History REF results
The chronological and geographical range of history research continues to expand whilst addressing some of the most pressing issues of the present .
History at Edinburgh — Reimagining the past, informing the present
The Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) results provide a welcome opportunity to celebrate the pioneering research and many achievements of the community of historians at Edinburgh, whose research interests span from the Fall of Rome to contemporary Indigenous social movements in Latin America. Since 2014 we have substantially expanded the chronological and geographical range of our work to become a world leader in global history, while building on and enhancing our traditional strengths in medieval, early modern, late modern and contemporary history. Our ranking as 4th in the UK according to THE Research Power rank reflects the high quality of the research undertaken by the large and diverse group of historians at Edinburgh.
Our research has engaged with some of the most pressing issues and crises of our times. Edinburgh’s historians have advanced our understanding of experiences of war and conflict and our research includes pioneering studies of the Second World War in Britain and of the public memory of atrocities during the Spanish Civil War. We have contributed to the transformation of public policy and attitudes by undertaking major studies on historic child sexual abuse and the cross-cultural understanding of mental health.
Building on these successes, we have developed our strengths in Islamic history and are important partners in the creation of a new centre, the Centre for Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies, which was launched at the end of April 2022. We are also continuing to develop exciting new perspectives on the history of medicine, including pre-modern medicine, which will be the focus of a major conference in September 2022, Ecologies of Healing in the Premodern World.
Major research projects currently underway include the production of digital editions of the ‘lost’ autobiographies of Alice Thornton (1626-1707), and the first comprehensive interdisciplinary history of the effects and experiences of the UK’s Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975. Both projects are funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
The success of historians at Edinburgh in REF2021 provides vital affirmation of the originality, importance and impact of our research.
Find out more about just four projects below.
Changing how the BBC covers Japan and the relationship between culture, politics and mental health
Dr Christopher Harding - Senior Lecturer Asian History
The impact of the research
Dr Harding’s research focuses on the ways in which culture and politics shaped experiences, treatments and commentaries around mental illness in late 19th and early 20th century Japan. The impact of his research – particularly within BBC Radio – had helped create a deeper understanding of Japan alongside the ways in which culture and politics play a determining role in national conversations about mental health and illness.
Listen to programmes featuring Dr Christopher Harding below, and read more about his work on his staff profile and his personal website.
BBC Radio Three, Free Thinking essays
Psychoanalysis and Buddhism Therapy Versus Prayer Freud in Asia
BBC Radio Archive on 4 Misunderstanding Japan
What images come into your head when you think of Japan?
BBC Radio 4, The Borders of Sanity
Depression in Japan Crossing the Borders of Sanity
BBC Radio 3, The Essay
More on Dr Christopher Harding
The spirit of the Blitz: Deepening public understanding of the British Home Front during the Second World War
Professor Jeremy Crang - Professor of Modern British History
The impact of the research
Drawing on research for their two major co-edited volumes ('Listening to Britain' and 'The spirit of the Blitz'), Professor Crang and the late Dr Paul Addison were deeply involved in the production of a highly-regarded four-part television documentary series, 'Blitz: The bombs that changed Britain' for the BBC. This series generated significant impact and reach, as evidenced by viewing figures of 1.506 million (average across the episodes for the first showing of the series), enthusiastic reviews by television critics, powerful contemporaneous online responses to the programmes by viewers, and a prestigious BAFTA nomination in the ‘Specialist Factual’ category.
You can find out more about 'Blitz: The bombs that changed Britain' at the link below, and read more about Professor Crang's work.
BBC Two
Blitz: The bombs that changed Britain
Edinburgh Impact
How the University community is making its mark upon the world through its research, innovation, ideas and actions.
When women modernised the military
More on Professor Jeremy Crang
Deepening public engagement in Medieval history via new design strategies for tabletop games
Dr Gianluca Raccagni - Senior Lecturer in Medieval History
The impact of the research
Dr Raccagni has used the growing popularity of miniature tabletop war-gaming - a market estimated to grow to $12 billion by 2023 as a means of sharing his research on Medieval Italian city republics and the crusades with new audiences. His work has inspired and shaped the creation of three new game products, which have been recognised by the industry as new directions in the relationship between gaming, historical accuracy and historical research. Raccagni’s work has also been embraced by the administrators of the Italian Medieval town of Gradara as a way to engage the public with history. He was also invited to join the organising committee for the annual Gradara Ludens event, the leading Italian convention on heritage and gaming.
You can read more about and listen to discussions around Dr Raccagni's work at the links below.
University of Edinburgh news
Games alliance plays to historians’ strengths
Wargames Illustrated
Review in Wargames Illustrated - Crusader States
Wargames Soliders and Strategy podcast
If at first you don’t succeed…
The Scotsman
Scottish historians turn their hands to game design in university crossover
History & Games Lab podcast
More on Dr Gianluca Raccagni
Paracuellos: The most contested atrocity of the Spanish Civil War (1936- 1939)
Dr Julius Ruiz - Senior Lecturer
The impact of the research
Over eighty years after the Spanish Civil War began there is still bitter controversy within the country about the scale, meaning and legacy of executions committed by retreating forces. Dr Julius Ruiz's research on Paracuellos - where 2,400 prisoners were executed in 1936 - has challenged the traditional interpretation that the atrocity took place without the knowledge of the Republican Government. Through the publication of a best-selling book (Paracuellos, El Mundo 2015) as well as related media interviews, articles and features, Dr Ruiz’s findings have entered national consciousness in Spain, shifting the terms of public debate and adding a valuable historical and critical perspective.
You can read more about Dr Ruiz's work and listen to interviews with him at the links below.
Interviews with Dr Ruiz (in Spanish)
El gato al agua Onda Cero La Razón Norte de Castilla Ideal de Granada Diario de León.
El País
ABC
The executions of Paracuellos, the crime of the republicans in the Civil War