britain, 1947-1989. By showing how assumptions about gender preferences and the presumed inferior quality of women's programming affected what is produced, broadcast and archived, the research has preserved and made accessible important programmes from Britain's television history. The research has re-presented women's television history by showing that genres not typically considered to be `women's' (e.g. music programmes, sport) were just as important to the identity formation of young women as were dramatic programmes (e.g. Compact) which dealt with working women in the 1960s. The research has brought an increased awareness of a new history of women's television in Britain to media professionals, archivists and the general public, especially women viewers from the period 1947-89.
In March 2013, the British Library (BL) launched the first national oral-history archive of the British Women's Liberation Movement (WLM). A permanent public resource preserving the voices of 1970s/1980s feminists, the archive was the outcome of 'Sisterhood and After: The Women's Liberation Oral History Project', a three-year Leverhulme-funded research-partnership project led by PI Margaretta Jolly, in partnership with curators at the BL and the Women's Library (WL). Through the national prominence this archive has achieved and the numerous curatorial, educational, cultural and community activities directly associated with it, the research is having a significant impact on the public perception of feminism, bringing it to life for new audiences.
Keele University's long-standing research expertise in local history, particularly that of its immediate region, has had a significant and enduring impact on professional practice, community resilience and individual well-being. Keele historians have provided vital assistance to local archivists and heritage practitioners in the preservation and public dissemination of the region's history and cultural heritage through the provision of substantial works of reference and support for study-days and community `road shows'. Their research has helped sustain local societies and encouraged a variety of volunteering initiatives, whereby groups and individuals are empowered to engage in their own study of the past.
Diarmaid MacCulloch's lifelong research in Church History led to the momentous undertaking of a one-volume History of Christianity (2009). Reviewers agreed that it was not merely a masterly presentation of an immense amount of data but also broke new ground in its novel take on the historical narrative of this religion. This work alerted BBC producers who contracted MacCulloch for a series of six one-hour-long episodes. The series was screened twice on BBC4 in November and December 2009, on BBC2 in January 2010 and on BBC4 again at Easter 2010. It was subsequently issued on DVD in European and US formats. Discussions of the work in the media and extensive viewer feedback testify to its impact on the cultural life in the UK and internationally. Released viewer figures for the TV series and sales figures for the DVD are indicative of the impact MacCulloch's work has had on economic prosperity.