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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.
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.
This case study presents the impact of two book chapters, one book and an extended journal article written by Professor Matthew Stibbe on related aspects of gender relations, mobilisation for war, and wartime captivity in twentieth-century Germany. The Weimar and Nazi periods continue to be extremely popular subjects at all levels of the education system. Through sixth-form master classes, A/AS-level and GCSE day conferences, and a magazine article aimed at sixth-formers and their teachers, Stibbe has used his research findings and profile to influence the way that modern German history is understood by school students, taught by school teachers, and presented to school audiences by professional actors, examiners and textbook writers.
Prof. Fowler's biography, Santa Anna of Mexico, has influenced current public discourse which has led Mexicans to revise their "official history" of six-times president Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1794-1876, by illuminating and challenging cultural values and social assumptions in the public domain. The work, which was translated into Spanish and published in Mexico as Santa Anna (2010; re-issued 2011), alongside other key outputs, including a TV programme, about Santa Anna and other Mexican presidents, was at the centre of several state-government-sponsored events in the build-up to, and as part of, the Bicentenary of the War of Independence in 2010. It has succeeded in improving the quality of evidence employed to enhance public understandings of Mexico's complex past.
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.
Newcastle research into the lives of American Civil War soldiers and veterans has had both public and educational impact. In particular the research has: (i) challenged traditional social assumptions concerning war wounds and the medical and political responses to these; (ii) greatly extended the range and improved the quality of evidence pertaining to the history of warfare and wounding in the United States; (iii) expanded public understanding of the long-term effects of the Civil War on American society; and (iv) informed and influenced the content of secondary and tertiary education on this subject in the UK and the US.
In partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History Arne Westad convened three week-long summer seminars for school-teachers between 2009 and 2011 on the Global Cold War. Co-taught by Tanya Harmer and Svetozar Rajak, the seminars introduced 87 participants to new research, primary sources and teaching methods. Teachers came from different types of schools across North America, Russia, Eastern Europe and the UK. As a result of these seminars, many changed their syllabi and altered classroom practices to incorporate new information, analytical frameworks and sources. The seminars also led to unique international networks of teachers and students and planning for new modules on the International Baccalaureate.
Peter Gaunt's extensive research explores local and national histories of Oliver Cromwell, one of Britain's most important national figures. While Cromwell tends to be remembered in a national context, the English civil war itself also had a dramatic effect on the people and landscapes of England and Wales as a whole. Communities were torn asunder, buildings destroyed and some 200,000 people lost their lives. But often little of this is known at a local level, so, through a range of activities, Gaunt has shared his findings with the most diverse of audiences, enabling people to rethink and reassess Cromwell and the Civil War's local impact in a new focused way.
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.
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.