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This study focuses on the impact of the controversial and polemical research of Professor John Newsinger, whose popular multi-layered Marxist approach to modern British political history has provided an intellectual framework that has served to inform sceptical Leftist public discourse and enhance public understanding in Britain and beyond. Professor Newsinger's framework exposes the violence that exists at the heart of empires and challenges triumphal readings of 20th century British history. His work has had a wide range of political, economic, societal and educational impact.
This case study draws upon the research of the internationally renowned scholar, Peter Hennessy (http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/lord-hennessy-of-nympsfield/4189), and the public engagement organisation that he established, the Mile End Group (MEG — http://www.mileendgroup.com/). Hennessy's historically-informed understanding of constitutional and governance issues has enabled him to make direct interventions in key debates in the House of Lords and affect public debate and parliamentary democracy. Similarly, MEG has played a critical role in generating popular and public interest in its events and thus in the modern and contemporary history of British constitutional affairs and governance. MEG is a trusted environment in which historians, civil servants and politicians can frame decision-making with a proper appreciation of precedent, contingency and comparative studies. It has provided historical research and expertise in its work with No. 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office on the Cabinet Secretaries Project and with the Treasury for its in-house seminars `Learning the Lessons of Past Spending Reviews'.
Research by staff in the Centre for War Studies at the University of Birmingham, has informed continuing professional development (CPD) and training in the Armed Forces in the UK and overseas. This includes the design and delivery of training, study tours and materials for chaplains and NATO senior officers. Additionally academics have facilitated access to research to stimulate policy debate in the Armed Forces through invited presentations to professional conferences, and nationally and internationally by informing the content of Select Committee expert evidence.
As a result of Professor David Reynolds' research on Stalin, Churchill and the war on the Eastern Front, 1941-2, he was invited by the BBC to write and present a 90-minute history documentary. This was first shown on BBC4 (13 June 2011) and repeated on four subsequent occasions, in addition to several late-night repeats. Total audience figure was in excess of two million.
This work led to Reynolds receiving a judges' nomination (2012) for the Grierson Prize, awarded for the best historical documentary screened in 2011-12. Nominations are for the four finalists. Reynolds was invited to write articles about the film for the Daily Telegraph, 13 June 2011 and BBC History Magazine, June 2011, and the film has subsequently been sold to and screened in seven foreign countries.
Professor Rainer Schulze's research on the history of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp provided a new analysis of the singular role of Bergen-Belsen in the system of Nazi concentration camps. This research informed a new permanent exhibition at the Gedenkstätte (memorial site) at Bergen-Belsen. The new exhibition has educated hundreds of thousands of visitors since it opened in 2007, and has improved the reputation of the Gedenkstätte, allowing it to secure a donation from the Berlin Bundesregierung of €1million and to incr ease its permanent staff number. In the UK, Schulze's work has had effects on the teaching of Holocaust history in the UK, achieved through his participation in the annual University of Essex Holocaust Awareness week, his Key Stage 3 and 4 and A-Level workshops, and the establishment of the Dora Love Prize for schools in 2012.
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.
Renton used his research on the origins of the Israel-Palestine conflict to enhance public understanding by extending the quality and range of evidence and argumentation in public discourse on a major issue of historical importance with present day consequences. This was achieved through a range of collaborations, media, engagement with public campaigns, and synergies with the international news cycle.
Professor Sir Richard Evans' detailed research on the how and why European history has been studied by British historians, published in his book Cosmopolitan Islanders (2009), laid the basis for a series of newspaper articles, public lectures and private discussions which had a material influence on the recent debate on history teaching in British schools and on the thinking of the Secretary of State for Education, Mr Michael Gove.
Two Queen Mary historians from distinct periods of study, and different stages in their careers, have employed their major research projects from over ten years' work in archives and other repositories to advise museum curators and influence museum exhibitions. Renaissance historian Kate Lowe's research has enabled her to assist curators in the selection of objects to highlight sub-Saharan Africa and Africans in Renaissance Europe, thereby emphasising the historic importance of the early African diaspora in Europe. She worked with the Renaissance Europe curator at the British Museum on the 2012 `Shakespeare: Staging the World' exhibition and with the curator of Renaissance and Baroque Art at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, on its 2012-13 `Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe' exhibition which was noted as one of the top ten 2012 exhibitions in the US by the New York Times. War and culture historian Dan Todman's research on the cultural and social history of the First and Second World Wars has enabled him to advise and work with curators at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) as it prepares to commemorate the First World War's centenary. The impact of Lowe's and Todman's research expertise has been to advise curators, shape exhibitions and ensure that visitors experienced historically-informed exhibits to gain a more complex understanding of the past.
Research undertaken at the UoE since 2004 by Ruiz has re-examined the orthodox interpretation that Republican terror during the Spanish Civil War, which cost the lives of approximately 50,000 people, was the work of criminal or anarchist `uncontrollables'. Through the publication of a best-selling book (2012) as well as linked media appearances, reviews and features, Ruiz's arguments have entered national consciousness in Spain as a result of extensive media coverage, shifting the terms of public debate and adding a valuable historical and critical perspective. His findings, which challenge the idea of `spontaneous' Republican terror against `planned' Francoist `genocide', have been publicly acclaimed in Spain for their objectivity. Thus the case study demonstrates significant impact on public understanding.