Research
History at Edge Hill has a longstanding and dynamic research culture. The team has particular strengths in Social History and the politics of ‘race’ and the nation-state in Europe, North America, Britain, and the British Empire, with particular reference to the Middle East.
Research Assessment Exercise 2008
All full-time members of staff were entered for Research Assessment Exercise 2008. 30% of their published research was judged to be either ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. In terms of ‘world-leading’ published research, Edge Hill was ranked in the top third of History programmes in the UK. In this category, the team was just behind the Universities of East Anglia, Exeter and Lancaster, and above the University of Manchester.
Collaborative Projects
Recent collaborations with other institutions include the organisation of the conference ‘Can Values Make a Difference? Co-operatives – Moving from the Rochdale Pioneers to the 21st Century’, with the Cooperative College, Leeds Metropolitan, Liverpool John Moores, and UCLAN (2009); the annual symposium of the Research Group on American Power with Manchester University (2009); and the international conference ‘Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe: Comparisons / Contrasts / Connections’, with Goldsmiths and University College London (2008). Members of the team also lead the following collaborative research groups: the North West group of the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France; and the Research Group on American Power (RGAP).
Awards
History staff have received grants from the AHRC, the British Academy, the Kessler Foundation, the UK French Embassy, and the Rothschild Foundation. One of their monographs was longlisted for the 2009 Longman/History Today Book of the Year Award.
Public History
Media organisations such as the BBC and Al-Jazeera Television have interviewed Edge Hill Historians for documentaries, and consulted them for their expertise. Public History is a particular interest of members of the History group. In 2009 Dr Alyson Brown was appointed to the Advisory Panel for a series of exhibitions in Lincoln Castle and Prison, which will focus on the themes of power and justice. This project is part of a £15 million scheme, the ‘Lincoln Castle Revealed’.