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This case study concerns two forms of impact from the 2012 BBC2 television series, The Crusades, based on the research of Asbridge (www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b3fpw): on the public understanding of the crusades; and on the creative industries. Asbridge's landmark television series, which he wrote and presented, informed public understanding of the crusades as an historical event with contemporary echoes in international political debate. In this example of one area of the School's historical research, a Queen Mary historian has drawn upon two decade's research on the history of the crusades to mediate his findings for a national and international public audience. Asbridge's series presented his research in an accessible, non-technical form to over two million viewers in the UK and to audiences across the world from Australia to Russia. In achieving a major BBC television commission to produce a series based on his research, Asbridge also made a contribution to the creative industries. The Crusades led to employment and prosperity for a television production company (360 Productions — www.360production.com/) and to the development of BBC television history.
This case study refers to civil society, cultural life, public discourse and education. As an international authority on propaganda and persuasion, David Welch has raised public understanding of this key component of contemporary life across a number of countries through:
The television series has been broadcast in five countries and achieved global viewing figures in excess of 7 million. Public attention to the museum exhibitions was equally significant with 384,000 people visiting the Holocaust Memorial exhibition in its first year and 68,250 that at the British Library. Reactions to these contributions have been overwhelmingly positive, revealing the reach and significance of the impact.
Staff at the UHI Centre for History are at the forefront of research on emigration and the northern Highlands of Scotland. This work has had considerable impact on the culture and society of the region through its development of public understanding of the significance of emigration to Highland history. Making good use of our geographical location in the region, the Centre's research has engaged the community through lectures, the internet, and by working with museums and other cultural bodies, transforming the way in which both local society and diasporic groups perceive their history and its culture. The impact of this research has been most clearly seen in the shaping of museum curatorial practice (at Timespan Museum, Helmsdale and Special Collections, University of Aberdeen) and in the creation of social networks that bring together academics and the public to foster new ways of thinking about the northern Highlands and emigration.
James' ethnographic research on the fortunes of war-displaced communities from the Blue Nile region of northern Sudan generated unique insights that have been crucial in providing a long-term contribution to the work of the United Nations, and to humanitarian agencies assisting Blue Nile refugees: firstly, in 2008-11, during their resettlement from Ethiopian camps; and secondly, from late 2011 to mid-2013, during their renewed flight, mostly over the new border to South Sudan. The research has contributed to: (a) improving public understanding of the Blue Nile crisis internationally and within Sudan, while also providing detailed background on recent refugee history to field-based agencies; and (b) promoting cultural continuity among the refugees themselves, particularly Uduk speakers who have resettled in the USA. The multimedia project `Voices from the Blue Nile' has opened up rich research-based materials, including video, audio, photographic and cartographic material, to Blue Nile refugee communities and to educational and cultural projects worldwide.
The Build the Truce (BTT) project, undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM), considers the challenges involved in establishing and maintaining a truce during times of conflict. Findings from the research provided the basis for two innovative exhibitions, co-funded by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). First, an interactive multimedia display at the Imperial War Museum London (IWML), included as an official part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Second, a Big Picture Show (BPS); part of the rolling programme at the Imperial War Museum North (IWMN). Together these exhibitions, associated public engagement activities and workshops, have both challenged and altered public perceptions of truce, as well as offering a valuable example of how complex and controversial topics can be presented within a museum setting.
Martin Evans' research concerns conflict and its aftermath in the Casamance region of southern Senegal — the scene of West Africa's longest-running insurgency. His work has influenced policy, humanitarian and development activity in the region and beyond, and has informed Western governments, international agencies and non-governmental organisations in their interventions to support peacebuilding and `post-conflict' reconstruction. In addition, Evans has provided expert testimony in relation to asylum claims made in Western countries by Casamançais fleeing persecution. Building on his previous work, Evans has conducted the underpinning research for this activity while at Chester as a lecturer (February 2009-July 2011) and senior lecturer (August 2011-present).
His work has a lasting impact because of the situation's intractability and the need to address ongoing violence and human displacement. The conflict also retains the capacity to destabilise neighbouring countries.
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.
Chartism (1838-58) was effectively Britain's civil rights movement. Professor Malcolm Chase's research has helped drive a reappraisal of Chartism that has asserted the movement's relevance to contemporary British democracy and citizenship. The work has directly shaped Parliament's representation of its own history and inspired a change in its curatorial policy. It has also fuelled a broader rediscovery of the movement as a grass-roots political and social movement engaging all levels of society. Working with broadcast and print media, Chase has developed public awareness of the political, social and international dimensions of the movement and its centrality to the fight for democracy. The work has also had significant impacts in Australia, promoting an informed understanding of the black Chartist William Cuffay, and on the family history community.
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.
Historical research on refugees specifically in post-1945 Europe conducted at UoM has been incorporated in the design and delivery of the school curriculum (Key Stage 3, Citizenship and History) to encourage children to consider the responses of refugees to the challenges they faced, the role of humanitarian relief organisations, and the responsibilities of citizens. In addition, a series of exhibitions, including one on behalf of the Quaker Service Memorial Trust, has improved public understanding of refugee crises and humanitarian responses. Finally this research has instilled in NGOs a better understanding of the history of humanitarianism.