Public History award recognition

The School sends warmest congratulations to Professor Louise Jackson who, as part of a team with Professor Adrian Bingham, Dr Lucy Delap and Dr Louise Settle, won the Royal Historical Society Public Debate and Policy award on Friday 26 January. (Published 29 January, 2018)

The impact of collaborative research by three historians at the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh  and Sheffield has been recognised by the Royal Historical Society at its Public History Prize awards 2018. The team –   Professor Adrian Bingham (Sheffield), Dr Lucy Delap (Cambridge), and Professor Louise Jackson (Edinburgh) – were the winners of the Public Debate and Policy category, for their work in promoting deeper understanding of experiences of child sexual abuse and responses to it in England and Wales between 1918 and 1990. Research funded by the ESRC analysed newspaper reporting, legal contexts and social work practices; Dr Louise Settle (now University of Tampere) also worked on the project during this phase.  The team have given talks for non-academic groups, published briefing papers, and undertaken consultancy and media work; their work has been used in relation to official inquiries.

The team have worked closely with History & Policy, the national partnership that brings together historians, journalists and policy makers.

Professor Jackson said: ‘Historians have a public duty to inform contemporary debate by sharing their research widely. This award is important in highlighting not only the value of team-work but also the crucial role played by History & Policy in enabling that to happen.’

Professor Louise Jackson's staff profile

More information on the team project and links to History & Policy Briefing Papers 

The Royal Historical Society and the Public History Prize awards