Historians Launch Partnership to Contribute to Policy-Making

6th October 2016

The University of Sheffield is joining a new partnership to help its historians be at the heart of policy-making in the UK.

Launching in 2017, the partnership will see researchers from the University's Department of History develop close ties with History & Policy, an organisation that connects high quality historical research with policy makers and journalists. The initiative will also include researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and Leeds. Sheffield's Department of History is one of the largest, most active centres for teaching and historical research in the UK. Its historians are international leaders in their fields who contribute to public as well as academic debates, regularly appearing in and providing advice to the media. Historians at Sheffield also work with peers from all over the world across a variety of disciplines. Their areas of expertise range from health, body and society to democracy, the economy and law. Recently, historians at the University have revealed new insights into the rise of women in politics across Europe, uncovered new evidence of the people who shaped modern Britain and shared new perspectives on the lives of Muslim women to challenge often misunderstood stereotypes. Dr Adrian Bingham, Reader of History at the University of Sheffield, said: -Many historians at Sheffield are keen to influence public debates about policy, and have plenty of interesting perspectives to offer. This exciting partnership will give us new opportunities to demonstrate the value of history in thinking about the present.