Summary of the impact

The impact of the research has been achieved principally in the areas of education, public awareness, political engagement, and the processes of identity-formation in contemporary Spanish society. This has been done by engaging the public with hitherto suppressed material from the Francoist period. Interaction with the target user groups has been effected by making the results of the research widely available on a range of platforms, including: new annotated editions of biographical and literary texts in reader-friendly format; a film documentary; an internet blog; public talks and debates in cultural centres and museums; activities at Adult Education centres and with reading groups. The ensuing lively (and at times heated) debates and discussions have in turn fed back into an evolving dialogue between researchers and the public. In this case, impact, like the research, is a continuous process, not a single event.

Summary of the impact

Professor Paul Preston's work on the causes, course and long-term legacy of the Spanish Civil War (1936-9) has significantly influenced developments and activities in three areas:

1. Civil Society: supporting the activities of NGOs and civic associations working to quantify, catalogue and commemorate the victims of the Francoist repression, thus contributing to processes of collective commemoration and memorialisation;
2. Public Discourse: stimulating public debate in Spain, the UK and other countries over the historical origins of key political divisions within present-day Spain;
3. Education: stimulating awareness within the educational sector of Spain's recent, violent past.

Summary of the impact

Key questions face Western military establishments and governments concerning the likely form of future defence needs and, consequently, the size and shape of their armed forces. Following dashed hopes of a long-term `peace dividend' after the collapse of the USSR, came recognition that defence remained a fundamental concern, but that military needs might be manifested in different ways. The debate about a `war on terrorism' post-9/11 further intensified questions about the nature of future conflict. Through his research on strategy, and his guiding role in the Oxford "Changing Character of War" programme, Sir Hew Strachan, Chichele Professor of the History of War (since 2002), has made a major contribution to these debates and has helped to shape military policy making in the UK and the USA.

Summary of the impact

The aim of the Ibarra Real Project was to fashion a distinctive Spanish font for use in contemporary print and digital media in order to create a twenty-first century typographic identity that was firmly rooted in Spanish culture. The project focused on the revival and re-establishing of the iconic eighteenth-century Ibarra Real typeface, and research by Sánchez Espinosa in the UoA provided the historical and cultural underpinning that validates the claim of the font to be characteristically Spanish. The project has had a clear impact on Spanish graphic and book design and has added a distinctive Hispanic typeface to Microsoft's suite of fonts. It has contributed to the promotion of cultural diversity in the context of global media dominated by the English language and Anglo-American visual culture.

Summary of the impact

Neil Wynn's research on America and African Americans during World War II has made a particular contribution to the public understanding of the impact of the war on race relations, both at home and abroad. Wynn's work has reached general members of the public, minority group members, librarians, school teachers and pupils, documentary film and radio producers, and those with a personal interest in the subject area through publications, public speaking and broadcasting. Bringing together American history with British national and local history, and placing US race relations within the transatlantic frame, he has enhanced the understanding and awareness of the role of African Americans and West Indians in World War II, expanded the range and quality of evidence available for public debate, widened appreciation and enhanced public understanding of black American and black British history and culture.

Summary of the impact

UCL research improved public understanding in Portugal of the important role that Lisbon played in WWII as an `open city' where both sides in the war operated. In particular, it showed and publicised the city's role as an exit point for thousands of refugees (mainly Jewish) trying to escape German-occupied Europe and get to North America or Palestine. This was achieved through a best-selling publication and a photographic exhibition in Lisbon attended by 10-14,000 visitors. Both were widely reviewed as providing important insights supported by research into previously unpublished archives.