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Popular Culture and the City: Exhibiting Inclusive and Challenging Urban Histories

Summary of the impact

Brad Beaven's research into the changing character and form of popular culture in the English city between 1850 and 1945 underpinned the `Portsmouth Voices' project, a collaboration with Portsmouth City Museum supported by a £223,500 Heritage Lottery Fund award. Previous exhibitions had presented rather narrow and parochial narratives of Portsmouth's history. Beaven's research significantly structured the project's engagement with class, gender and ethnicity in narrating the city's past, and played a guiding role in the curation of a major exhibition that successfully challenged preconceived ideas on generation, race and sexuality. In presenting both an inclusive and challenging story of Portsmouth's history, the exhibition attracted significant visitor numbers and a new section of the public who engaged with the Museum for the first time.

Submitting Institution

University of Portsmouth

Unit of Assessment

Area Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Shaping Public Policy

Summary of the impact

The modern and contemporary British historians in the School of History at Queen Mary have a reputation for rigorous, yet relevant and engaged scholarship which has bearing on contemporary policies. Three historians — Peter Catterall (01 Sep. 1992-31 August 2012), Martyn Frampton (01 Sep. 2009-) and Tristram Hunt (30 Jun. 2003-) — have followed the influence of Peter Hennessy and the School of History's Research Strategy to make high profile and high value interventions in shaping public policy debates that surround the making of various policies, including contributing directly to the policy-making process in Whitehall. As a result, Queen Mary historians are recognised as reliable and expert interlocutors on counter-terrorism (Frampton), democracy and heritage (Catterall), and policy related to the cities and the countryside (Hunt).

Submitting Institution

Queen Mary, University of London

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Displaying the Flag: Transforming Conflict in Northern Ireland

Summary of the impact

In Northern Ireland the display of symbols in public spaces has remained a highly contested and consistent cause of public disorder. The research outlined in this case study is a leading Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Indicator for effective policies on community relations. Impact is evidenced through the research in five ways. It has (i) altered government policies; (ii) enhanced broader democratic participation in local government debates; (iii) increased conflict resolution opportunities as part of local peace-building schemes; (iv) informed United Nations' work on divided societies; and (v) facilitated mediation networks dedicated to changing the nature of public space. It has been carried out according to a government brief for the whole Northern Ireland population, thereby encompassing the maximum scope possible for impact within the legal jurisdiction of the state. The research has been transformative in understanding and tackling the extremely contested issue of how and when flags are used in public spaces in Northern Ireland and it has influenced United Nations' consultations on post-conflict policies.

Submitting Institution

Queen's University Belfast

Unit of Assessment

Anthropology and Development Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Other Law and Legal Studies

City Development and the Management of Urban Space

Summary of the impact

Research on housing and property relations, undertaken by Rodger since 2007 at the UoE, has led to the following impacts. i) Web-based mapping tools, developed as part of a research agenda and available to the general public through the National Library of Scotland's (NLS) website, have enhanced public understanding of social and spatial relations within cities in a historical and contemporary context. ii) A programme of presentations and publications has enriched public knowledge of the historical development of the built environment, neighbourhood formation and place-making, and has made a significant contribution to the designation of Edinburgh's `colony' developments' as Conservation Areas.

Submitting Institution

University of Edinburgh

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Human Geography, Sociology

Influencing the history curriculum at the local and national levels through oral histories about Bengali migration and settlement

Summary of the impact

An Ofsted review of the National Curriculum found that diversity and multiculturalism is taught poorly in British schools and recommended that personal, family and local history be included in the curriculum. A joint project between LSE and Cambridge University, in partnership with Runnymede Trust, used underpinning research on Bengali migration and settlement to develop a new approach for teaching history that is effective in addressing Ofsted's concerns. The project produced a website and educational resources for teachers and students, tested and proved the new approach in three diverse cities, and influenced Government revisions to the National Curriculum to ensure that important diversity and multicultural elements were retained. The website has received over 66,500 visits (one-third UK, two-thirds international), has been selected by the British Library for the permanent UK Web Archive, and has become an inspiration and template for other diversity-related knowledge transfer projects such as 'Revealing Romans'.

Submitting Institution

London School of Economics & Political Science

Unit of Assessment

Sociology

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Language, Communication and Culture: Cultural Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies

Applied religious history: understanding the past to inform the future

Summary of the impact

This case study assesses the impact of a series of knowledge exchange and public engagement projects undertaken in London and Northern Ireland between 2009 and 2013. These projects have made innovative applied use of a substantial body of research into modern British and Irish religious history conducted in the Unit.

This activity has:

  • achieved greater historical literacy among religious practitioners
  • raised awareness of the importance of religious archives
  • informed the Church of England's policy and strategic thinking for the future
  • provided substantial online resources for local research and `history audits' and supported their use
  • enhanced understanding among practitioners in Northern Ireland of the historical and religious dimensions of conflict in the province.

Submitting Institution

Open University

Unit of Assessment

Theology and Religious Studies

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

Architecture Research Unit: Architecture as City

Summary of the impact

ARU is a significant international leader in the definition and practice of design as research. Buildings and realised urban designs are the main research outputs. The research is also disseminated with books, international exhibitions, international journals, television and newspapers. This research is having verifiable influence on the direction of architectural practice and education in Asia and Europe. Impact can be seen in the numbers of visitors such as: 800,000 people to the 2011 Gwangju Biennale ARU Urban Folly; 170,000 people to the 2010 Venice Biennale; 130,000 people to the 2008 Venice Biennale, and 471,000 page views to the ARU website between Sep 2008 - Sep. 2013. Florian Beigel was awarded the Grand Art Prize 2013, of the Academy of the Arts, Berlin, 18 March 2013 for the research works he has carried out with the Architecture Research Unit over the past three decades.

Submitting Institution

London Metropolitan University

Unit of Assessment

Architecture, Built Environment and Planning

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Built Environment and Design: Design Practice and Management, Urban and Regional Planning
Studies In Creative Arts and Writing: Visual Arts and Crafts

HIS02 - Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture

Summary of the impact

The History Department's Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture (CSCC) employed its research expertise in religious history to improve the understanding and sustainability of historic churches and cathedrals. These together form England's largest single 'estate' of built heritage with over 11 million visitors each year. From 2008 the Centre developed an extensive programme of national partnerships, which have led to significant and wide-reaching impact:

(i) creating new aids to help visitors engage with sacred sites

(ii) encouraging tourism and enhancing access to these national and international heritage sites for people from all cultural and faith backgrounds

(iii) delivering professional development activities for clergy, lay leaders, church architects, diocesan staff, heritage staff and volunteers

Submitting Institution

University of York

Unit of Assessment

History

Summary Impact Type

Cultural

Research Subject Area(s)

Language, Communication and Culture: Literary Studies
History and Archaeology: Historical Studies
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

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